#7: Leave an Outrageous Tip for a Waitress

Welcome to Tripps.

Tripps, or TK Tripps as it was originally known, is my former employer. I worked there in my twenties, but my relationship with this restaurant goes back even further than that. In high school, my date took me to Tripps before my first homecoming dance. I think I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. Not because I was trying to be dainty, but because it was pretty expensive for a 10th grader. Fast forward a few years later and my high school boyfriend would start working there after school. He would come home with stories about a manager so awful I remember thinking he couldn’t exist. Oh, but he does… and years later I would experience it first hand. Mr. Kyle, you ruined Boston accents for me. Not that they needed much help, but still.

Anyway, as I said I worked at Tripps on and off for several years. And it was here that I met my two best friends. The three of us worked together at Tripp, at a bar downtown, and lived together in a split level house in the West End. Outside we parked our three Honda Civics, and at least one was usually drivable at any point in time. Those were probably some of the best days of my life.

At the time I was completely dependent on tips, (well tips and the monthly loans from Burke Bank). And every so often you would get that one table who asked for nothing and then left you a giant tip on their way out without saying anything. I can’t tell you how it makes your night when that happens. Back then I used to think that one day when I was successful, I would come back and make someone else’s night with a ridiculously big tip. I can’t afford to do it all the time, but definitely at least once. While in Richmond this past weekend, I took Kevin to dinner at Tripps. Marissa was our waitress and she was absolutely excellent. We ordered a bottle of wine and she had another waitress come out and uncork it for us, the exact same thing I did during my first few months. We had a delicious dinner and left a tip that I’m absolutely sure made Marissa’s night. It was a great feeling to do that for someone else who will remain a complete stranger to me.

24 down; 6 to go