Arkansas Waitress Fired for Not Splitting $2,200 Tip Given to Her by Large Party

A waitress was allegedly fired after she received a massive tip from a large group of customers.

Ryan Brandt was a server at Oven and Tap, but she was allegedly let go after taking all of the money given to her in a $2,200 tip. Brandt was serving a party of 40 people, all of whom left a tip of $100 each for two waitresses, adding up to $4,400. Each waitress was to be given $2,200 each for serving the table of execs.

The group of customers included Grant Wise, the owner of a real estate company Witly. Wise says prior to coming to the restaurant, he checked the tipping policy, which allegedly states that he can tip someone the hefty amount. According to Newsweek, when Brandt received the tip, she says her manager told the waitresses that they must split the tip between themselves, and their fellow wait staff. Brandt, who has worked for the restaurant for three-and-a-half years, told KNWA that she’s never been asked to split her tips.

“I was told that I was going to be giving my cash over to my shift manager, and I would be taking home 20 percent,” Brandt explained to the news outlet.

That’s when Wise stepped in. Wise told the restaurant that he didn’t want the tip to be split and asked for his gratuity to be refunded. He then gave the cash to Brandt directly. Afterward, Brandt was fired from her job because she’d allegedly told Wise about the tip-pooling, which is reportedly against the restaurant’s policies.

“It was devastating; I borrowed a significant amount for student loans,” Brandt said, Newsweek reports. “Most of them were turned off because of the pandemic, but they’re turning back on in January and that’s a harsh reality.”

Oven and Tap released a statement to KNWA saying: “After dining, this large group of guests requested that their gratuity be given to two particular servers. We fully honored their request. Out of respect for our highly valued team members, we do not discuss the details surrounding the termination of an employee.”