It has been another exhausting day for Markaj, a waiter in a small pizza place. No surprise, he unexpectedly offended two customers, who left a note for him on the table before leaving the pizzeria.
Thinking of it as nothing but the usual customer complaint, Markaj stuffed it in his pockets and forgot about it until he reached home. When he finally got a chance to look at that mysterious envelope, he gasped. That tiny note could easily turn his life into a pure nightmare!
A Busy Saturday
Armando Markaj had been working there as a waiter for nine years. He prided himself on being a hard worker because he was pursuing medical school at the same time.
May 4th was Saturday and turned out to be one of the busiest days for the pizzeria. Markaj was on his toes as well when a mother and daughter walked in. Following his usual regime, he handed them over the pizzeria’s menu. The two women were staring at the wall. It wasn’t unusual for people to do so because the walls were decorated with portraits and posters. But one strange question was coming Markaj’s way.
One Strange Question
It had been a stressful day at work for the mother-daughter duo, who were part of a charity of underprivileged women and children. To cool off and get something down their stomach, the pair ordered two slices of New York-style Pizza. Eventually, the mother asked an odd question to Markaj: “Why aren’t there more women on the wall?”
Markaj was a little baffled at the question because he wasn’t the one who put up the portraits in the first place. He gathered himself and still replied, “There are more women on the walls, just not where you are sitting.”
Joke Gone Wrong
The duo wasn’t satisfied with what Markaj had to say. The mother retaliated by saying “Not as much as there should be.” Markaj was stumped and had no idea how and what to respond.
He then decided to diffuse the tension by infusing humour. He replied, “Well, summer is coming, probably women don’t like to eat pizza as much.” He knew that that was not the appropriate response!
Offended Customers
Markaj knew that he had committed a mistake. He sensed that he was going to have a hard time with them.
When the mother-daughter duo received their pizza, they immediately asked for the check. It might have seemed normal at that time, but Markaj had no idea what was going to happen next.
An Insulting Note
When Markaj looked at the table after some time, both the women had already left. When he looked at the check, he realized that there wasn’t any tip.
One of the women even left him a note. The note read “Women eat pizza, and by the way, have you heard that women don’t leave tips?” Markaj felt terrible but there was something else on the table as well.
A Mysterious Envelope
When Markaj was cleaning their table, he noticed a discarded envelope. He was about to throw it away but then decided to at least check what it was.
Markaj opened the envelope flap and he saw the ‘Citibank’ logo. It definitely wasn’t a tip. Was it some important document?
The Dilemma
Even after it was a busy Saturday, Markaj took his own sweet time to ponder over what had just happened. He was now stuck in a dilemma.
Should he return the envelope to the ungrateful customers or keep it as his overdue tip? This moral dilemma clouded his judgement but Markaj wasn’t a selfish person.
Immediately Ran to Help
Instead of keeping the cheque as a tip that he didn’t receive, he decided to run down the street to find the customers. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen.
At that particular moment, it was sort of impossible for Markaj to return the money. He didn’t know their names or how to contact them. He then returned to Patsy’s, debating what to do.
The Shocking Amount!
Markaj decided to open the envelope, despite the fact that it could be seen as a breach of privacy. He did it because such bank documents always have the name of the owner. But he couldn't have imagined what he saw!!!
Inside was a cheque for $424,000! Markaj soon realized that he was in a very critical position because that was a mammoth amount of money! Were the women ultra-rich? Stay tuned to find out!
Reaching Out
Feeling baffled, Markaj reached out to his boss. Frank Brija is currently Patsy’s owner. They normally used to put things left behind in the lost and found box.
But this time around, it was a matter of almost half a million dollars! Markaj was sure that he wasn’t going to keep the amount, no matter how rude the ladies acted. When the owner saw the check, he said “Oh my!”
Super-rich?
Karen Vinacour was the name written on the check. Both Brija and Markaj thought that she must be a billionaire because who walks into a pizzeria with such a hefty check!
Brija then asked his son, Adam Brija to find out about the women. Because if she were a wealthy lady, it would become a lot easier to track her down.
No Trace
Each and every person concerned with the matter gave it their all to track the rightful owner of the check. There were many Karen Vinacours out there but none of them looked like the lady who walked into that pizzeria.
Brija even waited at the restaurant. He told Los Angeles Times “I thought she would return because even a billionaire would miss that much money!”
Not a Billionaire
Karen Vinacour turned out to be a 79-year-old mother and a retired social worker. She spent most of her time volunteering with charities to aid underprivileged women and children.
She was going to use that check of $424,000 as the downpayment of her new home. She received that amount when she sold her old house. But there’s a reason why she didn’t simply just cancel the check. Read on!
