Wrong Side Of Town
This was from 1985, in a mid-sized American university city. Pizza employee wages then were comparable to other fast-food restaurants, and tips were not as big a factor as they are now. Almost everyone tipped a dollar or so. I got a delivery to a house on the less affluent side of our delivery area, and I was met at the door by four children, I guessed the ages 10 on down.
All beaming with anticipation of all the pizza goodness I was bringing. They paid with exact change and thanked me politely. No tip, not a big deal, and four happy kids. As fate would have it, I delivered to their house every time they ordered. I was greeted with, “Hey, it’s you!” Same four kids, and I never saw the parents. They always paid in exact change.
It quickly became clear to me that pizza was a treat for them and something they had to scrimp to afford. Just before Christmas, just before I left the pizza job to work in my field of study, I delivered to their home one last time. They met me at the door as usual. After paying, the oldest child said, “Wait a minute.” She came back with a 50-cent tip. “This is for you.”
Knowing that the family had to scrape enough for a pizza treat every couple of weeks, this was the best tip ever.
Story credit: Reddit / Knightsrule