CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- She calls it a huge blessing.
A waitress in the northwest suburbs is smiling after she received a 10,000 percent tip on a recent bill.
Nikki Formanski is a waitress at the Jelly Cafe on Golf Rod in Mt. Prospect.
She said one of her regular customers eating at the restaurant on Monday gave her a tip of $2,020 on a bill of $18.89.
Formanski told the Daily Herald the customer, that she describeds as "just a nice old lady," called the cafe owner ahead of time to let her know what was about to happen. The woman then waited to give the credit card slip to owner Kaitlin Kretch on her way out, so Kretsch could give it to Formanski.
"She didn't want to hand her the check," Kretsch told the Daily Herald. "She kind of wanted to be out of the room when (Formanski) saw it."
Kretch arranged for Formanski's wife and 7-month-old son to be there for the big surprise, and handed her the credit slip once they arrived.
"I was completely in shock," she said. "You see that stuff happening all the time, but you didn't think it would happen to you."
Kretsch told the Dailey Herald she was not sure if Wahlberg's tip was precisely what inspired the customer to pay it forward, but that the customer did know about the 2020 Tip Challenge that's gone viral on social media.
"She said she hopes it motivates people to do even $20.20, because $2,020 is a lot," Kretsch said.