If your faith in humanity is diminished down to nothing, fear not, because there are still people out there who spark a little brighter and love a little stronger and restore what seems to be lost.
The person like that is Amanda.
Amanda is a business woman and a respected member of the community, but above all, she is a mother of a very special child with Down Syndrome. This means she is perfectly aware of how these people who other see as ‘different’ are sometimes treated by the rest of the world. This extraordinary young lady is perfectly aware of the stares and how they affect the level of self-esteem of her child and others like him. This makes Amanda protective and wants everyone to know that those people perfectly fit with the rest of us, and their slight difference only makes them special and unique.
Hearing of an incident at her restaurant, Amanda was eager to learn what really happened. That’s when she understood that one of her employees who happens to have autism was harassed by a rude customer.
She simply couldn’t get over it without taking the matter in her hands.
Many of the people who work in her restaurant are disabled. She had the decision to hire them because she knows very well that these people might need more time to master a task than others and they learn at their pace, but once they acquire the skills they are unstoppable.
Amanda’s way of doing business is very unique. That’s appointing specific tasks to different people so everyone is in charge for their tasks only. The customer asked the employee to refill a bowl with lettuce, but he wasn’t trained to do that. After the manager explained to the customer their way of doing things and how the employee didn’t do what he was asked to simply because he didn’t know how to do it, the customer became even more frustrated. Before he left Pizza Inn he said how they should have hanged a sign with a ‘warning’ that disabled people work at the place.
Instead of getting angrier, Amanda actually thought that might be a good idea.
The sign she put at the door of the restaurant said,
“WE ARE PROUD TO BE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND HIRE ALL OF GOD’S CHILDREN.”
Amanda told WYFF that putting that sign was sort of appreciation for her employees’ job well done over the course of the years. That was also a perfect way of protecting their emotional and mental health. Amanda says,
“These are like my kids, and it made me angry. I wanted to do something that was not rude, but got my point across.”
As of the rude customer, who is probably not getting back to her place, Amanda said,
“If he is not OK with that, then I’m OK with him not coming back. That’s a dollar that I don’t need.”
If you feel like what Amanda is doing is really special and if you liked the way she stood for her employee please share her story with your family and friends.
