Olive Garden waitress earns $700 tip but she claims that management delayed paying and then fired her the next day

An Olive Garden employee in Fayetteville, Georgia, has accused the restaurant of firing her after she earned a $700 tip. Her claim has since gone viral with the restaurant later providing a response to the controversy.

The story began on May 31 when a customer gave an employee a $700 tip. The customers generosity certainly made the waitress happy, it’s the polar opposite to another Olive Garden server who ripped into customers with bad attitudes. However, in a Facebook post a woman by the name of Buni Williams explained that the waitress, her daughter, had been told by managers that she could not have the money until it was verified.

The next day, on June 1, Williams returned to Facebook with an update claiming that her daughter had been fired. She explained that, when her daughter had been told that the payment would be delayed she had gotten upset but was given the choice to “do her job or leave,” at the start of her next shift management apparently decided to “part ways” with her over her “behavior” from the day before.

Olive Garden claims it was protocol

Buni Williams’ post soon began gaining attention with many taking her side. William’s daughter, Brooke, who is a mother herself, responded in the comments claiming, in her opinion, that the decision to let her go was “retaliatory.” Some online who saw the viral post suggested she get a lawyer.

With a lot of eyes on the situation Olive Garden didn’t take long to respond. A screenshot of the post was shared by Williams, in it, the restaurant explained that there was a policy in place for tips over $500 in case of fraud. According to Olive Garden, the tip amount was declined due to insufficient funds and this information was shared with Brooke.

Buni Williams responded to the post asking, “why was that not told to my daughter the day she received the tip?” She claims her daughter’s response is understandable due to the “confusion that management created.” In many states servers rely on tips to get by, generous tips are cause for excitement and likewise stingy tips can ruin a server’s day.