'Are you for real?!' Moment stunned Waffle House server is reduced to tears after getting $1k tip from customer who lost fantasy football bet and had to spend 24 hours eating inside the restaurant
A Waffle House employee was reduced to tears in Georgia after a man who lost a fantasy football bet and had to spend 24 hours eating inside the restaurant surprised her with a $1,000 tip.
Michael Carsley, of Atlanta, made the generous donation to server Mosammat Shumi last weekend during a live broadcast on Facebook in a chain of the eatery in Chamblee.
The 32-year-old salesman had been inside the restaurant for several hours on January 3, attempting to finish off as many waffles as he could.
Carsley had been banished to the restaurant as part of a forfeit chosen by his friends after he came last in their fantasy football league.
He had been instructed to eat inside the Waffle House for 24 hours, but with every waffle eaten, he was allowed to shave one hour off his punishment time.
Describing the forfeit as grueling, Carsley insisted he would do it all over again if he could, just to relive Shumi's reaction.
‘All around in was a spectacular thing. The punishment was absolutely horrible, but it was more worth it than anything,’ he told CNN.
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Michael Carsley, of Atlanta, made the generous donation to server Mosammat Shumi last weekend during a live broadcast on Facebook in a chain of the eatery in Chamblee.
Shumi was reduced to tears when she looked down to see a $1,040 tip on the receipt
Over the space of six hours Carsley managed to eat 18 waffles, racking up a tab of $49 and a calorie count in excess of 5,600 - not including butter or syrup.
Carsley said sympathetic viewers of his stream were reaching out to him asking if they could help pick up his tab.
But believing it was ‘kind of silly for people to be throwing money at me for a waffle’, Carsley instead thought any donations could be better spent elsewhere.
He then posted his Venmo account on the live stream and implored anyone who was willing to chip in to increase his server’s tip.
Carsley said part his decision was influenced by the fact that servers, whose paychecks often rely heavily on tips, have been seriously financially impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the drop in footfall that subsequent lockdown orders and other measures have caused.
‘I went into this thinking, we might be able to raise 100, 200 bucks,’ Carsley said, but after 90 separate donations he’d managed to raise $1,040.
The emotional moment Carsley presented Shumi with the incredible sum was captured on his livestream.
‘I wanted to give you this and to say thank you very much,’ Carsley is heard telling her.
A speechless Shumi, who isn’t immediately visible in frame, is heard reacting to the receipt in audible shock.
‘Thank you very much,’ she later says towards the camera, her hands clasped in prayer. ‘Oh my god, really? Are you for real,’ she continues, before breaking down in tears, pulling her cap down over her eyes.
‘We wanted to do something impactful for someone today,’ Carsley tells her.
‘I can’t believe this,’ she responds through tears.
Shumi has worked at the Waffle House for 11 years and said she has never experienced kindness like she saw on January 3
After 90 separate donations to his Venmo account, Carsley managed to raise $1,040
'I can't believe this,' Shumi tells Carsley, after revealing her tip to her
Shumi has worked at the Waffle House in Chamblee for 11-years. A regular on the early Sunday morning shift, she said she has never before experienced anything like the kindness of Carsley and his friends.
Calling the moment ‘remarkably touching’, Shumi told CNN, ‘It was priceless. It was one of the better feelings I’ve ever had.’
‘I’m still in shock,’ she continued. ‘I talked to my family, to everybody.’
Shumi said working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tough storm to weather, but the kindness of Carsley and his friends has given her relief.
While she said she’s still yet to receive the cash - with Waffle House still processing and verifying the transaction - she said she already knows how she’s going to spend the four-figure sum.
Shumi said she will be paying for her mother's airfare so she can come visit her from Bangladesh, having spent the last three years apart.
‘Once in a lifetime,’ Shumi said reflecting on her interaction with Carsley. ‘I don't how to explain it. There is so much happiness.’
Shumi has worked at the Waffle House for 11-years. A regular on the early Sunday morning shift, she said she has never before experienced anything like the kindness of Carsley and his friends.
Carsley said part his decision was influenced by the fact that servers, whose paychecks often rely heavily on tips, have been seriously financially impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic
The 32-year-old salesman had been inside the restaurant for several hours on January 3, attempting to finish off as many waffles as he could, having placed last in a fantasy football league with his friends
While delighted to have been able to help Shumi, Carsley insists he hopes to avoid the same fate when the next fantasy football season rolls around.
‘It was the single most miserable thing I’ve ever put my body through,’ he said of the task. ‘I love waffles, especially from Waffle House, but I don't know if I'll consume another waffle again.’
‘If you are in a fantasy league,’ he said, ‘steer clear of drafting anybody from the Falcons', continuing that his downfall was caused by staying loyal to his local team when selecting players.
Shumi, meanwhile, said she thought Carsley was joking when he told her about his challenge.
‘I felt bad for him,’ she said, adding she would have ‘made him some thinner waffles,’ had she known earlier.