Homeless Karen
Besides her retirement money, Karen Vinacour only had that check as it was her entire life’s savings. She had just sold her home and needed that money to buy a new one.
Without that check, she was homeless. She was in a very stressful position and that pretty much explains her behaviour at Patsy’s.
A Stressful Day
Before that eventful day, Vinacour was couch-surfing with family and friends, hunting for a new condo. She was finding it very hard to secure a loan, despite her spotless credit history.
“It was a very stressful day.” She later revealed in an interview that the bank did not finance her enough to pay off a new home.
Stressful Time at Patsy’s Too
By the time the mother-daughter duo reached Patsy’s for lunch, they were completely worn out. They had spent the entire day house-hunting, budgeting and calling their real estate broker.
“Well, my daughter’s kind of feisty, and she didn’t like that,” Vinacour said, “so we didn’t tip him.”
Why Didn’t She Cancel the Cheque?
It wasn’t until the next day that Karen realized that the check was missing. Even after realizing this, she didn’t panic.
“I figured, it’s a check; I’ll just go to the bank and ask them to stop it,” Vinacour later said. But when she reached the bank, the employees didn’t have positive news for her.
Terrible News
The bank employees told her that it was a cashier’s check and they will have to wait at least three months before cancelling it. And that too, if someone didn’t cash it already!
This is when Karen started to panic as her entire life’s savings was GONE! Without that check, she was on the verge of becoming homeless but then, a saviour arrived!
Panic Phase Begins
Karen soon ran up the street to a café where she and her daughter had coffee. Sadly, they did not have the check.
She was running out of options as she checked her purse, her house, and even her trash can! The check was nowhere to be seen!
Wrong Patsy’s
When Karen decided to call Patsy’s and enquire about the check, they denied seeing the check. Because she accidentally called the wrong Patsy’s!
Her real estate agent also remained in the loop as she later claimed in an interview “She said she had called Patsy’s, and nobody knew anything about a check,” the agent said. “I didn’t stop to think that maybe she called the wrong one.”
Markaj’s Plan
Since Markaj and Brija couldn’t trace the owner of the check, they decided to call New York’s Hometown Newspaper for aid.
When Brija explained the whole incident, writers of the Hometown Newspaper went to work. The idea was to find the check’s owner and report a story about the selfless waiter who rescued her.
Found Success!
It didn’t take long for the newspaper employees to track down Karen Vinacour. They called her up and enquired whether she lost something valuable at Patsy’s.
A breathless Vinacour answered the call and said “I’m jumping in a cab. I’ll be there right away.”
The Reunion
When Vinacour entered Patsy’s, she saw Markaj standing there with her check in his hand. With no ill-will and grudge, he returned the check with a smile on his face.
He told ABC 7 “He was super excited that someone had found it and kept it.” Respect to Markaj for pulling off the right thing!
Lucky
Karen, told NBC 4 “Markaj is an amazing young man. I mean, he had that option of throwing it in the garbage, because we were not very nice to him.”
Karen had absolutely no hope that she would encounter the waiter again. Her perception of him drastically changed. All thanks to his selfless deed!
Tour of the Restaurant
Brija not only assisted in tracking down Karen but once she landed there, he also offered Karen a free pizza. He also gave her a tour of the pizzeria.
Brija told her about the women on the wall and showed her portraits of legendary journalist Barbara Walters, and former City Council Speakers Christine Quinn and Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Surprise for Vinacour
Brija not only returned her check but also had another surprise planned for her!
The pizza owner told her “We’re going to take a picture here today with you, and I’m going to put that on the wall, too.”
Karen Apologized
Karen soon realized that she needed to apologize for her behaviour towards Markaj that day. She claimed that handing over that passive-aggressive note wasn’t her best moment. Karen Vinacour then offered to give Makraj his overdue tip money.
Markaj, surprisingly, declined the money! He thought that it was enough for him that Karen was reunited with her life’s savings. Needless to say, Markaj will be remembered for a long time, thanks to his generosity and honesty!
A Token of Respect
When Karen couldn’t convince Markaj to accept the overdue tip, she planned to give him a gift certificate to buy education supplies. Karen knew how much school costs because of her daughter’s university fees.
She later told ABC 7 “I’m so grateful that the insult that we gave him did not prevent him from doing the right thing!” If Markaj hadn’t returned the check, she would have been homeless today!
Karma At Work?
Surprisingly, this entire incident happened shortly before Mother’s Day! Now that Karen got her money back, she could celebrate the auspicious day peacefully, despite their negative actions. Markaj deemed it both ironic and heartwarming.
Markaj had this to say in an interview with the Los Angeles Times “I guess I figured that it was just karma for them.” To which, Karen replied “I believe in karma too. I guess that’s what helped get me back to you.”