A Busy Day
It was lunchtime on a Saturday, and Patsy's Pizzeria was filled to capacity with all sorts of characters. The waiters had their hands full, many of them having to serve multiple tables simultaneously. But for one of the servers, Armando Markaj, the lunch rush would turn out to be the least of his troubles.
One of Armando's customers had left him a rude note and no tip. But the young waiter would soon get his comeuppance because the woman didn't just leave a note; she'd unknowingly left one of her most prized possessions in the hands of the waiter she had insulted.
Medical Professional
Armando (27) isn't your typical waiter. His long-term goal was actually to provide a different kind of service to the world. The young man wanted to work in the medical field, but times were tough, and despite good grades, he needed something else to make his dream come true.
That's why he was working at Patsy's—so he could pay for medical school! And the small tip the rude woman had denied him would've gone a long way into possibly saving someone's life in the future. But soon, Armando would realize that he held the woman's future in his hands.
Having A Good Morning
Before the woman arrived at Patsy's, Armando was having a good day. He loved talking with the customers and watching the smile on their faces as they dug into the cheesy slices. His colleagues were also jovial, and the place was like his second home.
Armando had always been proud of himself for the hard work he put in. And he always tried to make those around him happy. On this Saturday, however, it seemed like his charm had run out, especially when this older woman walked in.
Taking The Order
When Armando had gone over to take the woman's order, he sensed that she was unhappy. She had a huge frown on her face, but he couldn't figure out why. After all, the aroma of melted cheese and delicious toppings always made him smile. He apprehensively approached the woman, wondering what was in store for him.
Armando's waiter tendencies kicked in, and he plastered on a smile as he took the woman and her companion's orders (two slices of New-York style pizza). But just as he thought the exchange was over, she stopped him with a surprising question that he wasn't prepared for.
On Her Bad Side
The woman began to complain that there were so few pictures of females in the restaurant. And she demanded answers as to why this was the case. Unfortunately, Armando was only a waiter at Patsy's, so he didn't have the answers she was looking for.
He tried to brush it off and bring back a light-hearted atmosphere, but the woman wasn't going for it. Armando hoped her anger wouldn't cause her to leave, but little did he know that her leaving would cause more damage to herself than to him.
The Manager
The owner of Patsy's, Frank Brinja, watched the incident occur with unease in his belly. He had been running the store for a long time, and he knew that customers who came in looking like that were going to be trouble.
He just hoped that nothing serious would happen. Frank was confident in his staff's ability to handle difficult patrons and knew Armando would make him proud. Well, it turns out all of Frank's sentiments ended up being true on this day—all except one! Something serious did happen.
Leaving In A Huff
Armando continued serving other tables, trying to make the most of his Saturday. But as he walked through the restaurant, he noticed that the woman and her friend were nowhere to be seen. Immediately his spidey senses kicked in, telling him something was wrong.
As his eyes traveled through the pizzeria, he knew with certainty that she was gone. But then he spotted something on the table she had been dining at. Since he was their waiter, he jogged over to find out what the woman had left. But nothing could've prepared him for this...
A Note And An Envelope
On the table, he found two things; the first was lying out in the open as if waiting for someone to discover it. The second item was better hidden, and Armando wondered what the woman could've left behind.
An envelope and a note. Those were the two things left behind. Armando decided to investigate since it didn't seem as if anyone was coming back for it. First, he read the note, and the words brought a lump to his throat.
No Tip
Instead of a tip, Armando received a hurtful note from the woman. He knew that customer-facing roles were difficult, but his skin just wasn't thick enough for this. The woman's note said the following.
"Maybe women don't tip either." Clearly, the woman was upset by the earlier altercation, which wasn't Armando's fault. Despite his heavy heart, the waiter proceeded to open the second item left behind (the envelope), but he was even more unprepared for this!
Life-Changing
Armando was expecting more rude comments but what he found was the complete opposite! The waiter couldn't believe he was holding something like this in his hand. As he stared at the contents of the envelope, he had no idea his life was about to change.
