A petty customer stiffed a waiter in Madison, Wisconsin. Instead of a tip, the Loving Christian™ left behind a misspelled note that said, “Service was good but we don’t tip sinfull homosexuals.”
But when news about the hateful diner hit social media, the internet decided to cover the tip – and then some.
Related: This restaurant’s response to a waiter’s anti-gay slur was sheer perfection
Eric Salzwedel, who is behind the Do Good Wisconsin group, heard about the incident and posted a photo of the receipt/note and the response was immediate. The group was born out of a Facebook page that highlighted “do-gooders” and surprised people with small gestures of kindness like unexpectedly paying for someone’s coffee or gas.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
“To the folks who felt it was necessary to write this hateful note and not tip,” he posted in a follow-up post with another receipt lying next to the old one. “Don’t worry me and about 250 others will cover the tip for you.”
The original bill was $142.95 and a $25 tip would be expected for the waiter. Salzwedel’s receipt showed his check was for $45.10. He – and the internet – tipped the waiter $4,500.
Salzwedel later confirmed that he made sure it was the same waiter.
“There’s a lot of opportunities every single day we wake up and we go out that we can either make a positive difference in the lives of people we run into or we can make a negative impact on people we run into every day,” Salzwedel said.
Earlier this year, a Maine-based TikTok star raised over $10,000 for the LGBTQ community in honor of a gay waiter who was discriminated against by people he was serving at a restaurant.
