Meridian Server Gets Surprised With $1000 Tip in Viral TikTok Video

Someone's cutting onions in here, right?

Over the past year, have you been nervous about getting friends together for dinner at a restaurant? With so many different COVID-19 ordinances and orders in play, maybe you weren't sure how many people you could have at your table and didn't want to head up the effort for fear of leaving someone out. You also didn't want to get the business in trouble if you had one more person show up.

If that sounds like you, you're certainly not alone! I had a moment like that while celebrating my birthday over dinner this weekend. Since I invited primarily people that have been in this little bubble with me here at the station since last March, I didn't really think about how many folks would be at the table until after we were seated. Luckily, Central District Health had relaxed it's health order to an advisory the day before and the number of guests I had wasn't an issue.

Get our free mobile app

Karissa Patterson, Jennifer Litzenberger and their crew went through it too. It had been at least a year since they had dined out with their friends. Over the weekend, that changed when they got together at Thai Basil in Meridian. Prior to their meal, the friends collected enough money to surprise whichever server waited on them with a $1,000 tip.

On Saturday, the server happened to be Benz Summart and his reaction to their kindness was the absolute BEST think we've seen all week.

Summart shared his shock and gratitude for the act of kindness on his Facebook page saying

I was inspired myself and I blessed a lot of others that I cared for. I wish I had more to bless. I seriously didn't spend any of it on myself. I paid it forward and I never felt better! I struggle every day to makes ends meet, but I was moved by this gesture that I want to continue to bless others! Keep your heart and head up high cuz you never know it will happen to you

Patterson is a small business owner herself and understands how difficult things have been for not just businesses but for those in the service industry who worked selflessly to help those businesses stay afloat. While sharing her own reaction video, she expressed that the group's goal is to go out at least once a month and bless a server the way they blessed Summart.