With over 17,000 restaurants worldwide, Burger King rakes in rakes in well over $4 billion dollars a year. So, when a video recently surfaced online of a Burger King employee named Kevin Ford itemizing a doggy bag that he received as a token of gratitude for providing his employer with 27 years of service, many people were appalled. The video depicts the 54-year-old opening up a plastic bag containing a package of Reese's Pieces, one movie ticket, a fast-food drinking cup made of glass, a lanyard, two ink pens, a couple of key chains, and two rolls of Lifesavers (candy). Although Ford seemed to appreciate the gesture, people from the outside looking in didn't necessarily view the gift presentation in the same light. Therefore, several spirited discussions about why people should own their own businesses ensued in various comments sections wherever the video was posted, on social media, along with debates about minimum wage rates, and the flat-out cheapness of Burger King officials as a whole. The "giftbag" has garnered so much attention this week, that it prompted TMZ to interview Ford about the way he truly felt upon receiving such a modest token of appreciation, after 27 years on the job.
"It's a great company, I've been there 27 years," Ford said. "But like most big corporations, they've kind of lost touch with their workers. Through COVID and whatever, they started cutting out programs. We used to get checks for 20 years [on the job]. That's what I actually thought that movie ticket was. I was like, 'they finally gave me my car!' And then when I saw that it was not even two movie tickets, there was only one, I was like, 'this is too much.' [The doggy bag] was just like stuff they had laying around...but I was happy for that."
In wake of the growing disappointment in the public eye and ongoing backlash, regarding the matter at hand, Burger King issued an official statement, which implied that the gift was presented to Ford by an individual of their own volition and not necessarily sanctioned by the company.
"The Burger King brand and its many franchisees nationwide are committed to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of the thousands of people serving across a wide range of roles — all dedicated to providing our guests a world-class experience...Following review with this location’s franchisee, we’ve learned that this video depicts a Team Member in receipt of a peer-to-peer reward in recognition of a short-term positive performance/experience. The franchisee offers its Team Members a robust employee recognition program, which includes the recognition of tenure milestones and monetary awards."
The gift bag that Ford received while on the job at Burger King might have been an emotional letdown, but when actor David Spade caught wind of the news, he promptly donated $5,000 to a GoFundMe page that was created by Ford's daughter, shortly after the infamous video clip went viral. On a side note, two years ago, 50 Cent pulled up to a Burger King, at random, and gave all of the employees who were present $10K each. It's apparent that there are people out there who appreciate the contributions of the workers at Burger King, the only question is just how many of them belong to the company's upper management.
To watch the popular video clip, scroll up and press play.
Source: TMZ
