Teen Left 'Speechless' After Generous $2.5K Tip During His Shift At A Local Business In Missouri

According to KCTV Channel 5, 16-year-old Ryheem Lumpkins, who works at a pizza parlor in Independence, MO, was recently blessed with a generous tip from a customer for all of his hard work.

“I never had nothing in my life that happened to me like that before,” Lumpkin said in an interview with the CBS affiliate after revealing that he received a $2,500 tip from customer Robert Samay. “To be honest, I was speechless.”

Lumpkins, who is a student at William Chrisman High School in Missouri, has hands and arms that never fully developed. However, he hasn’t let that stop him from going above and beyond as an employee at Pizza Ranch. 

During a visit last month, Samay initially tipped Lumpkins $5. However, he felt that the teen deserved more, which encouraged him to pay Lumpkins another visit to leave him with more cash.

“I appreciate your hard work, your good smile, your good attitude,” Samay said to Lumpkins. “We don’t get that nowadays, especially with young kids.”

What’s more, Samay’s gesture left more of an impact on the teen than the amount of money he was given. For Lumpkins, it is proof that there are still kind people.

“That right there showed me that there are more people in the world that really care for me,” Lumpkins recalled while also giving insight into his future dreams of someday becoming a motivational speaker.

“Embrace what you have different from other people,” he continued. “Because a lot of people think it’s cool and a lot of people wouldn’t think it’s cool. The negative words, don’t let it get to your head. Because there is a lot of positivity in the world.”

Lumpkins, who has been saving up for his first car, plans to use the money toward that purchase.