There are many people in the world who would walk right past a person in need. But there are also many kind strangers who are willing to lend a helping hand. That is what happened one night at a busy waffle house when kind customers jumped in to help an overwhelmed employee.
Ben was the only person scheduled to work at the waffle house one night.
Due to a scheduling error, when Ben arrived for his night shift at the waffle house, he soon learned that he would be the only one working. The glitch somehow only scheduled one worker to take orders, cook food, wait on guests, and clean up. And for a busy waffle house with late hours, it was not going to work.
Quickly becoming overwhelmed, Ben tried his best to keep up with all of the various roles that are needed to make a restaurant run smoothly. But soon the restaurant filled to more than 30 people.
Instead of becoming angry, customers offered to help.
The waiting customers would have had reason to be frustrated at first. Many times going into a restaurant, you assume that it will be fully staffed to be able to help with the orders. But after the people learned that Ben was the only person working that night, they did something remarkable. A man in a blue shirt walked behind the counter and asked for an apron. I am sure the single employee was dumfounded but beyond grateful for the offer. The man then started taking orders and doing the dishes. Another customer, Ethan Crispo, who had come in around midnight after a birthday party, witnessed the scene.
Ethan recalled, “It was a transition so smooth I initially assumed it was a staff member returning to their shift. It wasn’t. It was a kind stranger. A man who answered the call. Bussed tables, did dishes, stacked plates. He just saw this other person in a bad spot and just jumped in,”
The actions of the customers add to the sense of community in Birmingham.
Pat Warner, who is the Waffle House Director of PR and External Affairs, said that the scheduling error was caused by miscommunication over the duty roster. He called the error “a little gap” but thanks to the kind customers in the area, they kept a busy night running smoothly. The workers scheduling for the first shift all arrived and left on time, but Ben was the only one who showed up for the second shift. The Waffle House is well known in the area, and thanks to the kind actions of the customers, everything still ran as almost-normal.
“That’s the great thing we have with our customers, the sense of community,” Warner said.
The kind customers who offered to help included the man in a blue shirt and another woman in a party dress and heels and a few others who saw a person in need of help. It is great to hear of people still willing to help one another out in a time of need.
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Source: AL.com
