An Iowa couple turned bad service into a positive experience.
After waiting more than an hour for their entrées while out to dinner on their six-year wedding anniversary Saturday, Iowa residents Makenzie and Steven Schultz decided to do something nice for their overwhelmed server.
Instead of stiffing the employee for their wait, they left a $100 tip on their $66.65 bill — as well as a message of encouragement.
“We’ve both been in your shoes. Paying it forward,” the note read.
Makenzie posted a picture of the receipt to her Facebook page and it has received nearly 1.5 million likes and almost 200,000 shares by Tuesday morning.
She described how the restaurant was severely understaffed, leaving their apologetic server to cover 12 tables as well as the bar.
“People all around us were making fun of the restaurant & how bad the service was. Yeah, it was pretty terrible. But, it was very obvious that the issue was being short staffed, not the server,” she wrote.
Makenzie said she posted the receipt as a message to try to be understanding in a difficult situation.
“I’m just sharing this as a friendly reminder to think of the entire situation, before you judge,” she wrote. “And always always always remember where you came from.”
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter @joelzlandau
