A restaurant in Londonderry, New Hampshire, has been hit by negative reviews after its owner revealed that a bartender would be splitting a $16,000 tip with other staff members.
Speaking to Today, Mike Zarella - owner of The Stumble Inn Bar & Grill - revealed that a mystery diner had left bartender Michelle McCudden a tip for $16,000 on a $37.93 bill.
On June 12, the unnamed man had reportedly ordered a couple of chili cheese dogs, some pickle chips, and a couple of drinks before asking McCudden for the check.
"She gave it to him and walked away, and then he said to her, 'Don't spend it all in one place,'" Zarella revealed.
"[Michelle] said, 'Oh my god, are you kidding me?' She said, 'No, no, that's crazy,' and he said, 'No, I want you to have this," Zarella revealed. "He's come in a few times since then.
"Last Saturday night he came in, I sat with him to talk with him for a couple of minutes. I told him that we were all uncomfortable with that kind of money, and he said no, he wanted this to happen."
Speaking to NBC Boston, McCudden said: "He’s kind of a mystery man. I’ve been doing this a very long time and I never thought anything like this would happen to me."
However, many people have become angered by the fact that McCudden's tip is to be shared with other staff members at the restaurant.
Zarella told Today that the money - which he compared to receiving a "double or triple paycheck" - would be split among the establishment's eight bartenders and kitchen workers.
"People that are well-deserving got a huge tip," Zarella said. "Last week, they were worried it didn't go through, so they didn't count on it. Now they're like, 'Wow.' Some of them are single moms, now planning a vacation. They're getting good money out of it. They're really overwhelmed."
This revelation has led to the restaurant's social media pages being flooded with comments instructing Zarella to give the full amount to Michelle.
Here's a selection of comments found on the restaurant's most recent Instagram post:
Additionally, the story has also led to the restaurant receiving a slew of one-star reviews on Google:
However, according to 7News reporter Amaka Ubaka, an employee at the restaurant has since come forward to defend the decision to split the tip.
Ubaka revealed on her Twitter account that the unnamed staff member reportedly revealed that it wasn't just one person's decision to split the tip. Due to the fact that there is a morning and evening shift, tips are split evenly between all workers.
Staff members also choose to include the kitchen staff in the tip pool, and Zarella did not allegedly receive any money from the generous amount.
Speaking about the tip, Michelle also told NBC10 Boston: "It’s just been a really rough year for all of us. For someone to do something like that really restored my faith in humanity. He just said that we work really hard and he wanted to do something nice and he just really wanted us to have it."
And as long as everybody involved is happy with the decision, it's important not to cast judgment on the restaurant or any of its staff.
