Springfield resident Keshia Dotson posted a photo of an employee at her local IHOP that is going viral. Joe Thomas has worked at IHOP in Springfield for years and the couple in the photo are regulars of his. Although this man and wife always sit down at the table together, it's not often they actually get to eat together. The wife suffers from Huntington's Disease, so her husband has to stop feeding himself to help her. One day Joe stepped in because he wanted them to actually enjoy a meal together.
"I always see him stop eating to feed her and I was like, 'Heck if I'm not doing anything why don't I go feed her so he can eat and everyone can be happy?" -Joe Thomas
It didn't take long for this story to go viral, but Joe is taking everything in stride. Other regulars at the IHOP say this is really just who Joe is. He treats their kids like his own and goes above and beyond for all of his customers. His co-workers rave about him as well, saying the positive attitude he brings to the workplace affects the entire staff. Since this story has blown up, Joe has received offers to further his education and become a nurse. But since Keshia has posted this on IHOPs Facebook page, and after seeing the response it's getting, we can imagine he will be hearing from them too!
“I didn’t really offer. I just started doing it. I told the gentleman to ‘Sit down, eat your food. I got her.’ I really treat people like I want to be treated, and if I get to be that age and something happened to me I would want someone to help me out." -Joe Thomas