Last week, a Nebraska waiter was surprised during his shift at Charleston, an Omaha restaurant, after being given a $5,000 tip by pop star Jason Derulo.
According to KETV, Jordan Shaffer took care of a party of 18 people, including the “Talk Dirty” singer, during a Sunday shift.
@jordanschaffer2 Serving @jasonderulo ♬ Nuvole Bianche – Yuval Salomon
Derulo described the service as “really awesome” before writing out a 5K tip on a receipt and giving it to Shaffer. The total for the bill, comparatively, was only $795.99.
The grateful server said, “I couldn’t believe it. Like, seeing $5,000 written out on the check was just — it was, like, heart-stopping, you know. To see it happen to myself is just kind of bewildering.” He continued acknowledging that the timing couldn’t have been more perfectly on time. Shaffer explained that he had had a tough time paying his college tuition for this semester, and Derulo’s tip helped relieve much of his stress.
Jason Derulo leaves $5,000 tip for stunned Omaha restaurant server https://t.co/fvdFk3olIh pic.twitter.com/tDtAY0qLyi
— New York Post (@nypost) March 11, 2023
“Tuition was actually due last week, and I hadn’t been able to pay it. So, getting that money just really took a lot of stress out of my life,” Shaffer told the outlet. “It went as perfect as it could have.”
The server split the $5,000 tip with another one of his coworkers working that night.
“Charleston’s is really into teamwork, so my coworkers really just kind of help me make his experience as perfect as it could’ve been,” he explained.
Shaffer admitted that his first thought while serving the large party was, “What the heck is Jason Derulo doing in Omaha?”
According to the outlet’s reports, Derulo was in Nebraska because of a new business venture that required his attention since purchasing a stake in a new Omaha women’s volleyball team.