A waiter in financial trouble is unexpectedly ‘blessed’ after serving a blind customer who hands over his wallet and asks him to take a $2 bill as his tip. At that point, the waiter realizes he can take much more than $2, and his customer would never know.
Harold was 22 years old and worked as a restaurant waiter. His mother, Lydia, had raised him single-handedly after his father died years ago, and because she worked a blue-collar job, they had very little money.
Unfortunately, their condition worsened after Lydia was involved in an accident that necessitated an expensive surgery. Harold was compelled to become the man of the house and take the very first job that came his way to fund her treatment.
However, because Harold’s salary as a waiter was insufficient to cover Lydia’s bills, he also worked another job. But despite working two jobs, he was still a few thousand dollars short of his financial goal.
Harold worked as a waiter to fund his mother’s treatment. | Source: Unsplash
One day, Harold was working his usual shift when an older man visited the restaurant. He arrived in a luxury SUV and his driver assisted him to the restaurant’s entrance.
Harold noticed the older man was wearing thick black glasses and walking with a cane, from which he deduced that the man was blind.
“Good evening, sir,” Harold greeted him as he met him at the door and guided him to take a seat. “How may I help you today?”
The man nodded his head lightly. “Well, what’s the best thing on the menu? Honestly, if I could see, I would look up the options myself,” he remarked with a tiny smile.
“That’s not at all an issue, sir,” Harold responded politely. “We have Braille menu cards to fix that. Here,” he offered, moving the menu card closer to the old man’s palm.
“Oh, thank you so much, boy!” The gentleman grinned and placed his order.
Harold’s customer was someone special. | Source: Pexels
After Harold served him food, he became preoccupied with the other diners in the restaurant. But throughout the meal, the older man kept interrupting his work by calling him for one reason or another, from helping him with the serviette to refilling his glass of water to guiding him to the restroom.
Despite the din at the restaurant, Harold managed to attend to the older man’s needs throughout the evening. When he finished eating, Harold went to get the check, which the man offered to pay with his credit card.
“Don’t think I forgot about your tip, boy!” He chuckled as Harold read out the bill for him. “I usually give a dollar as a tip, but because you helped me so much, I’ll pay $2 today! Here…” The older man pulled out his wallet and handed it over to Harold.
Deeds like honesty are always rewarded.
There were multiple $100 and $5 bills inside the wallet, and one $2 bill. At that moment, Harold knew he could take much more than just $2 and his customer would never know. But his conscience stopped him from doing so, and he just took out the $2 bill and thanked his customer for the tip. “Thank you, sir,” he said, returning the wallet. “I hope you enjoyed today’s service.”
“Oh, I did – I did! Thank you very much,” the old gentleman replied before walking away.
The old man generously offered his wallet to Harold and asked him to take his tip. | Source: Pexels
After his shift that evening, Harold went to check on Lydia and spent the whole night at the hospital. He dozed off on a chair outside Lydia’s ward and woke up the next morning.
As he rubbed his eyes and looked at his wristwatch, Harold panicked. He was 30 minutes late for his shift! He immediately called a cab and headed to the restaurant. When he arrived, he noticed a large gathering inside and his manager staring at him.
“Are you out of your mind, Harold?!” he muttered angrily. “We’re meeting the new restaurant owner, and you’re late!”
“I apologize, Mr. Fisher,” Harold said. “I didn’t mean to… I went to see my mother last night and overslept…”
“Enough with the excuses, Harold!” Mr. Fisher retorted. “Thank heavens Mr. Benerson didn’t notice your absence. He was personally introducing himself to everyone on the staff! You know what, it’s okay, just leave! You’re fired!”
“No, Mr. Fisher, please!” Harold pleaded. “You know I can’t afford to lose this job. I…” Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Benerson approached them.
“Is this Harold Dickens?” he asked, tilting his head in the direction of Harold’s voice. “You’re running behind schedule, boy! Someone told me you weren’t here, and I was curious why…”
When Harold realized Mr. Benerson was the older man he’d served the night before, his jaw dropped to the floor. “Sir, I – I….” He was too stunned to speak.
But Mr. Benerson began to laugh. “Slow down, Harold. I was just pulling your leg. I overheard you talking with your manager, so I know you visited your mother. It’s okay, David,” he told Mr. Fisher. “No need to fire the boy for such a small reason … Also, Harold, if my memory serves me correctly, you were the one who served me last night. Is that right?”
“Yes – Yes, sir,” Harold replied.
“All right then,” Mr. Benerson said. “I believe everyone should know what I have decided..”
Mr. Benerson informed everyone about his experience the night before — how Harold patiently attended to him and took only a two-dollar bill from his wallet despite being presented with a large amount of cash.
After leaving the restaurant, Mr. Benerson asked his driver to check his wallet to confirm how much Harold had taken, and that’s when he knew Harold was an honest and dedicated employee.
He also disclosed that he was looking for a new manager for the restaurant and had chosen Harold after reviewing the employees’ CVs. The current manager, Harold’s boss, would be Mr. Benerson’s PA now.
“And therefore, let us congratulate our new manager,” Mr. Benerson announced. “You earned it, Harold! I know you’ll be a good fit for the role!”
Harold couldn’t believe his ears. “Thank – Thank you very much, Mr. Benerson. I – I won’t let you down!”
“I’m certain of it, Harold,” Mr. Benerson remarked, smiling. “Good luck!”
Harold’s life turned for the better after that big promotion at work. Mr. Benerson turned out to be a kind soul and offered to cover the expenses for Lydia’s treatment. Harold was beyond grateful to the man and promised to repay him eventually by working hard at the restaurant.
What can we learn from this story?
- Deeds like honesty are always rewarded. Harold might have easily slid more than a $2 bill from the bundle of cash Mr. Benerson offered him. But he didn’t and was eventually rewarded for his honesty by being promoted to the position of manager.
- Taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability, especially the elderly and the disabled, is a terrible thing to do. Harold knew that taking advantage of Mr. Benerson’s blindness could have netted him a hefty tip, but he didn’t want to stoop so low and did the right thing.
This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
