Tipping culture has recently grown exponentially. In today’s day and age, it can feel like every business is expecting its customers to tip them. Well, that is exactly how this California teacher felt, as she found herself in a sticky situation when asked for a tip. The West Coast native, Linda Mathiesen, takes her job as a teacher very seriously. However, with her shoulder issues, she has to rely on the use of CBD relief gel.
However, to get the gel, the California teacher must go to a vape shop. After getting everything she needed and spending around $129.28, Linda was feeling generous. She had attempted to leave a $5 tip for the worker who helped her out. However, when it came time to enter the amount of money for the tip, Linda had put in $5,000 by mistake. When the teacher would ask the clerk to reverse it, the worker would state he “didn’t know how.” Although things would go from bad to worse, after the clerk explained that the shop never even got the money. Linda was able to speak about her situation thanks to a now-viral TikTok posted by ABC7 Bay Area News.
California Teacher Faces Financial Issues After Visit to Vape Shop
Although that is not what the California teacher’s bank statements would say, Linda was “livid” as she explained after the incident. Living on a teacher’s salary isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do, especially with the current state of the US economy. “Who would ever?” Linda asks. “$5,000? I don’t have that kind of money,” the teacher can be heard saying in the video. Commenters have even stated their confusion with the process. “Am I missing something here?” one wrote regarding having to tip at a vape shop.
However, when ABC 7’s reporter asked how many times Linda was in contact with her bank, the answer was shocking. Linda would confirm she had reached out to her bank (Wells Fargo) 22 times. “22 times… each time two hours on the phone,” said Linda Mathiesen.
However, despite the wasted time on the phone, Wells Fargo would attempt to close the case around eight months later. The reason for the attempted dismissal was “too much time had passed.” However, the California teacher confirms that she tried to resolve the issue within five minutes of it happening.
The vape shop is now under new ownership, and the employees have had no comments regarding the $5,000 tip incident. Other than that, it should have been “handled with the bank.” As for the California teacher, Wells Fargo has vowed to refund all of the money, including interest, to Linda. While it took far too long to get settled, at least this story has a happy ending.
