A WAITRESS has shared the moment she burst into tears when she realised how much a generous customer had tipped her.
Lauren who was working at the Italian restaurant Gilson in South Yarra in Melbourne was left in shock when she saw what a diner was offering to leave as a tip following a £280 meal.
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The stunned student couldn’t believe her eyes when one of the customers she was serving left a tip of a whopping £5,600 ($10,000) on the card machine.
She told 7News: “I made them say the number out loud, because I thought, what if I have just gotten too excited and I’ve stupidly read an extra zero, or something like that.”
“I keep going over it again and again in my head. The actual experience of it happening, second by second, was surreal and amazing.”
Lauren explained to the table of four that tips in the restaurant are usually split between the staff but the customer said he’d only leave a tip under the condition she would receive £4,000.
The remaining £1,600 would be split between the staff.
It is understood the tipper is a young, cryptocurrency businessman who owns more than $120 million of property in Toorak.
The restaurant’s owner Jamie McBride said he was pleased to see his employee’s hard work being recognised.
He told the Herald Sun: “(It’s) very pleasing, it makes the team feel really special when they’re acknowledged, especially when no one’s ever expecting anything like that.
“The whole staff were overwhelmingly proud of Lauren, we’re all taken aback by the generosity of the table in question.
“I was there, she just burst into tears.
“The generosity of some people is unbelievable.”
Gilson’s is a trendy Italian eatery frequented by social media models, influencers and reality TV stars.
Lauren said she is still contemplating what to do with the unexpected huge sum
She added: “I’ve been able to think what can I do with this? I’ll be honest, I’ve never been overseas, so the first thing that everyone was saying to me was ‘go on a holiday’.
“That money’s going to help a lot.”
