"I
want to share the experience that my husband, 7 year old autistic
sister and I had today at the Chili’s location in Midvale, UT. Arianna,
my little sister, didn’t waste any time when our waitress, Lauren,
greeted us at our table. Arianna
promptly ordered her cheeseburger with pickles, french fries, and
chocolate milk before Lauren could even take our drink order. Lauren
smiled and told Arianna, “Okay! I’ll be right back with your chocolate
milk!”. When we got our food I was wondering why Arianna wouldn’t touch
her cheeseburger, but was going to town on her french fries. I asked
her, “Arianna are you going to eat your cheeseburger?” She calmly said,
“No, I don’t want it.” Cheeseburgers, or ‘Krabby Patties’ as we
sometimes call them, are her FAVORITE! So this behavior was VERY
strange. So I asked her, “Why don’t you want it?”. She replied, “It’s
broken. I need another one thats fixed.” Then it dawned on me why she
wasn’t eating it. It’s because it was cut in half.
Being a child with
autism, she has to have certain things in a particular order at all
times. One slight change in her routine can change the course of the
day instantly. When Lauren came back to check on us, I asked if we
could order another cheeseburger and just add it to our check. She had a
concerned look on her face so I explained that Arianna has autism, and
that in her mind, because the cheeseburger was cut in half, she thinks
its broken and can’t eat it. I told Lauren I knew it sounded silly, but
if we could just order an additional one we will gladly pay for it
because there was nothing wrong with the one that was originally brought
out. Lauren was so sweet and just smiled and went along with Arianna,
telling her “I brought you a broken cheeseburger?! You know what, I’ll
have them cook you a new one!” I loved this because rather than just
taking it from the table, she actually TOLD Arianna what she was doing.
While this seems insignificant, by her telling Arianna what she was
doing, we avoided a melt down. The manager, Bradley Cottermole, then
came to our table, kneeled down, and said to Arianna, “I heard we gave
you a broken cheeseburger! I am so sorry about that! We are making you a
brand new one that isn’t broken, with pickles! I’ll bring you some
french fries to munch on while you’re waiting, ok?”
A couple of minutes
later, Lauren arrived back at our table with cheeseburger #2. Arianna
said, “OH FANK YOU! You fixded my cheeseburger!” When Lauren walked
away, Arianna just sat there for a second and looked at her new burger.
She looked like so deep in thought....just staring at it....then she
let out a big ”OH I missed you!!” and started kissing the burger over
and over again. I showed Lauren this picture and said, “I think we
glorified the cheeseburger too much!” She busted up laughing, and asked
if she could go show her manager. She came back a minute later and said
she showed everyone in the back kitchen area too, and that it made them
all laugh and smile.
I was so touched by this experience. Especially
since I know people who have been asked to leave restaurants when their
child with autism is being disruptive. I expected a few different
things with this scenario based on past experiences, but I did NOT
expect such kind and compassionate mannerisms from Lauren and Bradley.
Everyone, from the hostess to the chef, played a role in what most
people would think isn’t a big deal. But this entirely shaped how the
rest of our day would go. I know...a cheeseburger cut in half literally
could make or break our day. In this case thanks to the
professionalism of the crew in Midvale, it made our day. And I’m sure
Arianna brightened up at least one of the employees days with her silly
little personality. Thank you."
I believe what this story teaches us is that it is essential to demonstrate kindness to everyone, even if it means having to go out of your way to do so.
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