 This woman refused to tip her waiter what happened next taught her a big lesson. While it might seem easy, waiting tables is a very demanding job, which is why we tip them. Not only do they need to manage multiple tables orders at once, but they must also always wear a smile, even if they receive no tip at all. However, 27-year-old Armando Markage didn't mind the challenges of waiting tables while he worked at Patsy's pizza to put himself through college. While working at Patsy's, Markage always tried his best to put on a bright smile and serve his customers the best he could. Sure, he had some bad customers but he adopted a thick skin while working at Patsy's, so they didn't affect him. Well, until a mean-spirited customer accidentally forgot something incredibly valuable behind after leaving no tip. Markage needed to make a choice, do the right thing, or give the woman some instant karma. Armando Markage was another 27-year-old young man trying to make his dreams come true in the Big Apple. However, New York City is expensive. So, in order to help his parents pay for his college education, Markage began waiting tables at the popular Patsy's pizzeria in Harlem. Before long, Markage started to love waiting tables and providing the best service he could. And not only did he provide accurate and quick service, he always did it with a bright smile on his face. Then, one day, everything changed. On that fateful day, Markage's shift started just like any other. When a woman and her daughter came into Patsy's, he had no idea she would test his patience, unlike any patron before her. Patsy's pizzeria's current owner, Frank Brinja, is incredibly proud of the establishment's heritage. Believe it or not, Patsy's has been around for almost a century. It first opened its doors back in 1933 and remains one of the most popular restaurants in Harlem for both tourists and locals alike. To immortalize Patsy's legacy, Brinja has decorated the walls of the restaurant with pictures of several famous faces who have dined at the pizzeria, as well as many accolades it has won. The photos and awards have been painstakingly collected over the course of 86 years. That day, Markage noticed that the two women who had just entered were angrily scrutinizing every single detail of the wall as he approached. No one had ever had a problem with the wall before. As Markage spotted the two women looking at Patsy's wall of memories and their unhappy faces, he knew that the table could become a problem. So, to try and start things off on the right foot, the waiter quickly approached the table and greeted the women with a warm smile. Then, he proceeded to take their order, a small New York-style pizza for two. At this point, everything seemed fine. Markage thought that he had perhaps judged the women too quickly. However, just as the waiter turned to walk away, the older woman stopped him. Then she asked Markage a strange question, one he had never heard before. The waiter was at a loss of words. At first, when the woman stopped Markage, he thought he must have forgotten to add something to their order, messed up their drinks, or something along those lines. However, that was not the case. The older looked at him sternly and asked, why are there so few pictures of women on the wall? It was clear that the woman felt furious about this perceived problem. When Markage opened his mouth to speak, no words came out. Was this a real question? When the woman started him, clearly waiting for a response, the waiter realized this was no joke. The woman expected an answer. Markage laughed nervously and foolishly tried to answer the question with a joke. Maybe women don't eat a lot of pizza, he stammered, trying to laugh it off. Unfortunately for the waiter, his joke completely bombed. After his response, the woman's eyes narrowed while her mouth turned downward into a mean sneer. The waiter realized that this woman already had her mind up about him and Patsy's pizza. He knew that he would pay for his flip and answer when it came time to earn his tip. So, Markage gave them space while making sure their food came out and on time. It wasn't hard at all, as the server had plenty of other customers to attend to. After the awkward incident, Markage did his best to ensure the older woman and her daughter had a pleasant experience at Patsy's pizza. He made sure their pizza came out on time and checked in to make sure it tasted great as well. Then, when they asked for the check, Markage made sure to deliver it promptly. Meanwhile, the server gave them space, tending to the busy restaurant. After taking a few orders, Markage returned to collect the check. Surprisingly, he found the table empty and the check oddly light. At first, the waiter prayed that the woman hadn't left the place without playing the check. However, when he looked inside the bill, he found something far more