Starbucks barista melts hearts with her tear-jerking story of a $200 tip from a grumpy customer

A Starbucks worker has delivered a heartbreaking appeal to track down a customer whose small kindness has helped transform a Mother's Day she was dreading.

Courtney Crawford starts work at 4am in the Little Rock, Arkansas, branch - which was a favorite hang-out for mom Tammy before she tragically died from cancer in June last year.

A grumpy early-morning customer handed management a note saying Courtney had 'made a difference' in her day and enclosing $200 for the barista to 'treat herself'.

Courtney ended her shift by recording a TikTok saying the money would finally allow her to buy an urn to bring her mother's remains back home in time for Sunday.

'Thank you for the impact you made on my life, and I hope that you see this and know that you did something that I will never forget,' she said in tears.

The 32-year-old works three jobs to cover the bills, but it does not stop her being 'peppy as c**p'.

'This morning I was loud and proud and peppy and a woman came in and I could tell she was kind of struggling and I was like a little extra pep in our step today we've got to get her smiling,' she posted.

'So we did and a couple of minutes later she came in and gave my manager a note and asked my manager to hand it to me.

'It says "I travel a lot for work that usually means late nights and very early mornings.

'I have been here for two days and so far, you have been the only person I have encountered that has been genuinely kind. You were the first face I saw this morning, and you really brightened my day.

'I am sure you are exhausted because, life, right? That's all of us. But you deserve to know you made a difference in someone's day today just by being kind.'

The woman who signed herself 'Groggy at 5am' suggested Courtney 'treat yourself to something nice I can tell you deserve it, maybe not just coffee ha ha!'.

'Do good in this world and it will always come back to you,' she added.

'I have the Starbucks job on top of my full time job because I have a lot of bills to pay and a lot of debt that I have inherited,' Courtney explained.

'And I would be lying to you if I told you that I was not dreading Mother's Day.

'And so I decided that I was going to buy the urn that I have been looking at and bring my Mom home or Mothers' Day.

'And I had no idea how I was going to afford it.'

Courtney was the eldest of Tammy's six children and says she thought of her mother as her best friend.

Addressing her customer directly, she said: 'The $200 you put in that note today allows me to spend Mother's Day with my mom and I appreciate you so much for that.

'So if you're out there and on TikTok thank you for the impact you made on my life and I hope that you see this and know that you did something that I will never forget.'

The video has attracted 3.6 million views on the platform and sparked a nationwide hunt for the Good Samaritan after it was picked up by producers at CBS.

'If she ever has a day where she thinks she doesn't matter or she thinks that she doesn't have an impact on the world I would love to be the reminder that says yes you do,' Courtney told CBS Mornings.

'And you will never stop having an impact on the world because I will be able to look at my mantle every day and smile because my mom's looking at me.

'If you're in Little Rock, if you can make it back to Little Rock, if you are somewhere in the world and you want to be acknowledged and be found I want to find you.

'I want to hug you I want to be able to show that your small moment of kindness created a ripple effect of beauty and I need to thank you personally for that.'