PA Waitress Not Given a Tip, Received the Word ‘Mask’ on Receipt

When restaurants opened up earlier in the summer to lift some rules during quarantine, servers, chefs, bartenders, bussers and hostesses were willing to put their own health and safety at risk to gain an extra load of cash. In return, you would think these servers would receive generous 20% tips for putting themselves on the line, but that did not happen for one waitress at John Henry’s Pub in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday ABC News reported that Jamie Ledwith, a server at the Pub in Ardmore, was telling customers to kindly put on their masks when getting up from their table or going to the restroom. One customer however took this rule the wrong way and instead of giving Ledwith a tip, they wrote the work “mask” on the receipt.

“I was just surprised. I was shocked,” said Ledwith. “When they came in they walked through the bar without their masks on. So I asked them politely, ‘If you’re walking through the bar, or standing, just put your mask on until you’re seated.’”

Ledwith’s boss, Kathy Carli, who has owned the pub for 15 years posted the receipt to Facebook. For the most part, Carli reported that there were hundreds of positive responses to the photo and only one negative comment.

“I also want to give people a pass,” said Carli. “This guy was probably having a bad day, and that’s okay. We are all going to have bad days, it’s been a long seven months.”

On the bright side for Ledwith, one of her customers brought her a card signed by her family and gave her a $20 tip.

Even if this guy was having a bad day and having worked in restaurants, I always say if you’re not willing to tip, don’t go to a restaurant.