Brook Skyes, Olive Garden server fired for receiving $700 tip on $30 bill at Fayetteville, Georgia restaurant after single mom of autistic child questioned payout process only to be told she would only keep 20% of bill and told to wait 120 days to find out if she would receive entire gratuity. Incident led to waiter becoming emotional and ‘let go’ the next day according to her mom, Buni Williams.
pdate: Olive Garden finally respond – see below
A server who received a $700 tip on a $30 bill at an Olive Garden restaurant according to social media was fired after questioning company procedures regarding the payout.
Brook Skyes, who had worked at the Fayetteville, Georgia restaurant for approximately one year, was serving a customer when she received the unusually large tip. Excited by the unexpected gratuity, Sykes, a single mother to a 4 year old autistic child was later informed by a manager that the tip could not be immediately paid out and would need to be reviewed and verified first.
According to a shared post on Facebook, Sykes mother, Buni Williams, stated that management instructed Brook to write ‘0’ on the tip line until the gratuity could be confirmed. She reportedly became upset after being unable to get a clear answer about how long the verification process would take.
Told she could receive 20% on $32 bill while the remaining balance underwent review
During her shift the day after having received the large tip, Sykes asked a coworker to take her next table because after becoming ‘visibly’ emotional. Her mother said management responded by telling her she could either continue working or leave. Sykes ultimately remained on the job and completed her shift.
Later, management reportedly informed her that she could receive 20% on the $32 bill while the remaining balance underwent review. However, conflicting timelines were allegedly provided, with one manager saying the process could take one to two days and another stating it could take as long as 120 days.
The following morning, when she arrived for her scheduled shift, her mother said she was informed that the restaurant had decided to ‘part ways’ with her due to her behavior the previous day. She was also reportedly given paperwork explaining that tips above a certain amount are subject to managerial review.
Olive Garden server fired over ‘behavior’ after questioning payout process
According to her mother, management reiterated that the tip review process could take up to 120 days. She further claims police were called by the restaurant after her daughter became emotional and upset over the situation.
Brook believes her termination was retaliatory, because she always showed up, worked hard, and did a good job. Along with losing the tip, the single mom is now unemployed, which she says has put a significant emotional and financial strain on her.
Shared Sykes on Facebook, ‘as a single parent raising a child with autism, every dollar matters, and losing both my job and the wages I worked for has placed a significant financial and emotional strain on my family. I am simply seeking fairness and accountability for the work I performed and the challenges my child and I now face as a result of this situation.’
Olive Garden responds to the firing of server
Catching wind of the firing, Olive Garden finally addressed Sykes’ termination, posting:
‘To protect our guests and team members from fraud, we have a policy in place to verify tips over $500 or far above the check amount. When a tip like this is given, the team member immediately receives a 20 per tip on the check, and the remaining amount is provided once payment is successfully confirmed. In this case, we followed our policy for a tip that exceeded 2,000% on a $32 check, and we have verified that the tip amount was declined due to insufficient funds. This team member was not terminated because of the tip that was left on the check, and we have shared all this information directly with her.’
Abby Blabby in the above video blog posts adds further information stating that the tipper, a regular at the restaurant may have withdrawn the tip after finding out about Sykes being fired and that other workers sharing that she had been a consistent good worker and team player and her firing being unjust.
A GoFundMe has since been created on behalf of Sykes.
Olive Garden has not publicly commented on the allegations.
