Texas Waitress Gets $1,000 Tip to Pay for College

An 18-year-old waitress in Gun Barrel City, TX got the surprise of her short career last weekend when she received a $1,000 tip on a $9.69 tab. As Texas television station KLTV reports, Alesha Palmer had been waiting tables at Vetoni's Italian restaurant for about a month to save up for college when a generous diner left the more than 10,000 percent tip.

Palmer was waiting on a man dining solo Saturday night when she noticed him speaking to the restaurant's owner. After asking the owner if she had done something wrong, he showed her the receipt. "He turned over the receipt and I kind of just stood there wide eyed and I just started crying and I'm in the middle of the restaurant," Palmer told KLTV.

A post on Vetoni's Facebook page included a photo of the receipt and read:

Alesha Palmer, is a waitress at my restaurant and this past Saturday night, was surprised to discover that she was given a $1000.00 Tip!!! A gentleman over heard her speaking to other customers about her college education expenses. I have to say that there are still wonderful people out there in this difficult world. Thanks goes to this man for being so generous and caring! God Bless you kind Sir! The gentleman wanted to stay anonymous. Lets all not forget to PAY IT FORWARD! Congrats Alesha!

Manager Jennifer Brown confirmed the mega-tip to Eater, adding that Alesha is "a beautiful, sweet, kind-hearted girl who deserves the world... and a great waitress."

While some awful diners insist on filling in the tip line on their receipts with racial slurs or Bible verses, there are also plenty of big tippers out there doing their best to spread goodwill via generous gratuities.