Sometimes, people’s actions are just inexplicable. In one teen’s case, a simple act of kindness almost made him lose his job.
Zachary Rudolph, an 18-year-old employee, was working at Great American Cookies at Katy Mills Mall in Katy, Texas. Everything about his shift had been normal up until a police officer came through the line to buy a cheesecake brownie. Rudolph decided to make a kind gesture and cover the cost for him.
The brownie came out to $2.75
Rudolph’s only intention was to do a kind deed to express his appreciation for a law enforcement officer. The cop thanked him and went on his way. Unfortunately, he probably should’ve stayed just a little longer because that’s when the trouble began.
The couple that had been in line behind the police officer asked if they could have a free dessert as well. Rudolph apologized and politely said the officer had not gotten a free dessert, but rather he had covered the cost as a gesture of appreciation.
At that point, all bets were off
The couple began to scream at Randolph, calling him a racist and threatening to strike him. Although his coworker was able to calm everyone down, Randolph’s boss suspended him for a week without pay.
When his mother found out about the incident — and its follow up — she was furious, expressing her feelings in a Facebook post
“My son [said] ‘I’m sorry I bought his because he is wearing a badge’…… then this customer started verbally attacking him, calling my son a racist, & threatened to beat him up. His wife threatened to go back there and slap him..The middle-aged man sat down his little daughter and tried to come behind the counter to attack him. Thankfully his coworker defused the situation. The man then said ‘I will get you fired.’”
Her post said that after the customers left, he was brought into a meeting with upper and lower management
There, the top manager said he should be fired while the lower management stuck up for him, saying he was a good employee.
After the post went viral, Rudolph was featured on several news networks. To their credit, his employers looked into the incident and issued an apology, as well as canceling his suspension.
“On behalf of Great American Cookies Katy Mills, we owe the employee an apology,” they said in an official statement
“It was never an issue that he purchased a brownie for a police officer, but rather the events that unfolded with another customer in line at the time. However, after further review, we realize that the employee was in fact in the right. The corrective action and suspension were reversed immediately and we hope to connect with him today.”
Thankfully, the incident ended happily, although no details have come forward about the belligerent customers
Meanwhile, the Katy Police department publicly acknowledged and thanked Rudolph for his kind actions.
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