With as much controversy as there is surrounding tip culture these days, this wholesome story reminds us that at the end of the day—many, if not most humans will gladly show generosity when it is genuinely asked of them.
Paul Slobodzian and his fiancé Aly wanted to create an unforgettable wedding to celebrate their love in the most special way possible. To make it happen, both took on a side hustle driving for Uber Eats every day for over a year.
During one delivery, Slobodzian thought he’d try slipping a heartfelt, handwritten note sharing his wish into the bag of the order.
That note, which went into Erica Hernandez’s Chipotle order, read:
“Thank you for your order! I’m delivering for <3 on the side to give my fiancée the wedding she deserves. Any additional tip through the app or Venmo is greatly appreciated.”
Touched by Slobodzian’s honest plea, Hernandez shared the video onto TikTok, saying “I don’t have a lot of followers, but hopefully this reaches the right people.”
TikTok · erica_cristal
The video not only reached the right people, but loads of them. The clip went mega viral, racking up nearly 37 million views. Pretty soon the donations began pouring in, including $500 from Chipotle itself.
Slobodzian later posted an emotional follow-up video saying that, because of the donations, he and Aly reached their wedding saving’s goal, and now would be able to reclaim some quality time today before the big day on September 21st.
“I don’t even know how to express my gratitude for this to anybody who has reached out and sent well wishes or money or anything our way that is positive. It has truly changed our lives.”
What’s more—Erica will be a special guest. Plus, she got an extra $1000 from the happy couple as a thank-you. And she got a $250 Chipotle gift card! Talk about the gift that keeps on giving.
Slobodzian would end up recounting this entire tale to Fox News, reaching and inspiring millions more viewers worldwide, many of whom were compelled to send some love in the comments.
“Hi from New Zealand!”
“You’ve reached Australia! Your story is amazing. Congratulations.”
“You’ve reached South Africa and this is truly a wholesome story.”
“Love from Nigeria.”
“Seeing from BC, Canada.”
“Congratulations from Ghana. You are going to make a nice couple.”
“Congratulations from Germany.”
“I’m in Scotland and read about this in an article. Congratulations to you both. I hope you have the wedding of your dreams and some left over for the honeymoon.”
“You’ve reached Toronto. The power of social media is so beautiful.”
Many couldn’t help but note this was social media at its very best. As one person put it, “sometimes the internet is awesome.” Indeed, it is.
This is the ultimate example that the kindness of strangers can really do some powerful things. And what a profound reminder that by just trying to help one person, it can have an exponential impact.