This story is a few years old, but it is a good lesson on how taking a little time to be attentive to other’s needs can really make a huge difference in someone’s day.
Back in 2013, Midvale, Utah resident Anna took her 7-year-old little sister out for lunch to their local Chili’s restaurant. Anna knew that taking Arianna out could sometimes be difficult. Arianna has autism and can be very particular about how she likes to have things done.
When their server Lauren stopped by, Arianna knew right away that she wanted a cheeseburger for her lunch, since cheeseburgers are her favorite food. However when her cheeseburger arrived, Anna noticed that her sister was not eating but instead was looking sad. Anna asked her what was wrong and Arianna replied, “its broken”.
That’s when Anna realized that the cheeseburger had been cut in half! She got Lauren’s attention and made a special request. She told the server that there was nothing really wrong with the cheeseburger but Arianna had autism and to her the cheeseburger was “broken”. Immediately, Lauren turned to Arianna and replied, “I brought you a broken cheeseburger?! You know what, I’ll have them cook you a new one!”.
In her Facebook post, Anna went on to say that next the manager of the restaurant stopped by their table. Manager Bradley Cottermole kneeled down in front of her little sister and promised to bring her more french fries to munch on while they fixed her broken cheeseburger. When Lauren arrived a few minutes later with the “fixed” cheeseburger, Arianna was ecstatic! She thanked Lauren for fixing it and gave her cheeseburger a big kiss before digging in.
Anna went on to say that a broken cheeseburger could make or break Arianna’s day. Luckily the crew at Chili’s that day cared enough to help fix one little girl’s broken cheeseburger and make her day a better one!