Arkansas Waitress Shocked to Get $2,000 Tip on $278 Meal
— -- A waitress at Logan's Roadhouse in Fort Smith, Arkansas, says she got the shock of a lifetime while working the Tuesday lunch shift.
Loran Lopez, 19, a student at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, was at her part-time waitress gig when a regular customer came in with a friend.
"I've seen her in there before but I've never spoken to her," Lopez told ABC News today. "I've always heard about her tipping well, but I've never experienced it myself until this time."
After the meal, "She gave me the receipt, and I didn't look at it," Lopez said. "I finished serving her and walked to the computer to put my tip in."
Lopez found herself staring at a $278.55 bill with a $2,000.00 tip.
"I couldn't talk for a good two minutes," she said. "I sat there and started at it. I couldn't believe what happened."
The customer was still there, so Lopez went over and hugged her.
"I thanked her a million times," Lopez said. "She said, 'I know I don't have to tip, there's no gun pointing at my head, it's something that I want to do for people.' She used to be a waitress, too, so she just likes to give back."
The woman wanted to remain private, Lopez said, so she is keeping her name anonymous. But Lopez said the customer is a regular at Logan's Roadhouse and has given big tips to other waitresses there and at other restaurants.
"She thinks waitresses deserve more than what they're getting," Lopez said. "She's so generous."
The restaurant's manager, Lloyd Wolcott, said he was at the restaurant at the time of the big tip.
"[The tipper] took care of the people who gave her great service," he said. "It makes me feel good that somebody thinks that somebody's worth that kind of money for the hard work that they've put in."
Lopez said she'll put the money towards college expenses.
"It's a blessing," she added. "I'm very grateful for what she did. I didn't expect it at all."
