Anna took her 7-year-old sister, Arianna with her to her local Chili’s in Midvale, Utah.
It was a time for the two sisters to bond while Anna’s husband tagged along. Arianna is autistic, so sometimes it can be challenging to take her out to eat because she needs her food in a very particular way.
Every time Arianna eats out she always gets her absolute favorite food — cheeseburgers, the American classic! So when the server showed up at their table, Arianna was all ready to proudly order her meal.
But when the meal came, Arianna was far less pleased. Arianna refused to start eating her favorite meal. Curious, her sister asked her why. Arianna told her sister…
It’s broken. I need another one that’s fixed.
That’s when Anna glanced down at the burger and noticed that the burger had been cut in half before it was served to Arianna. Arianna only ate the burgers whole and she refused to eat them any other way. A small quirk of her disorder.
Anna then flagged down her server and tried to explain that they would need another cheeseburger even though there was nothing truly wrong with the burger. Anna explained to the server that her sister had autism and she refused to eat the burger that was cut in half.
I told Lauren [the server] 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.
Anna told of the server’s INCREDIBLE response in a Facebook post that has since gone viral.
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“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.point 274 |
Arianna, my little sister, didn’t waste any time when our waitress, Lauren, greeted us at our table.point 86 | Arianna promptly ordered her cheeseburger with pickles, french fries, and chocolate milk before Lauren could even take our drink order.point 202 |
Lauren smiled and told Arianna, ‘Okay! I’ll be right back with your chocolate milk!’point 77 | 1
When we got our food I was wondering why Arianna wouldn’t touch her cheeseburger, but was going to town on her french fries.point 181 | I asked her, ‘Arianna are you going to eat your cheeseburger?’ She calmly said, ‘No, I don’t want it.point 272 |
’ Cheeseburgers, or ‘Krabby Patties’ as we sometimes call them, are her FAVORITE! So this behavior was VERY strange.point 104 | So I asked her, ‘Why don’t you want it?’ She replied, ‘It’s broken.point 169 | I need another one thats fixed.point 195 | ’ Then it dawned on me why she wasn’t eating it.point 237 |
It’s because it was cut in half.point 28 | ”point 35 | 1
“Being a child with autism, she has to have certain things in a particular order at all times.point 273 |
One slight change in her routine can change the course of the day instantly.point 63 | When Lauren came back to check on us, I asked if we could order another cheeseburger and just add it to our check.point 155 | 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.point 303 |
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.point 152 | 1
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?’”
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“A couple of minutes later, Lauren arrived back at our table with cheeseburger #2.point 230 |
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.point 126 | She looked like so deep in thought….point 158 | just staring at it….point 177 | then she let out a big ‘OH I missed you!!’ and started kissing the burger over and over again.point 257 |
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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.point 300 |
Everyone, from the hostess to the chef, played a role in what most people would think isn’t a big deal.point 86 | But this entirely shaped how the rest of our day would go.point 133 | 1
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.”
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Wow! What an incredible story. It may have been something small, but when it means the world to a child, what harm is there in sharing it? Thank you Anna for sharing this beautiful story with the world.