A regular customer of the Pecanwood Boat Club restaurant in Hartbeespoort, decided one seemingly mundane day to do something extraordinary.
After I wrote a piece on a Capetonian patron of generosity who left an iceberg of a tip of R20 000 to pizzeria Massimo’s in Hout Bay, I thought I had seen the penthouse of individual generosity, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt.
Read Also: A customer left a R20 000 tip, or iceberg rather at Massimo’s pizzeria in Hout Bay
However, I am happy to report that generosity is trending in South Africa, and we have not reached the top floor, but are merely in the elevator.
After only ordering a burger and a drink, our anonymous hero asked if he could leave a tip for all 15 employees to share. Neither the drink nor the burger was gold-infused, but our patron’s heart certainly was. That ‘tip’ as it is so humbly recorded by GoodThingsGuy, would be revealed as R85 000.
The staff broke into tears, and then into song, as General Manager Morne Botha expresses, calling the news “incredible.”
For further context, the timing was almost miraculous. Given that the restaurant had been forced to close at a point due to lockdown restrictions, many staff members had unfortunately gone months without pay.
“He told the staff that he realized they were all going through a difficult time due to the various lockdown regulations and he wanted to give them something. He swiped his bank card and added R85,000 for staff!” Morne Botha expressed as per Bar and Grill News.
Each staff member went on to receive R5 666,67 as a slice of the pie of generosity.
The customer chose to remain anonymous, not just to the media, but to the staff themselves.
As this writer reflects on the tale, I must confer that I am overwhelmed with the outliers of selflessness in our country. Thinking back on my own waitressing days when a 20% tip was exciting, I can only imagine how the staff, in far tougher conditions than many of us who worked in hospitality in years before faced, felt.
I am eagerly anticipating the next heroic story that comes along, and perhaps in the ping pong game of goodwill, the opportunity will arise in the Mother City again.
Picture: Pinterest/Behance.net