Talk about a generous tip.
The charming story of an UberEats driver delivering food on the side for a year and a half — to give his soon-to-be-bride her dream wedding — has opened hearts and wallets around the world.
Paul Slobodzian achieved instant social media fame after dropping off a Chipotle order to customer Erica Hernandez last week, while on his usual rounds in Phoenix, Ariz.
Along with her food, Hernandez spotted a handwritten note encouraging her to tip for the diligent driver’s upcoming nuptials to fiancée Aly Perkins.
“Something along the lines of ‘Thank you for your order. I am driving on the side to give my fiancée the wedding she deserves,’” Hernandez told Fox 10 Phoenix.
Inspired by the notecard, which contained Slobodzian’s Venmo handle, Hernandez reposted it to TikTok with the caption “hopefully this reaches the right people.”
“I just felt really inspired to post it and see if my friends would be willing to donate or any followers that I had on there to donate,” she said.
In a matter of hours, the clip had gone viral, with tons of folks chipping in to give Perkins the big day she was hoping for.
“[My phone] hasn’t stopped since Friday afternoon,” Slobodzian said. “It’s been thousands of messages of people supporting us.”
“I never set out to leave those notes with the intention of somebody making a video about it or even trying to broadcast it to anybody besides the person I was delivering to,” Slobodzian said.
Now they have not only hit their wedding quota, but have had the means to give $1,000 to Hernandez — along with an invitation to attend.
Slobodzian said he’d put his side hustle on pause for the time being.
“We didn’t really expect anything to come of this,” Perkins said. “The fact that a stranger got our note and felt so compelled to post it on the internet and advocate for two strangers is unbelievable.”
