Customer leaves surprise tip - so waitress can visit her son

A waitress in the US has posted a photograph online of a tip she received from an incredibly generous customer. The diner spent just $9.23, but added a tip of $200. A note on the back of the receipt explained: "Brandi, thank you for your service. I overheard you talking about your son. Use this to visit him."

Very little is known about the waitress, aside from the fact she was moved to tears by his generosity.

Impressive tips

Over the years, there have been some amazing tips left for serving staff around the world. Here are five of our favourites:

In February last year one Illinois woman left a total of $15,000 in tips for three waitresses, after she heard them talking about their bills. The staff, who are all in their 20s, were talking about school loans and their bills, and the anonymous diner decided to help. The waitresses tried to return the money, but she insisted that she wanted to help them get ahead.

A year earlier, Bob Erb, a lottery winner from British Columbia, stopped for a meal at a restaurant by the road. He started chatting with the restaurant owner, who told Erb that his 25-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with cancer. The lottery winner left £10,000 and told the owner to keep the change.

Around the same time, a Tumblr user posted a picture of a $1,000 tip her mother had been given by a diner when she told him that she'd love to travel to Italy. Next to the amount he had written 'Your ticket to Italy. Enjoy!!'

Then there's Seth Collins, who travelled the US and left $500 tips for waiting staff in all 50 states. It was his brother Aaron's last wish that Seth leave a $500 tip, and after he posted a video online of the first tip he gave, donations came flooding in. He received enough for the road trip, and as donations continue, he is still handing out tips. Last year he gave his 98th $500 tip in New York.

Another tipper acting in memory of his brother hit the news in March, after tipping a Tennessee waitress $36. She told the press that he had left the tip along with a note that read: "Today is my brother's birthday. He would have been 36 today. Every year I go eat his favourite meal (hot dogs) and tip the waiter his age. Happy Birthday Wes".

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