Dubai: In a country such as the United States, wherein the majority of the population does not observe Ramadan, a surge of hungry customers in the early hours of the morning would fluster any restaurant employee.
And a Facebook post has caught this situation and is raising awareness.
Flocking down to a nearby IHOP to devour a buttery stack of pancakes at suhoor time has almost become an American-Muslim tradition in the country.
Aisha Sultan chose to write on Facebook about one such morning she drove to eat at the restaurant in a post titled: “This is a Ramadan story about how I ended up crying in an IHOP tonight”.
Upon checking she found that Cedric, the manager on duty was the only one serving nearly half of the restaurant.
But, everybody finally managed to get their food. However, she felt people needed to recognise such an effort and tip well — hence the post.
The word quickly spread around the St Louis community, in Missouri.
Aisha Sultan (a syndicated columnist in St. Louis, below) wrote: “I shared my thoughts about what the waitstaff deals with during this month on a few local Muslim groups. Immediately, people said they wanted to contribute toward a small bonus to show our appreciation.”
'Many blessings to you'
She managed to collect $1,000 and handed it to a teary-eyed Cedric for him and his employees – who understandably, were surprised and grateful.
The early morning, June 3 Facebook post that Sultan ended with “PSA: Always tip your wait staff well” has gotten close to 9,000 likes and above 2,700 shares on the platform.
Facebook user Rubina Zaman posted: “Beautiful story — thanks for sharing! IHOP is an awesome tradition, but it’s so true that we descend upon them and then sometimes get upset if the food is late or not on time. We do need to take more time to thank the wait staff for their service. Thanks for reminding us.”
Another FB user, Cynthia Mostoller said: “Beautiful story. Am not out eating in the early hours nor am I Muslim, but I was a waitress for many years to put myself through school. You are teaching and leading by example. Many blessings to you.”
Joshua Mortensen commented that such treatment should be more frequent.
He said: “That is just the best, because of course. This story is everything America should be.”
