Server Baffled by Note Couple Leave With 25% Tip: 'What Does This Mean?'

Newsweek

16-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A cryptic note left on the back of a credit-card slip at a chain restaurant has internet users scratching their heads—and offering some hilariously speculative translations.
Jade, a 24-year-old server with nearly a decade of food service experience, currently works as a server in a restaurant just outside Cincinnati, Ohio. She shared a picture of the note on Reddit's popular r/ServerLife with the caption: "What does this mean?"
"I've received lots of notes in my nearly 10 years serving … they're always the typical, 'Great service!' or the occasional complaint," Jade, who didn't give her surname, told Newsweek. "I've never received something so obscure."
A picture of the cryptic note left behind at the restaurant.
A picture of the cryptic note left behind at the restaurant.
Substantial_Depth563/Reddit
The handwritten note left by a couple read: "Thank you for your individual kindness while serving the table associated with US! We hope you see a clearer and more pristine work environment intended for public scrutiny and bias at all times. Enjoy your night.—B & V"
Jade recounted that the interaction with the couple was entirely pleasant. They tipped well (around 25 percent), paid in cash, complimented her, and wished her a sweet "get home safe, don't work too hard." But the message they left behind raised more questions than answers.
"I immediately showed my co-workers," Jade said. "We all spent a bit contemplating and laughing—not at the folks who left the note, but at the confusion we felt attempting to decipher it."
She later shared the note on Reddit in hopes of crowdsourcing interpretations. The post exploded with comments, theories, and jokes.
"Yeah I'm gonna be honest, these folks were on psychedelics lol [laugh out loud]," one commenter wrote.
"Those are for sure all words," another Reddit user said.
Many Reddit users suggested the diners may have been under the influence of psychedelics—possibly mushrooms—and simply struggled to articulate what they felt was a profound compliment.
One user, u/ooorezzz, related from personal experience: "Probably on shrooms. Lol. I've done this before … end up being super nice, but no idea how to express to the lady she was really good at her job … probably made an a** out of myself trying to muster up words."
Researchers from Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety in Denver, Colorado, and colleagues recently revealed that magic mushroom use in the U.S. has increased in recent years. Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, became the first hallucinogenic substance to be decriminalized in the U.S. after Denver voted to legalize possession of it in 2019.
The research team found that psilocybin use increased by 44 percent over 2023 among young adults aged 18 to 29, and by 188 percent among older adults. "Past year use" for 2023 among 12th graders was also revealed to have increased by 53 percent since 2019.
Jade said that the diners were sweet and respectful the entire time, and wondered if the note was meant to recognize her professionalism while serving a nearby table of Indian customers—a group she described as regular, low-maintenance, and consistently lovely—but added there was no indication of bias in the moment.
Ultimately, Jade said she just wanted to share "something silly and fun in a subreddit dedicated to other servers," and she is amused at how far the discussion has gone.
"If these folks ever come into my workplace again, I'll be sure to ask them about it and give an update," she added.