A humble and generous waiter has gone viral on social media this week after turning down a $2,021 tip and asking for it to be given to another restaurant struggling in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per Indy100, the good deed was kickstarted by Missouri-based businesswoman Nicole Genz, who had decided to take part in the so-called "Venmo Challenge."
For those who haven't heard of it before, the challenge is similar to The 2020 Challenge, which encouraged wealthy people eating out to donate a tip of $2020 to people in the service industry who have been struggling financially due to COVID restrictions.
To that end, Genz has raised a whopping $4,000 since New year's Eve, and on January 11 she paid a visit to the Saffron Indian Cuisine restaurant. in St. Louis.
In a video later uploaded to Facebook, Genz presented restaurant owner Mohaimenul Hoque with the $2,021 cheque at the end of her meal. But, to her shock, Hoque politely refused the tip, stating:
Take a look at the heartwarming video of the donation right here:"I cannot take it. I really appreciate your donation, but … it’s too much for me. Some places, they need this money more than us."
The video itself was captioned:
"Well I didn’t expect this... Tonight we did the #venmochallenge again and we had $2021 to give someone.
"You need to hear this story of what happened at Saffron Indian Cuisine and then you need to go support them if you want to participate in the challenge with us you can donate even $1!
"We are doing it again next weekend! Put suggestions of restaurants below! We will keep doing this as long as you guys want to keep it going! And don’t forget - each time we are randomly going to select someone to send $100 to so we can #keepitgoing. [sic]"
Suffice it to say, the video has picked up a lot of attention from other Facebook users, who were touched by Mohaimenul's attitude.
For instance, one commenter wrote: "Such a humble human being. Brought tears to my eyes that he appreciated the thought more than the tip. I hope that he will be blessed with much more in the future."
Another person wrote: "One of my favorite local restaurants, and now I love them even more! (As if I needed another reason to order Naan bread!)"
Even one of Mohaimenul's relatives got in on the discussion, writing: "That's my elder brother Mohaimenul Hoque the owner of Saffron Indian Cuisine. Proud of my brother for his gesture of kindness and generosity!"
Another viewer wrote: "Love Saffron. What an amazing man and what an amazing collection. Great effot. I'll be donating for the next one!"
Finally, someone else chimed in: "All the goosies. How amazing. That in a time [like] this someone can still see the gratitude and realize that he and his business are more fortunate than many others. Go support Saffron!"
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