Michelle Bozeman, a 50-year-old waitress at Ramblin’ Jack’s Rib Eye restaurant in Napavine, Washington, believes one is never fully dressed without a smile. After waitressing with this attitude in mind for more than 20 years, the grandmother of seven was rewarded greatly for her warmth and geniality this past weekend when a couple traveling through town tacked a whopping $3,000 tip onto their $44 bill.
The couple had dined during a busy shift, so Bozeman didn't even notice their tip until a coworker pointed it out long after they left the restaurant. She was instantly floored by the strangers' generosity: “I looked at it and was astounded,” she told TODAY.
She thought the tip was a mistake at first — then she turned the check over and saw the note: "Thanks for smiling," the couple had written. "You work hard and the country is in a bad place. Please do something good for another human being. Enjoy!"
Bozeman didn't do anything all that unusual; she told TODAY that she just talked to the couple about her family, gushed about her job and her coworkers, and (of course) smiled a lot. A little kindness goes a long way, apparently!
“What a world of difference it’ll make in my life, and I will definitely pay it forward,” Bozeman said. She plans to do so by sharing some of the money with her coworkers, treating her seven grandchildren, and booking her dream vacation to Ireland.
See what she has to say to the big-hearted strangers who changed her life:
