Aussie waitress floored by $10,000 detail on customer's bill: 'Surreal'
Working the weekend shift has seriously paid off for a Melbourne waitress whose service earned her an astonishing tip from an apparent mystery millionaire.
Lauren, a university student, was tallying up the bill for a table of four locals at Gilson in South Yarra on Saturday when she noticed something she couldn't quite believe.
On top of their $518 meal, the table left an extra $10,000 as gratuity.
"I keep going over and over in my head. The actual experience of it happening, second by second.
"[It] was surreal and amazing," she told 7News.
Struggling to comprehend what was happening, Lauren double checked with her customers.
“I made them say the number out loud because I thought what if i have just gotten too excited and have stupidly read an extra zero or something like that,” she said.
Dazed, she then went to speak to a colleague and then her manager to ensure the gesture was above board.
While tips are normally shared between staff at the Italian restaurant, the diner was insistent that Lauren accept $7,000 with the remaining $3,000 to be split between the team.
Days later, the waitress is still trying to comprehend what happened.
“I am just extremely grateful… to know that they thought that much of my service is amazing,” she said.
While the identity of the customer remains a mystery, he is reportedly a young self-made crypto businessman who owns more than $120 million worth of property in Toorak.
The owner of Gilson, Jamie McBride, says he was thrilled to see his employee getting some extra recognition.
"It makes the team feel really special when they’re acknowledged, especially when no one’s ever expecting anything like that," he told the Herald Sun. "The whole staff were overwhelmingly proud of Lauren, we’re all taken aback by the generosity of the table in question."
The "money is going to help a lot" Lauren said, however adding that she's now tempted to take her first overseas holiday.
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