An Elderly Woman Refused To Tip Her Waiter, But Left Him Something Else Instead

This was certainly the case for Armando Markaj, a 27-year-old waiter and medical student from New York City. When he unintentionally offended two customers one day, he received no tip. Instead, what he got was a passive-aggressive note and a strange white envelope, both of which would forever change his life.

27-year-old Armando Markaj had been working at Patsy’s for nearly a decade. Armando, who was working his way through medical school, took great pride in his work ethic. However, this would be put to the test by one incident in May of 2019.

It didn’t take long for the women to notice what was on the restaurant’s walls. The walls were lined with portraits of famous figures – past and present – who had visited the restaurant. While it’s not unusual for customers to ask questions about the portraits, what one of the women asked Armando took him by surprise.

Armando was stunned by this question. Some of these portraits had been on the walls for nearly a century, and it wasn’t like he had hung the portraits on the walls himself. He responded by saying that there were portraits of women on the walls, just not where they were seated.

Feeling a bit agitated, Armando decided to lighten the mood by cracking a joke. He told the women that summer was coming, and perhaps women didn’t like eating pizza as much. Almost immediately, Armando realized that he had made a huge mistake.

After receiving their orders, the two women immediately asked for the bill. Armando had worked as a waiter at Patsy’s for over nine years, and by that point, he already knew how to deal with all kinds of customers. However, nothing could prepare him for what was about to happen next.

In the note, one of the women made a snarky remark that women do eat pizza, before telling Armando, “By the way, have you heard that women don’t leave tips?” Armando felt awful, as a large part of his income came from tips. However, Armando put his feelings aside and proceeded to clear the table.

When he opened the envelope, the first thing he saw was a “Citibank” logo. He quickly realized that the envelope contained a check. The women must have accidentally left it behind when they left the pizzeria in a hurry.

Armando was now faced with a dilemma: should he return the check to the ungrateful customers, or should he just keep it for himself as an overdue tip? Many people probably would have kept the money without hesitation. However, Armando wasn’t selfish.

By the time Armando made it onto the street, the two women were nowhere to be found. He did not know their names and had no way to get in touch with them. As he had few other options, he made his way back to the pizzeria. 

When Armando looked at the check, he was completely taken aback. The check’s amount was a whopping $424,000! He couldn’t believe it – what person would walk into a restaurant with this much money?

Armando later shared in an interview that Patsy’s employees would usually just put stuff left behind in the lost-and-found box. However, Armando wasn’t going to do that with nearly half a million dollars. While he still didn’t know what to do with the check, one thing’s for sure: he wasn’t keeping it.

Frank enlisted the help of his 30-year-old son, Adem, to Google some information about Karen Vinacour. If Karen was a billionaire, then it shouldn’t be that difficult to find some information online.

Armando and Frank had also hoped that the women would return to the restaurant. Frank later said in an interview that he thought that it wouldn’t be long before they returned, as even billionaires would notice that they were missing $424,000.

Before going to Patsy’s, Karen had spent the day looking for a new place to live. She had just sold her old house and was planning to use the $424,000 check for the downpayment of her new home and other expenses.

Without that check, Karen would become homeless. She had been living with her daughter and other relatives at the time. However, she couldn’t stay with them very long. She was under a lot of stress, which could explain her behavior at Patsy’s that day.

Despite having a spotless credit history, Karen could not secure a loan. As she had spent the last several decades paying her daughter’s student loans, the bank refused to lend her enough money so she could afford a new home. Karen later admitted that it was “a very stressful day” for her.

Karen later explained that her daughter was “kind of feisty,” and she didn’t appreciate the way Armando answered their question. Hence, they both agreed not to tip him. Little did they know that their decision would come back to haunt them later on.

Karen figured that all she needed to do was to go to the bank and ask them to cancel the check. Early the next day, she headed over to the Citibank branch at Union Square. Unfortunately, the bank’s employees had some bad news for her.

Karen couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had made most of that money by selling her house. She couldn’t possibly stay with her family and friends forever. If she can’t get that check back, she’d be homeless.

Karen then called her daughter and asked her to see if she had the check. Her daughter looked in her purse, searched the entire house, and dug through her trash, but she couldn’t find it. By that point, Karen was beginning to lose hope.

Karen’s real estate broker eventually returned her call and he was just as confused as she was. In an interview, he recalled how Karen told him that she had called Patsy’s. However, it never occurred to him that she may have contacted the wrong one.

Journalists know how to look through archives to find specific individuals, so Armando and Frank figured that they needed their help. After learning about the missing check, the staff at the New York Daily News immediately set to work.

An ecstatic Karen thanked the newspaper staff and told them how relieved she was. She then proceeded to tell them that she would be heading over to Patsy’s right away. As soon as she ended the call, she hopped in a cab and made her way to Patsy’s.

Armando later told ABC 7 in an interview that Karen broke into tears as soon as he handed her the check. Though other people might have kept the check for themselves, Armando chose to do the right thing and returned it to its rightful owner.

Karen never imagined that she would come face-to-face with the waiter at Patsy’s again. While their last encounter was a rather unpleasant one, it’s safe to say that this incident certainly changed Karen’s opinions about him for the better.

Some of the famous women on Patsy’s wall include writer, editor, activist, and former New York City first lady Chirlane McCray, journalist Barbara Walters, and former New York City Council Speakers Christine Quinn and Melissa Mark-Viverito. Karen and her daughter didn’t notice these women’s portraits on their previous visit.

Frank told Karen that he wanted to take a photo with her so he could put that on the wall too. Karen was honored that Frank wanted her portrait on the wall along with generations of Patsy’s most loyal and famous customers.

To Karen’s surprise, Armando rejected her offer. He explained that giving her her life savings back was enough of a gift not just for him, but for everyone who worked at Patsy’s. Karen was touched by the young man’s kindness and generosity.

Karen told ABC 7 that she was grateful that her passive-aggressive note did not prevent Armando from doing the right thing. Had he not gone the extra mile to return the check, she would have been homeless by now.

Armando told the Los Angeles Times that he believed that this whole incident was karma for Karen and her daughter. In response, Karen laughed and said that she believed in karma too, telling Armando that she thinks that it was karma that helped her get back to him.