 3 men ask waitress to settle bill in private. Then bartender sees check and realizes why. Serving in a restaurant can be quite a stressful job. Even though the customer isn't always right, those working in the food industry make their living off tips, and therefore, are at the mercy of satisfied customers. That being said, it's difficult to comply with every patron during your shift, especially if they make an odd request. This was the case for one female bartender in Connecticut, when a group of men asked to speak with her, and her manager behind closed doors. What the men revealed then was something quite startling. Bartender Ashley Latella worked at a Fairfield, Connecticut bar called the Seagrait Café. Like many in the service industry, she had a responsibility to provide her patrons with excellent customer service. One Saturday in December of 2013, Ashley and her manager Carlos Carmo were working as hard as they could to accommodate a rush of college students who'd flooded in. It was so busy, Carlos recalled. It's tough to have a conversation with people when the DJ is blasting music and college kids are screaming. In that kind of environment, connecting with customers was rare. The clientele that night included a group of three ordinary men. Carlos, pictured, described them as early 40s, you know, good shape, looked good. Other than that, he didn't think there was anything remarkable about them. When the men finished their drinks, they made an unusual request of Ashley, who had been serving them. They wanted to settle their bill in private. Naturally, she was somewhat taken aback, but she obliged and led them to the kitchen. Ashley was confused. Had she done something wrong? After all, it was her job to provide the best customer service possible, and if she failed in that, it could hurt her manager's reputation. You can't really blame Ashley for feeling like she might have been walking into a risky, or at least, an extremely awkward situation. Why would a restaurant tab need to be settled in private? With that in mind, she took the proper precautions and asked her manager for help. I told Carlos to go make sure everything was okay, Ashley explained. We wanted to be sure they weren't upset about anything. As it turned out, the case was actually quite the opposite. These men wanted to tip all four of the bartenders who had been working that busy night, which was a generous offer in itself. But then the men asked to do something else. One of the men handed Carlos the bill for the tip and Carlos could not believe his eyes. We originally thought it said 500, and we were so happy, Carlos said. And they were like, no, look at the receipt again. And I saw another zero. The group's bill only came out to $112, but they tipped $5,000. That's when my face just turned white, Carlos said. Ashley added that she burst out into tears because I was so happy and thankful. In her three years as a bartender, this was by far the biggest tip Ashley had ever received. Afterward I gave him a hug, she said of the man who handed Carlos the bill. It was such a nice gesture. It wasn't the first time these men tipped such a large amount on their bill. Apparently, they belong to a group called Tips for Jesus, whose mission, as described on their Instagram account, was, doing the Lord's work, one tip at a time. That month was a particularly active time for the group. Not only were they generous to the Sea Grape Cafe staff, but they tipped $11,500 to three separate restaurants in Manhattan. And they didn't stop there. The group continued to extend unparalleled generosity to servers and bartenders across the country. One bartender pictured here was given $1,000 on an $85 tab. At other bars, Tips for Jesus has offered as much as $10,000. It would be understandable if they kept it for themselves, but Ashley and her coworkers decided to pay the generosity forward. Next morning, after we got that tip I said, it's time to go to the toy store, Ashley said. The toys she purchased were all collected for AL's Angels, a local toy drive. I'm a real estate agent during the day and I work here at night. I've been trying to gather toys at my office, toys, blankets, Ashley revealed. As for Carlos, the remarkable generosity that the men showed to him, and his staff affirmed his belief in karma. That was exactly why he wanted to be generous to others himself. When I go out to dinner with my girlfriend we always say, let's tip them a little extra, Carlos said, you never know when it will come back around. Being in the service industry is incredibly difficult, and tips for Jesus isn't the only group to recognize that. One of the most difficult aspects of waiting tables is staying cheerful and helpful, even when your customers are being anything but. One Texas waitress had such a talent for staying positive she was the only person who could handle a grumpy regular. Molina Salazar was a Texan waitress at Lubies who was very popular with customers for her swift and friendly service. In fact, she was so good at her job that she was the only server who could handle the restaurant's pickiest regular. Walter Buck Swords, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, was well known at Lubies for being short-tempered, cranky, demanding, and generally impatient with the restaurant's hardworking wait staff. At least, that was his reputation. Despite the way he treated most of the staff at Lubies, Molina was always ready to take his order, even when he was mean to her. Each and every day for seven years, she brought in his food just the way he liked it, piping hot. Not only did she work hard to get his orders perfect, she always served him with a smile and a friendly how you do in today. No one knew how she pulled off a happy face every day in general, let alone to her grumpiest customer, but Molina was on to something. One day, without warning, Buck didn't show up to the restaurant. Nor did he come in the next day, or the day after that. Molina couldn't help but begin to wonder if something bad had happened to him, but she had no way to inquire about it. A few mornings later she was flipping through a local newspaper, while she waited for her shift to begin, and what she saw broke her heart, Buck's obituary was printed loud and clear. He had passed away and would never again visit the restaurant. Despite his crabbiness, Molina was sad about Buck's passing, but there was nothing she could do. She continued her life as usual just without waiting on her favorite crabby customer. But big changes were heading her way. See, handling Buck sometimes prickly needs was just a part of her job description the customer is always right, after all. And as a war veteran, Buck had been through a lot. The least she could do was to be kind to him. Little did she know, Buck took notice. It turns out that this grumpy old man did appreciate his favorite waitress. In fact, he was so fond of Molina that he actually mentioned her by name in his final will and testament. And it didn't stop there. When the lawyers reached Molina they told her she was receiving $50,000 in his car. The generosity of the the old man's gift was enough to totally overwhelm her. Not only was Molina overjoyed with the gifts bestowed on her by Buck, but she was also glad to see her caring nature was noted and not overlooked. Her patience and persistence were entirely voluntary, but they definitely paid off. The story of a waitress getting a hefty sum of money is not as uncommon as you might think. In 2015, a similar story went viral in New York City, where a famous art dealer spoiled his two restaurant workers by leaving them an incredible sum of money. It all happened at Donahue's Steakhouse, a popular restaurant in Manhattan's upper east side. Whenever the restaurant's favorite patron wasn't traveling for work, he ate most of his meals at Donahue's, always tipping everyone even the chefs and the bus boys. Donahue's co-owner and head waitress Maureen Donahue-Peters loved seeing this patron come in. She and her niece, who also waited in the Steakhouse, had known him almost their entire lives and considered him a friend. So who was this charitable chum? Robert King of Ming Ellsworth was a famous art collector. He was known to be humble and sympathetic, urging people to call him Bob and never acting like he was above anybody else, despite being worth about 200 million dollars. He was called the King of Ming because he specialized in furniture and art pieces from the Ming dynasty. One of his most famous works is the Astor Chinese Garden Court in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. He traveled all over the world to collect these pieces, but nothing felt quite like home as Donahue's did. For lunch, he always ordered the same thing, an open-faced grilled cheese with bacon. For dinner, he would always order the broiled prime chopped sirloin steak with smothered onions. Whenever he ate, he would share half of his meal with his dog. Sometimes he would come in with his driver or other guests and treat them to lunch as well. If the restaurant owners or staff had a minute, he would ask them to join him and his golden retriever so he could get to know them. When he passed away in 2015, he left Maureen and her niece each $50,000 in his will. They were both shocked and grateful for the money, but Maureen said she would trade it all into a Bob back at his table. She would want people to remember Ellsworth for his generosity and everyone who knew him would attest to that. Now that's rich.