LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A routine lunch at a famous Los Angeles deli turned into an unusual act of kindness after a Texas man drove home and realized he could not remember whether he had left a tip for his waitress.
Roberto José Andrade Franco, an ESPN writer from El Paso, had visited Langer’s Deli in Los Angeles in May while traveling in California.
At the time, nothing about the meal seemed unusual. But after returning home, one question continued to bother him: Had he actually left a tip?
He was fairly certain that he had. But being fairly certain was not enough.
According to a Facebook post shared by the restaurant, Andrade Franco eventually contacted Langer’s from El Paso and explained what had happened.
Then he did something few customers would think to do. He mailed $50 to the restaurant.
Man Sends $50 Just in Case He Forgot to Tip
The restaurant explained that Andrade Franco remembered several details about his visit, including the booth where he had eaten and the morning he stopped by.
Those details were included in his message because he wanted the restaurant to track down the server who had waited on him. The restaurant described his reasoning in a post, saying he could not shake the question of whether he had left a tip.
“Pretty sure wasn’t good enough,” the restaurant wrote.
So Andrade Franco sent $50 in an envelope, asking that the money be given to his waitress if he had forgotten to tip her during his visit. The restaurant later confirmed that the waitress received the money.
And her reaction was immediate. According to Langer’s, she “was floored” by the unexpected gesture.
Meal Confusion Left Customer Unsure About Tip
In the letter Andrade Franco sent to the restaurant, he explained why he had become so uncertain about what happened at the end of his meal.
He said he had been eating with friends, and when the check arrived, the group got into a back-and-forth discussion over who would pay for the meal.
Between figuring out the bill, doing the math and saying goodbye, Andrade Franco said he could no longer confidently remember whether he had included a tip.
That uncertainty followed him after he returned to Texas. Rather than simply assuming everything had been handled correctly, he decided to take action.
He explained that he did not want the possibility of having forgotten the tip to continue bothering him, particularly because he understood the importance of gratuities from personal experience.
His Own Service Industry Experience Inspired the Gesture
Andrade Franco explained that he had firsthand experience working in the service industry.
“My first job was as a bus boy and waiter, and my sister also worked as a waiter for years,” he wrote. That background gave him an understanding of how much service workers can depend on tips.
“I recognize how important these tips are to workers,” he added. That was the main reason he decided to send the $50.
“That’s why I’m sending these $50 just in case I forgot to include the tip.”
His decision meant that even if he had already tipped the waitress during his original visit, he was willing to spend another $50 simply to make sure she received something.
Restaurant Praises Customer for Doing the Right Thing
Langer’s Deli praised Andrade Franco for making the effort despite having no way of knowing whether anyone would ever discover that he had forgotten a tip.
“Roberto, thank you for going out of your way to do the right thing when nobody would have known otherwise,” the restaurant said. “Your table’s always ready here.”
The waitress who received the money did not wish to be publicly identified.
However, one of her co-workers, Langer’s employee Frank Worster, said she was more than deserving of the unexpected recognition.
“She does so much for this place,” Worster told. “Helping out in little places. People come to see her for years. She’s just a great person.”
What began as a simple uncertainty over a restaurant bill ultimately turned into a memorable gesture for a longtime service worker.
And for Andrade Franco, the decision was straightforward: if there was even a chance he had forgotten the tip, he wanted to make it right.
Would you go back and send money if you weren’t sure you had tipped your server? Tell us what you would do in the comments.