Joe Thomas, an IHOP waiter from Springfield, Illinois, has had his act of kindness go viral, but he’s not letting it go to his head. Another diner captured a photo of the veteran waiter helping a disabled woman eat her meal and posted it to Facebook.
Thomas explained to CBS how the situation unfolded. He said, “I didn’t really offer. I just started doing it. I told the gentleman to ‘Sit down, eat your food. I got her.’” The woman in question has Huntington’s Disease, which breaks down nerve cells in the brain. Thomas had observed the couple in the past; the husband would dutifully help his wife eat while his own food went cold. That didn’t sit well with Thomas.
Keshia Dotson noticed the heartwarming scene and snapped a photo. She posted it to Facebook with the following caption:
“Today while visiting your Springfield, IL location on Dirksen I witnessed a very touching moment involving one of your servers. A man and disabled women were dining and your server sat down with them and proceeded to help feed the disabled woman while her companion enjoyed his food. My faith in humanity has been restored a little today.
UPDATE: Dale and “Ma” and reached out and are so thrilled by all the positive feedback they are also very thankful for the all the recognition that Joe (our wonderful server) has received. — thank you all for your kind words.”
The post has 11,000 likes and was shared almost 5,000 times. Best of all are the over 400 comments that recognize Thomas’ good deed. Many of them were from long-time customers of Thomas who were thrilled to see their favorite waiter recognized for his awesome work ethic.
Courtney Sullivan wrote, “He was our waiter on St Patrick’s day. It was super busy, and we had our toddler with us. He took the time to sit down and talk with our son while still managing to serve his other tables. A small act of kindness goes a long way!”
Amanda Jane also had Thomas for a server. She posted, “This guy waited on me the other morning and I left with a smile on my face thinking that this man was so nice and just the few minutes that I interacted with him while getting my to go order made my morning that much better! What a genuine human being. Just what the world needs more of!”
There are nearly 500 similar comments for this inspiring man. His deft social skills were noticed by a nursing home, who liked what they saw and offered Thomas a job. He was flattered but has no plans on leaving his current gig, a fact that his customers are no doubt thrilled by.
As you would expect, Thomas played down the good deed when talking to reporters. He told People, “It really felt good for somebody to actually see another person is doing something and take notice. It felt good, but at the same time I was like I really don’t care for the recognition too much because it’s just something that should automatically be done regardless. I am out there to help anyone if I can, don’t really look for anything in return just have a good day and that’s it.”
We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Great work, Joe!
