The Stumbling Inn restaurant in New Hampshire has come in for criticism after the owner forced a bartender to share their $16,000 tip with the rest of the staff.
The anonymous customer who left the hefty tip on their $37.93 tab probably never thought it was cause viral controversy but loads of people have voiced their discontent.
Restaurant owner Mike Zarella told Today Food:
“At around 3:30, he asked the bartender… 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.’ People that are well-deserving got a huge tip. 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. They’re like, ‘Wow, I can go do this this summer. I didn’t budget for that, now I can do that.’ It’s really fantastic.”
Internet users outraged by the tip not going straight to the server flooded the restaurant with bad reviews and it seems their fury is backed up legally. Under federal and state law, tips belong to the employee, not the employer. Also New Hampshire does not require employees to pay part of their tips into a tip pool to split with other employees.