Armando had never seen or held something like this before, and he was sure no one would leave this behind on purpose. He was shocked and, without missing a beat, ran out of the restaurant with the woman's possessions.
A Good Samaritan
When Armando ran out of the pizzeria, he could've made two decisions. Either he would take the old woman's possessions and run off with it, which wasn't such a farfetched idea since she hadn't left a tip and was quite rude.
But the waiter couldn't do that. He wasn't going to forsake his morals and be mean to someone else. He had already decided to find the woman and return her stuff even though she was rude to him.
Nowhere To Be Seen
Unfortunately, running out of the pizzeria didn't have the effect Armando thought it would. The rude woman was nowhere to be seen. He wanted to give her back the envelope, but now it seemed he would have to hold on to it a bit longer.
Dejected, the waiter returned to his place of work, where his colleagues and manager were shocked at his behavior. But when he explained the situation and told them what he had found, they all agreed that he did the right thing. So what did he find?
The Woman
The rude customer at the pizzeria was actually Karen Vincour, an older woman with a lot of grit. Her friends and family would hail her as a kind individual. But she really hadn't shown that side of her at the pizzeria.
She was so angry that she had even left the waiter a note with no tip. Unfortunately, Karen didn't realize that her frustration had forced her to leave something else behind. And when she finally learned it was missing, she almost had a heart attack.
Frantic Search
Karen had a feeling something was off, but she didn't realize what had happened until it was too late. She had lost her most prized possession! The old woman couldn't believe this was happening, and she called her daughter sobbing.
Karen's daughter was surprised and heartbroken at the news. She helped her mother search, hoping that the item was just misplaced. But after looking everywhere, including the trash can, they had to admit that it was gone!
Keep It
While Karen and her daughter thought of ways to recover the missing envelope and its precious contents, Armando and Frank were trying every way possible to contact the woman. Unfortunately, they weren't sure where to start.
But then Karen's daughter had a brilliant idea. Having confirmed the envelope wasn't at home, she suggested they retrace Karen's steps. This meant they would go back to all the places she had visited.
Dead End
Karen and her daughter began their search by calling the numbers of all the places she had been to. Unfortunately, none of them had found anything out of the ordinary at the stores. This left Karen in a real jam.
But why didn't Frank or Armando tell the woman they'd found her envelope when she called? Well, it turns out Karen had made an unfortunate oversight and was now suffering the consequences.
The Wrong Patsy's
Since the popular pizzeria is a franchise, the various stores have different contact numbers. And in her panic, Karen had dialed the wrong Patsy's. So obviously, the people who worked there had no idea what she was talking about.
But even though it seemed like luck wasn't on Patsy's side, there were strangers who were trying very hard to locate her. Despite her behavior, Armando was thinking of a way to get the woman her envelope, especially because it contained this!
Citibank Logo
The envelope had the Citibank logo on it. Armando knew that bank documents were important and confidential. After running out of the pizzeria and not finding the woman, he knew he had to peek into the envelope to find clues to her location.
The contents didn't turn out to be financial papers! In fact, it was something much more precious, and Armando knew they couldn't leave in the lost and found box. But at least the item did reveal a possible clue to finding the old woman.
A Huge Check
Inside the envelope was a check worth an impressive amount of money. It also had Karen's name on it, which would be helpful in trying to get it back to her. The woman was lucky that Armando was a kind individual because others might have cashed it.
The check's value was a whopping $424,000 which would've been more than enough for Armando to quit his job and pay for school. So what would Karen say when she found out that the person she had been rude to ended up helping her?
Life Savings
It turns out that the money was all of Karen's life savings. She had recently sold her house and was looking for a new place. Losing this money meant she would've been homeless and definitely wouldn't have been able to stop for pizza treats.
Karen had currently been living on her friend's couch, and the thought that she might never have her own place was destroying her. She turned to the bank, hoping they would cancel the check, but they had these grim words for her...
