Mariana Lambert, a waitress at Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, was thrilled when a customer left several thousand dollars as a tip for her service. He felt like he had just hit the jackpot, until the generous patron decided he wanted the money back and now the restaurant is taking the man to court. The customer, identified as Eric Smith, had ordered a stromboli that cost just $13.25. He charged the item to his credit card, added the $3,000 tip and wrote, “Tips for Jesus.” The male patron claimed the generous tip was part of a social media movement called Tips for Jesus. A “shocked” Lambert said it was an extremely generous gesture that “really touched my heart”, at a time when many people and businesses were getting back on their feet after COVID. “It really meant a lot to me because everybody goes through things,” she said. But Lambert learned that the generous customer wasn’t so generous after all, and he disputed the charge with his credit card company. However, the restaurant had already handed over the $3,000 to Lambert.
Mariana Lambert, a waitress at Alfredo’s Cafe said she was surprised to be given such a huge tip. “It really meant a lot to me because everybody goes through things,” she said. Weeks later, the patron disputed the charge and the restaurant had to fork over the cash to pay Lambert The customer, identified as Eric Smith, ordered a stromboli that cost $13.25. He charged the item to his credit card, added the $3,000 tip and wrote, “Tip for Jesus. “He claimed the generous tip was part of a social media movement called ‘Tips for Jesus’ Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe is suing the patron for $3,000. The manager said the restaurant hoped it was just a big misunderstanding and made several attempts to contact the customer on Facebook, but his messages went unanswered. When the restaurant contacted Smith about the charge he was disputing, they hoped it was just a big misunderstanding and had started talking to Smith via Facebook. The restaurant management hoped to resolve the incident, but after many of their posts went unanswered, they had to get involved with the judge’s office and file charges. Zachary Jacobson, the manager at Alfredo’s Cafe described the whole ordeal as “aggravating.” “We’re out of money at this point and he told us to sue him, so that’s what we’re going to end up doing, I guess,” Jacobson said in part, WNEP News reported. Zachary Jacobson, the manager at Alfredo’s Cafe described the whole ordeal as “aggravating.” “We’re out of money at this point and he told us to sue him, so that’s what we’re going to end up doing, I guess,” Jacobson said in part. A scene from “The Launch Party” that appeared in the fourth season of The Office. The episode drew more than 8.91 million viewers, according to a report Dunder Mifflin’s Michael Scott (Steve Carell) during a scene on The Office during the hilarious episode “The Launch Party” Jacobson said at first when his server received the surprising tip he was happy for Lambert and said, “someone was really trying to do something good.” Three months later and nothing has been resolved. He hopes they will win in court and get their $3,000 back Meanwhile, he calls Lambert a “hard-working” waitress who was worth the money and the incident as “a nice piece of PR for a small business.” “I hope he owns up to his actions and comes forward and pays for it because you shouldn’t have done that if that was the end result,” he said. In Season 4 of “The Office” Alfredo’s Pizza Café was mentioned in the episode: “The Launch Party” “You know what’s the best?” Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe or Pizza by Alfredo?” Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe is a real restaurant in Scranton. Alfredo’s pizza is not.