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Waiters often bear the brunt of bad days at their restaurants, financially and emotionally. The waiter in this story was shocked when he saw how some of his customers responded.

The waiter in this story had been having a terrible night.

The restaurant where he worked in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was already understaffed. And then one of his colleagues didn’t show up.

And to make matters worse, it was an extremely busy evening. The customers flocked in.

The waiter did what he could. But soon, there was a room full of angry, hungry, thirsty customers.

Two of those customers were Makenzie and Steven Schultz. It was their sixth wedding anniversary, and they had been looking forward to celebrating it with a meal out.

Sadly, the experience was terrible. It took them 20 minutes just to get water.

After that, it was another 40 minutes until they received an appetizer. Finally, it took another hour just to get their entrees.

Naturally, they skipped dessert.

But as the couple sat there, they listened to the people on the other tables.

They heard people complain about the waiter. Many were making fun of him, even when he was within earshot.

Makenzie and Steven had formed their own opinion about the waiter.

They could tell that he was doing nothing wrong. The problems were beyond his control. In fact, if he hadn’t been there, no one would have eaten at all.

“He was running around like crazy and never acted annoyed with any table.” – Makenzie Schultz.

And then the couple realized that the waiter would suffer, money-wise. No one around them was going to leave him a tip. So he was breaking his back for $4.35 an hour.

Makenzie and Steven knew that they had to do something to make the waiter’s night from hell a little better.

So when the bill arrived, the couple left a tip that they thought reflected the waiter’s work, not the overall experience.

They left before the waiter picked up the bill.

When the waiter saw the filled-in bill, he was astounded. The couple’s meal cost $66.65. They had left a tip of $100 on top of that.

Also on the bill was a message: “We’ve both been in your shoes. Paying it forward.” Naturally, they also left a smiley face.

Sure, the waiter’s evening was still terrible. But Makenzie and Steven had really made a difference, and not just because of the money.

The waiter realized that he was doing his best, and that got him through the night.

Makenzie later posted her story onto her Facebook page. She explained that she wasn’t trying to brag. Instead, she was asking people, “to think of the entire situation, before you judge.”

This message really resonated with people.

The post soon went viral. To date, it has gained over 1.8 million likes. It also has more than 360,000 shares and 20,000 comments. People have been saying things like this:

We all like to think that we would have reacted like Mckenzie and Steven. But would we?

It’s so simple to blame easy targets, like overworked waiters, when in actuality, the fault lies elsewhere.

Everyone should try to adopt this mindset. Don’t place blame on what you think is the problem. Always look for the context and help those who are doing their best in a bad situation!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: CNBC, Makenzie Schultz