Man Spent 6 Hours Eating At Restaurant While Secretly Raising $1,000 Tip For His Server

Apr 12, 2021 by apost team

Losing never leaves a good taste in your mouth. But you know what does? Waffles! And you also know what leaves a good taste in one’s mouth, as well as the rest of their body? Charity! In Georgia this past January, a man took the bad taste of losing out of his mouth by combining the sweetness and fluffiness of a stack of waffles and the work of raising over $1,000 for the person bringing him the breakfast food. 

Meet Michael Carsley. According to Fox News, the young man resides in Atlanta, GA. Like millions of Americans, during the autumn and winter, he and a group of his friends play fantasy football. The Sports Management Degree Hub found in a study on fantasy sports that out of the 56.8 million people who reside in the USA and Canada that play fantasy sports, 73% of those millions (or more than 40 million) people play fantasy football, making it by far the most popular out of all the sporting leagues that have fantasy leagues. Carsley, being one of those 40 million, entered the season with the high hopes of finishing at the very top of his league and earning bragging rights over his friends and whatever other wager that came with a championship.

Carsley finished at the bottom of the league though. Well, the wise poet Robert Burns once said “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Having to taste the bitterness of a last-place finish, a pre-season wager landed the last-place finisher (Carsley) in Waffle House for 24 hours!

A man of his word, Carsley stepped into a Waffle House in Chamblee, GA, and sat down to devour as many waffles as possible to get out of the bet. At least, that was part of the plan. Carsley decided to alter the punishment in his own way. Unbeknownst to his waiter, one Mosammat Shumi, Carsley live-streamed his punishment and asked people watching him on Facebook Livestream to raise money, which he would give to his waitress as a tip. 

Spending more than five hours in Waffle House, Carsley was ready to ask for the check. Carsley ate 18 waffles as a punishment or a reward, depending on how hungry one is or how much one enjoys waffles. Still, Carsley did not have to face his trial by syrup alone. On his live stream, his followers and others raised a total of $1,040 for his unsuspecting waitress.

Not wanting to forget the moment when he gave her the $1000 tip, Carsley recorded Shumi's reaction to seeing the bill and tip. Carsley put the bill up to the camera to show he was paying $1,098.58, meaning that he had spent a total of $49.58 on waffles at the chain restaurant. As he handed the signed check to Shumi, he thanked her for her service. Off-camera, Shumi expressed gratitude, surprise, and appreciation before Carsley turned the camera onto her. Overcome with emotions, Shumi covered her eyes. Carsley wrote a follow-up post to Facebook, expressing his own gratitude at the show of support for his one-man campaign to help his waitress.

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His simple and yet heartwarming Facebook post read:

"Today was nothing short of incredible. I appreciate and am thankful for everyone’s generosity. We raised $1,040 for our server, and the experience of watching her reaction was priceless. Though the Waffle House punishment was absolutely miserable, it was well worth it in the end."

A spokesperson for Waffle House had this to say to Carsley according to Fox News. 

"While we are sorry that Michael Carsley was unable to win his Fantasy Football league, we are honored that he chose to spend some time with us last Sunday. In doing so, he and his friends graciously turned a losing bet into something greater and extra special for our Associate, Mosammat Shumi, a beloved member of her restaurant team. We also appreciate the way Mr. Carsley and his friends chose to recognize Ms. Shumi, a 12-year Waffle House veteran, for her service by thoughtfully pooling funds together in order to serve her such an extremely generous tip. We know it made her day, and it certainly made ours, so on behalf of our entire Waffle House Team, we thank them."

The spokesperson even added on a little joke after the whole circumstances were explained: "We do wish Mr. Carsley better luck with his next Fantasy Football team. But just in case, we’ll be sure to keep the waffle bakers hot and ready." Despite the cheeky comment, we hope Carsley's next fantasy football adventure will have a better ending and see him win the league - he certainly deserves it!

What are some of your favorite memories of great customer service? Tell us of your past experiences and see if your friends and family would enjoy this story —or maybe they even have their own to tell.