Pennsylvania Restaurant Wants To Sue Customer For $3,000 Waitress Tip

A well-known pizza restaurant in Pennsylvania, which gained fame from being mentioned on the popular comedy series "The Office," has filed a lawsuit against a customer. The customer had initially left a $3,000 tip but later requested the restaurant to return the money.

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“It’s just a little aggravating right now. It’s been causing a lot of nonsense and drama,” Zachary Jacobson, manager of Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe in Scranton, told local news station WNEP of the act of kindness gone awry.

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Jacobson mentioned that the restaurant has taken legal action against the customer and emphasized that everyone had believed that someone genuinely intended to perform a kind gesture.

The situation involving the tip started in June when a customer of the pizza restaurant, identified as Eric Smith, left an astonishing $3,000 tip on a mere $13 bill for waitress Mariana Lambert. This customer had ordered just a single plate of stromboli. It was reported that the substantial tip, which could have been life-changing, was given as part of a social media trend called "Tips For Jesus."

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The story became very popular on social media, and many people talked about this supposed kind action. Even though they were initially unsure because of the large amount of money, the restaurant staff became thrilled when they saw the payment go through on their credit card machine.

Lambert was really surprised when she saw the big tip, especially since restaurants were still having a hard time because of COVID-19 and had to close down. “It really meant a lot to me because everyone’s going through stuff,” she gushed. “It really touched my heart. I still can’t believe it. I’m still in shock.”

The staff's happiness turned into disappointment when they got a letter saying that Eric was contesting the charge for the tip he had given, according to Jacobson. Even though the restaurant had already given the tip money to Lambert, they ended up losing around $3,000, as reported by WNEP.

Worried about the situation, Alfredo's Cafe tried to contact Smith on Facebook, hoping that there was a misunderstanding. However, the person who changed their mind about the tip hasn't been responding to the messages from the restaurant.

“We thought somebody was actually trying to do a good thing,” lamented Jacobson. “And then now we are, what, three months later? Not even, and there’s nothing.”

With no other options left, Alfredo's Cafe made the decision to sue Smith in an effort to recover the $3,000.

"It's just a little aggravating right now. It's been causing a lot of nonsense and drama," said Jacobson.

“Unfortunately, we had to file charges through the magistrate’s office because now we’re just out of this money at this point,” said Jacobson. “And he told us to sue him, so that’s what we’re going to end up doing, I guess.”

He added, “I hope that he owns up to his actions and comes forth and does pay this, because you shouldn’t have done this if this was the end result.”

One of the notable reasons for Alfredo's recognition is its mention in Season 4, Episode 3 of the well-known NBC comedy series "The Office."

In that particular episode titled "Launch Party," the manager of Dunder Mifflin's office, Michael Scott, shares that he has bought pizza from Alfredo's for all the employees.

However, their excitement turns to disappointment when they discover that their manager didn't choose Alfredo's Pizza Cafe, their preferred option. Instead, he went for Pizza by Alfredo, which is considered to be of lower quality, humorously described by Kevin as a "hot circle of garbage."