hurtful. When Markage picked up the light bill, he figured that the two women had rushed out while he was busy attending other customers. However, as Markage opened the leather folder, he breathed a sing of relief as the women had paid their bill. However, that's when he noticed something terrible. The women had paid but had left no tip. Unfortunately, this wasn't a mistake, either. On occasion, a customer had paid the bill and forgotten to leave a cash tip. It happens from time to time, when people are in a rush. But that wasn't the case this time. Not only had the older woman put a line through the tip area, but she had also left Markage a rude and hurtful note. The handwritten message Markage found on the bottom of the bill is one he'll never forget, maybe women don't tip either. The waiter could barely believe what he saw. He had not been awful to this woman, it had been a simple misunderstanding. However, Markage knew he would likely never seen the woman again. So, with a heavy heart, the waiter ignored the obnoxious note and continued doing his job. But while clearing plates, Markage discovered a white envelope underneath the napkins. While many would have thrown away the envelope, due to the woman's behavior, the server decided not to. It could be important to her, so he decided to save it. Even though the woman had been awful to Markage, he knew better than to judge her. Furthermore, the waiter is a good person, and he didn't want to accidentally hurt this woman by throwing away something valuable. For all he knew, she was just having a bad day. Still, a naturally curious person, Markage decided to open up the envelope and have a peek inside. Looking inside, Markage saw what looked like a check in the Citibank logo. Knowing the importance of a check, he immediately ran out the door to chase the woman down. Markage hoped he could find the woman quickly and return her valuable property. Unfortunately, outside of Patsy's Pizza, Markage had no luck finding the woman. By the time he had returned to the table, comprehended the no tip, and opened the envelope, the woman had been able to enter a cab and leave the area. I just pulled up the flap, and I saw Citibank and thought it was important, so I ran out to the street to look for her, but she was gone, the waiter recalled. With the woman nowhere to be found, Markage had no idea what to do next. On the one hand, he could simply throw it on the garbage. The woman had been incredibly rude to him, after all. On the other hand, Markage could try finding more information on the older woman, which would be the right thing to do. Would he try to help the woman that behaved so obnoxiously towards him? Still considering what rode to go down, Markage opened the envelope to get a better idea of the situation. Inside was the most significant check that he had ever seen in his entire life. Believe it or not, the rude woman had left behind a check for a whopping $424,000. Nearly half a million dollars lay in Markage's hands. He could not believe what was happening. Markage wondered how anyone could forget a check for $424,000 just lying around on the table. Plus, how could she leave no tip, with all the money she clearly had? After seeing the check, Markage realized he had a major decision to make. Armando Markage was facing one of the biggest decisions of his life. If he wanted to, he could teach this mean-spirited woman an incredibly valuable lesson in instant karma. Markage also felt confident no one would know it was him either. If they came back looking for the check, he would just say he hadn't seen it. The waiter could even attempt to cash it, making all his financial problems disappear. Of course, Markage knew this wouldn't be right. After all, these choices would make him just as mean as the woman who had ruined his day. So, Markage called someone to get their opinion on the matter. Markage continued to think about the serious moral dilemma for the rest of his shift. Afterward, he decided to call Frank Brinja, the owner of Patsy's Pizza. In the end, Markage figured the owner should have the final say in the check's fate. Like most of us, Brinja could not believe what he was hearing over the phone. He called me immediately and hands me this check, and I was like, oh my, I didn't want to put it in my pocket it was so much money, Brinja explains. We thought for sure it was a billionaire or something who came in here, because who walks around with a check like that. Patsy's Pizza had never dealt with this sort of situation before, so they had no idea how to proceed. Normally we just put things left behind in the lost and found box in the back, but I wasn't going to do that with almost half a million dollars, Markage explained. In the end, Brinja and Markage decided to track the rude woman down and return her check. Fortunately, the check gave them her name, Karen Venakur, and her bank, so they had a place to start. We decided we would hold on to the check for a couple of days to see if she would drop by, or if we could find her ourselves, he said. However, despite these clues, Brinja and Markage could not find the woman. