A barista in US, who declined to serve a woman because she was not wearing a mask, received praise from internet users and whopping USD 32,000 in tips.
Lenin Gutierrez, working at barista in Starbucks in San Deigo, gathered praise when the woman--Amber Lynn Gilles-- posted about him on Facebook with an aim criticize him for not serving coffee because she was not wearing a mask, the Washington Post reported.
"Meet Lenin from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I'm not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption," she posted.
The post backfired. Many Facebook users defended Guiterrez and chided Gilles. It has over 1,00,000 comments and 50,000 shares.
One Facebook user wrote: "There's no reason to publicly shame a kid who's trying to work his shift like any other day." Another said: "I don't blame the kid behind the counter. They need to follow the rules that they are given." San Deigo County issued a notice on May 1 requiring residents to wear face-covering in most public settings, including when shopping in a store or picking up food at a restaurant.
Many people expressed their desire to tip Guiterrez. That's when Matt Cowan, a man who does not know Guiterrez but stumbled upon the post, decide to start a virtual tip jar on GoFundMe.
Cowan called the donation page "Tips for Lenin Standing Up To A San Diego Karen." In the description, he wrote, "Raising money for Lenin for his honourable effort standing his ground when faced with a Karen in the wild."
