Eaten At This Upstate NY Diner? Police Say Check Your Credit Card

Does anybody else feel a weird amount of pressure at restaurants and cafes when modern card readers ask how much you want to tip? You’re standing there right after paying, suddenly in the hot seat while the register worker stares you down. Your finger hovers over the percentages while you wonder if 15% is low enough for you to get a loogie in your latte.

It’s worse when you order takeout online and there’s a tipping option before your order’s even prepping. What’s to ensure good service at that point? But if you don’t add a tip, you know everybody in back of house is hocking one up in your honor. Well, one Upstate New York waitress took care of this debate by adding a very unauthorized, very generous tip to a customer’s bill.

Guac Is Extra, But Not This Extra

After coming home from a meal at the Schodack Diner in Castleton-on-Hudson on Thursday, September 22, a customer noticed a ridiculous surprise charge on their card. They called police, who after a short investigation, discovered the charges had been made by a 26-year-old waitress who works (probably worked, now) at the Diner.

When she took the customer’s card to pay for the meal at the register, she also paid off a few bills of her own – a tip to the tune of more than $1,500. The woman’s generosity towards her own service taken into account, she now faces two felony charges: fourth degree grand larceny and second-degree identity theft.

Tipped Off

New York State Police are asking anyone who recently dined at Schodack Diner to check their card statements to see if the waitress was the recipient of any more clandestine tips. If you realize you are a victim, make sure to tip off the State Police post in Wilton.