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Karen Venakur could not believe she had lost her check. While Brinja and Markage tried to find her, 79-year-old Karen Venakur felt like she would lose her mind. After she had realized that she'd lost the check, she didn't know what to do. First, she frantically called her daughter hoping that she had it. Unfortunately, Venakur's daughter told her that she hadn't seen it. Afterward, the two of them looked everywhere, even digging through their trash bins. But no matter where they looked, Venakur did not find the check. She had no idea what to do next. The woman wasn't even sure when she had lost it. Venakur just prayed she found it before someone with bad intentions did. Little did the waiter who she had so severely mistreated know, the check was even more important than he thought. As it turns out, Venakur was not an incredibly wealthy woman. The $424,000 check was actually Karen Venakur's entire life savings. The morning before she ate at Patsy's Pizza, Venakur had sold her house, and planned to put the $400,000 towards the home she would retire in. In one afternoon, Venakur had lost all the money she had spent her entire life working for. As anyone would, she felt like her whole world was collapsing around her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Desperate and hopeless, Venakur began looking in every last place she had been in the past few days. After tearing through her home and trash, Venakur began retracing her steps to find the check. First, she called the coffee house across the street from Patsy's where she had stopped for coffee before pizza, but had no luck. Then she called Patsy's only to receive quite a strange answer, she said she had called Patsy's, and nobody knew anything about a check, Venakur's real estate broker said in an interview. However, Venakur had no idea she had called another, unrelated Patsy's Pizza. I didn't stop to think that maybe she called the wrong one, the broker commented. Desperate to find her money, Venakur tried one last move. Desperate and convinced she had looked everywhere, Venakur reached out to her bank, in an attempt to cancel the check. Unfortunately, she was met with even more bad news at the bank. They said they couldn't immediately cancel it because it was a cashier's check. I would have to wait at least three months before they could even start the process, and only if someone didn't cash it in the meantime, then Kur explained. Without the check, Venakur would have to move in with her daughter, a senior home, or end up on the streets. With nowhere to go, she had been staying with friends and family, sleeping on a different couch each night. If someone did not call soon, Venakur would have to kiss her lifelong dreams goodbye. Meanwhile, at the real Patsy's Pizza, waiter Armando Markage, and owner Frank Brinja had still not heard from Karen Venakur. After a few days, Brinja knew he had to do something about the situation. However, while most people would reach out to the authorities, Brinja had a totally different idea in mind. Instead, the owner of Patsy's Pizza decided to call a local newspaper to see if they could help track her down. Believe it or not, they managed to track her down within a matter of minutes. When the restaurant called and told Venakur they had her check, she could not believe it. She wouldn't end up on the streets after all. A relieved Karen Venakur arrived at Patsy's Pizza within an hour of receiving their call. There, Armando Markage greeted her at the front door. She got here within 10, 15 minutes, and she was here actually crying, she was like, nervous, Brinja said. Of course, it is not every day that someone returns a $400,000 check. As Venakur approached, everyone at Patsy's Pizza had one question on their mind, would she apologize to Markage? After all, the last time she had been there, Venakur had left without even leaving Markage a dollar for his hard work. Did she feel sorry that she had stiffed him, given everything that had taken place? As Venakur entered the restaurant, everyone could tell that she felt more than a little uncomfortable when she saw Markage waiting for her. She was so happy and she was in tears, said Brinja. But the second she saw Armando, you could see she got a little shy. It's safe to say that Venakur must have felt like a complete fool. In the end, she did realize that she had made an error and wanted to make it up to the waiter. So, Venakur offered Markage a finder's fee. However, he rejected the offer. She offered to tip me, but it was. You know what, I did it for the sake of myself, so I'm not taking the tip now, Markage