No Hope
The bank was sympathetic to the woman's plight, but they admitted that there wasn't anything they could do about canceling the check. It turns out that Karen had a cashier's check, and that meant they had to wait three months before canceling.
While this was terrible news for Karen, it was a stroke of good fortune for the person who possessed the check. According to the bank, anyone who had the check could easily cash it in. And with no luck in finding it, it seemed Karen would have to accept the horrible hand she'd been dealt.
Last Resort
Armando and Frank knew that this was just too much money to hold on to. Their job was to make sure customers were happy, but now they'd have to go beyond delivering scrumptious pizzas.
The men came up with an idea on how to get Karen's attention, but it was a massive step to take. It's rare to find people who would go so far out of their way to help someone else, but the staff at this Patsy's was truly exceptional and began putting their plan into motion.
Newspaper Headline
Frank decided to call in the big guns. He knew they'd be able to locate anyone within a matter of hours, so he contacted the staff at a local newspaper agency. The journalists were amazed by the story and were more than happy to help.
They posted a story about Armando finding the check and urged Karen to come forward and claim her money. Everyone hoped the woman would see it and respond because if she didn't, they weren't sure how else they could get into contact with her.
A Billionaire
Armando and Frank believed that if Karen showed up, she'd do it in style. After all, she must've been a billionaire to be walking around with that amount of money. Karen's arrogant attitude towards the waiter also hadn't painted a great picture of her.
But little did they know that Karen would be rendered homeless without this money. The pizzeria employees were doing an extraordinary deed, and they were totally unaware of it. But would Karen even see the article or show up?
Relief At Last
Karen couldn't explain the relief that flooded her body when she saw the Dailynews article. After searching for so long, the thing she'd been looking for showed up at her doorstep. Within minutes of reading it, she made the call to Patsy's (the correct one this time).
Frank was just as delighted that he had found the owner of the huge check. He told the woman to come in and pick it up as soon as she could. Karen wasted no time rushing over, but as she neared the pizzeria, her heart began to sink as she remembered a critical detail.
Scared To Walk In
Karen stood outside the store, unable to walk in. Her mind kept remembering what had happened the last time she was here. Despite searching frantically for her money ever since she'd lost it, she now couldn't make herself go in.
She knew she had left a nasty note for the waiter, thinking she'd never have to see him again. But now, the tables had turned. Karen chided herself for what she had done and hoped that she wouldn't have to face Armando today.
Eye Contact
But as fate would have it, Karen was unlucky again. As she entered the busy pizzeria, the first person she saw was Armando. It seemed as if he had been waiting for her. The two made eye contact, and it was like they were having a visual conversation.
Frank rushed over to the woman with the envelope, and the joy she felt was indescribable. She thanked the kind owner but knew there was something else she had to do. She turned to Armando and uttered these words.
Surprising Gesture
Karen thanked the waiter for his quick thinking and helpful ways. She also apologized for the note and explained that she was just angry at his playful response to her serious question. But she didn't stop there.
The woman felt there was more she needed to do for Armando to show her appreciation. He had saved her from a life of couch-surfing with friends and family. She wanted to do something for him that would mean just as much.
A Shocking Answer
Karen spoke to Frank and Armando about the tip she never left behind. And after learning that the waiter was saving for medical school, she felt it her duty to help. She offered Armando the tip that she should've given him the other day.
Armando was surprised at the woman's gesture, and he thought about it for a moment before replying. After all, he had offended her by offering a brash answer in the past. Everyone waited to hear what he would say, but again he surprised them.
Kindness Wins
Armando decided that he wouldn't accept the money from Karen. Even though it was a small amount, he wanted to stay true to himself. He accepted that the woman hadn't thought him worthy of a tip in the past and didn't want her to change her mind because of this situation.
He is and will always be a kind person who does the right thing without expecting a reward. Armando's words and story serve as a good lesson for anyone who mistreats waiters. Fate deals out mysterious hands, and one day they could be the ones helping you!