GLEN ALLEN, Va. — A 19-year-old Texas Roadhouse waitress may have had a rocky start at her shift on Jan. 2, but her fortune changed when two customers left her a $1,000 tip.
The New Year is off to a good start for Savannah Hudson, who said she wasn’t feeling her best when she went to work on Monday night. She was slated to close that night, and had to hang in there no matter what.
“The ‘off’ feeling definitely reflected in my tips and I knew I wasn’t doing so good tonight,” she said in an online post.“It got to the point where I didn’t even want anymore [sic] tables, even though I knew I possibly was going to get one of the last tables, for I was a closer.”
Anyone who has worked in the food industry knows that one table can change your entire mood – for better or worse.
Ms. Hudson said the minute she greeted an older couple, age 72 and 74, they hit it off.
“They were so delightful as to where I forgot I was just their server,” she said. “They made me feel as though they we’re [sic] my grandparents.”
In the 90 minutes they were there, Hudson said they treated her like she was their granddaughter.
“I told them about my family and how I’m going to school and I’m going to be working at the same time,” she said. “It wasn’t to say ‘aw poor me’ it was more so ‘I’m so excited to be going to school.'”
They told her they were proud of her and hugs and pleasantries were exchanged when Hudson brought back the bill and said goodbye.
At least she thought that was the end.
“While I was cleaning in the kitchen a server came up to me to say my table really wants me and I came out to talk to them and they handed me the merchant copy of the receipt and told me ‘this is an investment,'” Hudson recalled.
She said that “with any tip I receive, I never open it in front of the people that give it to me, I show that I’m grateful for just their presence, as I was with this table very much.”
So she thanked them with a big smile and hugged the woman goodnight.
When she went to close out their check, she found a $1,000 check signed by the couple.
“I went over to a couple of coworkers and started to cry and showed them the check and I saw the door open and he came back in and told me to stop crying and that he invests his money into things that he knows is worth it, and so I hugged him and thanked him with so much gratitude and he kissed me on the cheek,” she said.
“Even now, sitting here it feels surreal,” she said. “To know that there are people out there that invests in someone that they don’t even know, and something like this could easily change anyone’s life.”
“I was blessed tonight and I will definitely be returning the favor,” she added.
