Ashley Latella was about to finish her shift at the Seagrape Cafe in Connecticut when three men walked in. As soon as gave them the menus, she felt that something was off.
And when they demanded to settle the bill in private, Ashley realized that she might have just gotten herself in trouble...
They Wanted To Settle The Bill In Private
When the men were ready to leave, they asked for their check, which came to $112. But instead of paying with their credit card, they asked her if they could settle it privately.
Ashley was confused. "It was a strange request and I was a little concerned," she recalled.
She Notified Her Manager
She didn't feel comfortable settling the bill in private with three men, so she notified her manager, Carlos Carmo, of the situation.
Carlos, Ashley, and the men took the meeting in the kitchen and she was prepared for the worst.
They Just Wanted To Pay Their Bill
The men, however, just wanted to settle their bill. But there was a reason they didn't want to pay in a public place.
But what they did next shocked Ashley to the core...
A Very Generous Tip
The men added a generous tip to their bill - $500. But one of the men told Ashley to take a better look.
"At first I thought it was $500, but the gentleman told me to look closer and I realized it was $5,000," she recalled.
She Was Shocked
The men were tipping $5,000 on a $112 bill!
"I burst out into tears because I was so happy and thankful," Ashley recalled. But why would they tip her so much?
The Biggest Tip Of Her Life
Although Ashley had received some generous tips before, she had never gotten a 4,464% tip.
"Afterward, I gave him a hug. It was such a nice gesture," she said. But the men weren't done with doing good deeds just yet.
She Didn't Keep The Money
Ashley decided to split her tip with her other four coworkers at the Seagrape.
She decided not to keep the money for herself. Instead, she used this money to buy toys for disadvantaged children. And she wasn't alone.
They Bought Toys
"This was our way of sharing our good fortune with the community," said Ashley. She and Carlos gave the toys to Al's Angels of Westport.
"“There are great people, generous and giving people out there," she continued.
"You Can Still Give"
"I think the moral of the story is it doesn’t matter how much money you have, you can still give.”
But the men who tipped her $5,000 weren't done being generous. People from different cities have reported receiving very large tips from the three men.
Tips For Jesus
The men always signed the bill "Tips for Jesus." And it turns out, they have an Instagram account with this name!
Tips For Jesus has over 84,000 followers!
"One Tip At A Time"
The men do just what they did to Ashley - leave generous tips.
Their tagline is "Doing the Lord's work, one tip at a time." Their Instagram account is filled with photos of smiling waiters and the bills.
They Travelled Around The World
All of these people have one thing in common: they received generous tips.
The three men had traveled around the world to surprise servers with large tips. Their photos come from Chicago, Los Angeles, San Franciso, and even Europe!
It All Started In 2013
When the account was created in 2013, the user was anonymous.
Their hashtag #tipsforjesus trended on Instagram. And in December alone, they tipped over $11,500! But who is the person behind this account?
Jack Selby
His name is Jack Selby. He is a formal executive from PayPal.
He was one of the members of the "PayPal Mafia," a group of executives who left the company to work on other tech ventures. Some of them had made billions doing it!