said. So, Venakur offered something else. When Markage did not take Karen Venakur's tip, she offered something else, a sincere apology for her behavior. She apologized. The apology was accepted, said Markage. I'm happy for her, really, he confessed. Saturdays are pretty busy, and I was very close to taking everything left on the table and throwing it out when I saw an envelope. Venakur and Markage sealed the deal over some hot, delicious pizza. While Markage returned the check to make peace with himself, he sure taught Venakur a valuable lesson. It's safe to say that she will think twice about leaving no tip from now on. After Venakur and Markage finished their pizza, owner Frank Brinja gave her a tour of the Wall of Memories. To prove a point, he pointed out all the women's faces that Venakur had missed that Saturday. Among them were TV host Barbara Walters, first lady Cherlaine McCrae, former city council speakers, Christine Quinn, and Melissa Mark Viverito. Afterward, to drive the point home, Frank Brinja offered to do something else too. We joked with her and said we'd add her picture up on the wall, he said, laughing. While the woman declined the offer, one thing's for sure, Patsy's is Venakur's new favorite restaurant. What had started off as one of the best days of her life became one of Karen Venakur's worst. When she lost her check and had nowhere to go, her life turned into a waking nightmare. While eating at Patsy's pizza, she had no idea that her decision to leave no tip would ultimately teach her a lesson in humility and giving others a break. Now, of course, Venakur feels exceptionally grateful to young Markage for doing the right thing despite her nasty behavior. In an interview with local news PIX11, the woman plainly stated that she will forever regret leaving no tip on the receipt. As you might imagine, the story of waiter Armando Markage and Karen Venakur quickly became quite the local legend. After all, the newspaper that Patsy's pizza owner Frank Brinjakold was none other than the iconic New York Daily News. Before long, the story was picked up by plenty of other websites, television shows, and newspapers that loved the story of two people once at odds turning over a new leaf. Now, many locals come in just to see Markage and talk to him about his tale. However, the waiter earns something far more useful than a little bit of local fame. Believe it or not, through all this, he made a new friend. While Karen Venakur was mean and rude to Armando Markage, he didn't get her behavior get under his skin, he just brushed it off. After all, she seemed not to be having a good day. After she left, Markage was kind enough to save the mean-spirited woman her check for half a million dollars. Now that Venakur has learned a life lesson, she knows better than to treat servers poorly. In fact, Venakur said that, in a twist of fate, she thinks she'll be now best friends with Markage for life. I believe in karma too, she said. I guess that's what helped get me back to you. However, believe it or not, as crazy as Markage and Venakur's story is, it's not the only case of a waiter becoming best friends with a grumpy customer. Molina Salazar, a wonderful woman from Texas, has worked as a waitress for most of her adult life. While she initially jumped around, for the past decade she's worked at the same restaurant in the city of Brownsville. Like Armando Markage, Salazar learned over the years how to deal with difficult situations and customers. Some customers, as you've just read, are a lot harder than others like Buck, a World War II veteran who seemed to hate everything around him. In fact, soon after he started coming to Salazar's restaurant, the waitress became the only employee who would wait on Buck. While he was often a curmudgeon, Buck would change Salazar's life forever. Molina Salazar worked as a waitress at Lubies, a cafeteria-style restaurant in Texas. While most don't consider waitress a dream job, Salazar felt differently. Over 17 years as a waitress and six at Lubies, Salazar learned to love her job and became incredibly good at it. Without a doubt, she was one of the, if not the, best waitress in the place. Salazar always focused on excellent customer service, treating every single customer with respect and sympathy, no matter how difficult the customer behaved. According to her coworkers, she's always smiling and trying to cheer everyone up. But by setting herself apart from the rest of the staff, Salazar also opened herself up to her most difficult challenge yet. Because of her great attitude towards every single customer and swift service, especially those who were demanding, a manager assigned Salazar to a unique position, she would deal with the pickiest customers at Lubies. Most of us would hate this job. But, of course, Salazar had no problem fulfilling her duties, wanting to treat everyone with respect.