Pizza Hut Waitress Gets $10,000 Tip

[Kor37 9]

Pizza Hut Waitress Gets $10,000 Tip

ABC News

Posted: 2007-07-13 13:05:09

Filed Under: Nation

(July 13) — It was just a typical day on the job at the Pizza Hut in Angola, Ind., for 20-year-old Jessica Osborne when out of the blue, she received a gift that would change her life: a $10,000 tip from one of her customers.

 

The customer who gave the tip had suffered a terrible loss: her husband and oldest daughter died in a car crash, and she had received a large settlement. Using some of the money to help Jessica Osborne "just seemed like the right thing to do," the customer said.

 

"When I opened it up, I just — I thought maybe I read too many zeros and I lost my breath," Osborne said on "Good Morning America." "It was amazing."

 

The tip of a lifetime came from a family of regular customers. Every Friday, Becky and her family, who asked that their last name not be used, come in and order the same thing: a Meatlovers pizza, half pepperoni, half black olives and mushrooms. Becky said Osborne always came to the table with a smile on her face.

 

"She was sweet and bright and cheerful and never complained," Becky said. "She was just a sweet waitress."

 

But Osborne had recently been let down by financial troubles that were keeping her ambitions at bay. She had enrolled in a local college but was forced to withdraw because of a lack of financial aid. She told Becky's family about the textbooks she had bought and kept in the trunk of her car and her dreams to become a photographer.

 

"I thought, 'This is a very generous person,'" Becky said, "and we enjoyed just talking to her, finding out about her life."

 

Osborne got to know Becky and her family through their weekly pizza dinners, but she didn't realize that they had recently suffered a great tragedy. Becky's husband and eldest daughter were killed in a car accident, and she had been left with a large settlement.

 

Once Becky heard about Osborne's broken dreams, she decided to use some of the money from the settlement to make them come true.

 

"We decided we needed to help Jessica and she was there, we were there, and it just seemed like the right thing to do," Becky said.

 

Osborne is deciding where to go to school, relieved that she now has the money to pay for it. For now, she's still getting over the shock of the much more than 15-percent tip.

 

"It's unbelievable. It doesn't happen to people every day," she said. "I mean, I work at Pizza Hut!"

 

 

 

This reminds me of one of my favorite movies called "It Could Happen To You" starring Nicholas Cage and Bridget Fonda. Cage plays a cop who doesn't have enough money to leave a tip for a waitress so he promises her that if he wins the lottery that day, he would give her half. Naturally, he wins the lottery.Its a real heart-warming movie.

[Gummy 0]

It's nice to see a story with a happy ending for a change. :biggrin:

[Odie 0]

I wonder how much out of $10,000 will she have to pay in taxes. :biggrin:

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I wonder how much out of $10,000 will she have to pay in taxes. :biggrin:

 

I guess it depends on whether it is a tip or a gift. Typically you can receive a certain amount of cash as a "gift" without paying taxes - I think the limit is around $10,000. But since they are calling this a "tip" - I think those are taxed as regular wages - I'm guessing a Pizza Hut waitress isn't in a high tax bracket.

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

No, but this tip will notch her up at least one bracket.

[MrPsychic 1]

I wonder how much out of $10,000 will she have to pay in taxes. :biggrin:

I'm sure if she's a student, and no one could claim her as a dependent, she could get most of the taxes back.

[thestupidvulcan 0]

I don't think you pay taxes on money going towards college tuition. Some government bonds work like that. But I'm no tax expert.

 

It's great to hear a story that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :biggrin:

[jadziaezri 0]

Van Roy is an accountant, he could probably tell us. Thats if he was ever around. Hes too busy chasing Krissy, wink!!!