When Makenzie Schultz and her husband, Steven, sat down to a sushi dinner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for their sixth anniversary, they were looking to have a special night out. But things didn't go as smoothly as they'd hoped. First, they waited 20 minutes for water. Then, they waited 40 minutes for an appetizer. And then they waited an hour for their entrees. So, what did they do?

Makenzie Schultz and her husband, Steven Source: Amanda Williams Courtesy of Makenzie Schultz

They left their server a $100 tip, and a note that read, "We've both been in your shoes. Paying it forward."

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Schultz posted a photo of the receipt to her Facebook page on Sept. 27, and it went viral—racking up over 1.3 million likes (and counting) and mentions in blogs such as Eater.

She says she and her husband, who met while working as servers in a restaurant eight years ago, just wanted to do something to show they understood what it was like to be in their waiter's position. Read MoreSkip the tip, restaurant CEO says "No matter how much you apologize to tables, there are going to be people rolling their eyes," she told TODAY.com, of life as a server on a night when nothing goes right. "Throughout the dinner we were like, 'We've been in his position.'"