An 11-year-old boy’s decision to give the highest tip option available on a Papa John’s order has provoked more than 2,700 comments after his father shared the story online.
Posting under the username Matt8992 on Reddit, the dad explained that his mother had offered to buy lunch for her grandson while he worked from home.
The grandmother provided her grandson with her credit card details and told him to order what he liked.
The boy chose Papa John’s and, when prompted to tip, selected 23%—the largest preset option available.
When asked why, the son told his father: “I don’t know, it was the biggest tip that it let me choose.”
In a message to Newsweek, Matt8992 said he thought it was “really sweet,” adding that his son, “always defaulted to giving people the benefit of the doubt and assuming the best in others.
“I’ve always tried to ingrain the value of helping others,” the dad continued.
“Mostly I try to tell him that when we have the ability to help others we should consider it our responsibility to humanity to help. I hope that stuck at a subconscious level.”
Reddit Reacts
Many Reddit users were charmed by the story, with a typical contributor remarking: “You have a very thoughtful and kind son! Way to go!”
An individual agreed: “You’ll want to explain how money works, but also, never kill that sense of care for others.”
A former pizza deliverer shared that some parents would just leave their kids home alone with cash to pay.
“This 6 year old answers the door for a $20 order, hands me $100 and says, ‘Keep the change!’ I thought about it for a couple seconds, reaaaaally considered it, then handed her back the change (but gave myself a $5 tip).”
However, some critics expected a bigger tip than 23%.
“I was ready for it to be $100-plus and now y’all gotta sell your house to pay off your pizza debt,” a person quipped.
Tipping Points
Tipping can create difficult situations for customers.
In an incident covered by Newsweek, a woman discovered that a server had massively overcharged her for a tip, leading her to question whether she should file a police report.
“I believe it was done intentionally,” she told Newsweek.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident reported by Newsweek, a man was shocked by a waitress’s behavior when she waited for one of his friends outside the bathroom to quiz him on why he didn’t tip after apparently substandard service.
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