I think it’s great that fast food restaurants hire people with special needs. One of the places I go to regularly has a girl that washes the same place on a counter every time I’m in their store. She never speaks but always smiles. I’m all for programs that find places for people with limited capabilities to still contribute. But sometimes this can create odd situations.
A friend and I were eating at a Captain D’s seafood restaurant. If you aren’t familiar with it, this is a fast food chain like Long John Silvers. While we were eating one of the special need’s workers came around and asked if everything was ok with our meal. It caught us by surprise. At that time, this type greeting seemed out of place in a fast food restaurant. It was also odd because when I had seen this done, it was by a management type instead of someone normally limited to tasks like wiping trays. Although it felt a little awkward, he was pleasant and up to the task, even though it seemed like he may have decided to take it on by himself.
At the same restaurant, there was a lady behind the counter who would always shout, “Welcome to Captain D’s!” whenever someone entered the store. She also appeared to be a special needs person, but they trusted her to take customer orders and operate the cash register.
A couple of weeks later, we were back at Captain D’s. The lady was behind the counter and she shouted at us like she always did. We didn’t see the young man. Later while we were eating, the young man comes in the door. He is wearing sunglasses. He stands next to counter, whips off his shades and looks around the room like he owns the place. I lean over and tell my friend, “You know who that is? That’s the Captain!” I pointed up to the shouting lady and said, “That’s the first mate!”
That was the last time we saw the Captain, but his legend lives on. Soon after that, the store moved to a different location. The first mate moved with most of the crew. We don’t know if there was a mutiny. We really liked the Captain and always expected to see him again. They finally closed that store and we thought we would never see any of the crew again. After about 7 years, they opened a new Captain D’s on the south side of town but none of the old shipmates were on board. A few months later, I ran into the First Mate at a new Waffle House. She still shouts when you come in the door.