The service industry is a tough gig. Long hours, often for low pay, coupled with entitled customers, often result in employees seeking job opportunities in other industries. Full service is very fast-paced and demanding, but because employees get tipped, the pay is usually competitive enough to entice workers to hang around. Fast food, however, is a completely different animal.
Restaurants like Mcdonald’s, Burger King, and KFC have difficulty retaining employees due to the low wages, long hours, and demands placed, often on younger, unskilled workers. With no real financial reason to stay and literally competitors on every corner that need employees, staffing a fast-food restaurant is dicey at best. Although many states are offering higher minimum wages, like the absurd $20 dollar an-hour wage California is offering, fast food continues to struggle with staffing nationwide.
In 2022, a Burger King employee went viral for achieving something that may have never been achieved before. Of course, there’s no way to know that for a fact, but never missing a day in 27 years of work at a fast food joint is certainly worth something. For Kevin Ford, according to Burger King, it was worth a few token gestures, which he appreciatively posted on social media. He posted that he “never missed not one day of work, never even called out.” When presented with the store’s tokens of appreciation, he posted, “This is my reward for working 27 years. Thank you guys.”
The problem was the gifts. For his dedication and hard work, Ford received a movie ticket, a Starbucks cup, a bag of Reese’s Pieces, two packs of Life Savers, two pens, a lanyard, and two keychains. To be fair, the restaurant didn’t have to do anything, and Ford was grateful, but social media decided to take it to the next level after his daughter Seryna created a fundraising page for her dad.
Seryna posted to the fundraising page, explaining: “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.”
The fundraiser struck a chord with so many people that it raised nearly $440,000 dollars, resulting in Kevin Ford being able to purchase his first home. Ford posted a video on TikTok thanking people for their kindness and displaying the property. He said: “I know it’s not a mansion, but it’s mine. I want to thank everyone all around the world for what you’ve done for me, something that I thought would never be possible for me: home ownership. Remember, love yourself because I love you. God bless you and thank you.”
It’s a feel-good story at a time when America needs a feel-good story. With so much negativity on social media and so many people more than willing to panhandle by the roadside or collect a government check instead of work, the country needs more of Kevin Ford and less of what we see every night on the news.
