What started off as a kind gesture has left the staff at Alfedro’s Pizza Cafe annoyed after a customer left a large tip for a waitress and later disputed it. Now the restaurant is serving the big tipper with court papers.

In June, Alfredo waitress Mariana Lambert was shocked when she received a $3,000 tip on a $13.00 bill. According to WNEP, the patron, Eric Smith, left a tip on a single order of stromboli. He reportedly left the life-changing gratuity as part of a social media trend called “Tips For Jesus.”

Lambart choked up as she told the reporter, “It really did mean a lot to me because, you know, everybody is going through stuff. So it really touched my heart. I’m still in shock.”

That shock would grow into full-blown disbelief when the restaurant received a dispute from Smith’s credit card company three months later.

The pizza cafe’s manager, Zachary Jacobson, told WNEP, “We received something in the mail that Eric was disputing the charge for the tip that he left.”

In hopes that it was just a misunderstanding, Jacobson reached out to Smith on Facebook to clear up the situation. The manager added that Smith was responsive at first but stopped replying to messages concerning the tip.

“We thought somebody was actually trying to do a good thing. And then now we are, what, three months later? Not even, and there’s nothing. There’s nothing to show for it at this point,” Jacobson said.

Since the restaurant has already paid Lambert the $3,000 tip, they’re now taking legal action against Smith to recoup their money.

“It’s just a little aggravating right now. It’s been causing a lot of nonsense and drama. Unfortunately, we had to file charges through the magistrate’s office because now we’re just out of this money at this point. And he told us to sue him. so that’s what we’re going to end up doing, I guess,” said Jacobson.

“I hope that he owns up to his actions and comes forth and does pay this because you shouldn’t have done this if this was the end result.”

Jacobson and his staff are hoping that the judge will rule in their favor, but the situation has left them scarred by supposedly kind gestures.

The good thing is Alfredo’s reputation doesn’t rest on this not-so-good deed. The restaurant gained notoriety after being mentioned in the NBC mockumentary series “The Office.”

Tipping has been a hot topic lately. Blavity previously reported about a group of friends who were denied service because they didn’t tip the wait staff during a previous trip.