I saw a story online about a week ago, about a Burger King employee who received congrats for 27 years of loyalty to his job without missing a shift. Trouble was, the management came off looking more than a little cheapo, after a video of their loyalty gift – described as $27 worth of trinkets – went viral…
Kevin Ford: On the job, showing off his loyalty swag bag…
First impressions
The first reaction of many who viewed the original Reddit video was swift and damning. It seemed management really didn’t appreciate Kevin Ford (image, top of page) all that much. The festive ‘swag’ bag contained a movie ticket, a bag of Reese’s Pieces, a Starbucks tumbler, a lanyard, two pens, some key chains and two packs of Lifesavers.
Of course, some commentors to the Reddit post called out Burger King management for the almost comical cheapness of the gesture. But others, who apparently had some insight into working at a burger joint, suggested that management hadn’t given the gift. They said it was probably the man’s co-workers, who had spent what they could afford from their own subsistence level wages to fete him. I tend to agree with the latter faction.
Whatever the story, Ford appears to have taken the incident gracefully, ‘smiling through’, as they say.
Virality breeds generosity
After the Reddit video went viral, Ford’s daughter, Seryna, set up a Go Fund Me campaign to help pay for her dad’s imminent retirement:
“Hi, My name is Seryna. The man in that video is my father. He has worked at his job for 27 years and yes, he has never missed a day of work. He originally began working at this job as a single father when he gained custody of me and my older sister 27 years ago. Then as our family grew and he remarried, he continued to work there because of the amazing health insurance that was provided through this employer because it was unionized. This got all four of his daughters through high school and college with full healthcare coverage.
“My dad continues to work there, because though he does look young, he is coming up on retirement age and leaving would cost him his retirement. In no way are we asking for money or is he expecting any money but if anyone feels like blessing him he would love to visit his grandchildren.”
What happened next will warm your cockles
Well… Within a week, the Go Fund Me campaign had rung up more than $277 K in donations! Among the donors was actor and SNL alumnus David Spade who chipped in $5,000.
“I just want to say thanks to everybody out there. It’s just so overwhelming,” Ford said. “I’m just Kevin, you know. I just love everybody. I think that it probably touched people because I think we as humans, period, just need love and gratitude. And when you see someone like that, you know, […] I was happy to get anything. Some people got nothing, so I was just happy to get anything.”
My take
There’s hope for humanity yet!
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.