So what do you do when you get frustrated at a restaurant because they are obviously short-staffed?
Probably not what these two awesome women did!
Sylvia Arrendondo and her mother Idalia Merkel went to a local Denny’s in Texas and were seated by another customer. That’s when they first realized that the restaurant was extremely short-staffed.
They didn’t get up and leave in a huff…they decided to roll up their sleeves and help out.
Arrendondo wrote about her experience on her Facebook page where she explained that only two people were working. One was serving tables and the other was the cook. The man who seated the two women told Arrendondo and Merkel that his wife used to work at Denny’s so she started helping to serve tables and he decided to help get people seated.
The service industry just can’t keep up after the chaos of the “great resignation” during the pandemic.
It may be shocking to find out that the federal minimum wage for tipped employees like servers and bussers is just $2.13 an hour.
Arrendondo and Merkel saw two seemingly college-aged kids doing their best to keep the place running and they didn’t hesitate to jump in to help.
“We just looked at each other and it wasn’t even a question. We both knew what we had to do,” they said.
“This was probably the most beautiful act of American unity that I have personally encountered,” Arrendondo told the media. She also said one of the paid employees would occasionally start to cry before being comforted by the cook, only to return the favor when he would get overwhelmed.
These two kids had exhausted all of their resources, and their manager multiple times. Instead of customers getting angry, demanding better service, or walking away, Arredondo and Merkel stepped up.
“The strength, courage and integrity by these two workers was beyond admirable. My mom and I have never been so proud and happy to help,” Arrendondo said. “After all, we have all been there.”
