Strangers leave waitress $400 tip, offer to pay $10,000 debt

WAIKIKI, Hawaii — A waitress is thanking two strangers who left her a generous tip, then came back the next night and made her an incredible offer.

Cayla Chandara has been working at two restaurants in Waikiki, Hawaii. She recently waited on a couple visiting from Australia who chatted with her.

"They asked me where I was from, and I told them I moved here for school but I was kind of in a little bit of debt and I couldn't go back to school, because I couldn't afford it and the cost of living here," Chandara told KHON.

At the end of their meal, the couple paid their $200 bill and left. Chandara was stunned to see they left a $400 tip.

She wanted to make sure she thanked them properly.

"During dinner, they told me where they were staying, so I ran there after work to see if they'd still be there," said Chandara.

She gave them a thank-you card and flowers before they parted ways.

They next day, the couple returned to the restaurant with an even more generous gift, offering to pay off all Chandara’s debt, which totaled more than $10,000.

“I was like, ‘No way, you don’t have to do that for me. I just wanted to say thank you,’” Chandara said. “I still don’t feel like it’s real. I want to run around in the streets.”

Cox Media Group