BEDFORD, Texas — No matter what customers order from the McDonald’s drive-thru in Bedford, Texas, every meal comes with a sweetie.
Employee Dawn Crager greets nearly every customer with “hey, sweetie,” before encouraging them to “have an awesome day!”
For 11 years, Crager has worked the drive-thru window at McDonald’s. Each interaction lasts only a few seconds, but she has found a way to connect.
“I’m the kind of person who asks a lot of questions,” Crager said. “And then I learn about their life and their family and it’s wonderful.”
To Crager, her customers are family.
“Three of them I can think of right now I’m really close to, and I do spend some holidays with them,” she said.
Customers love her so much, some drive out of their way, past other McDonald’s stores just to come to the Bedford location.
“I love Dawn,” said customer Lisa Moen. “There are other McDonald’s where you can get a sausage and biscuit, but you can’t get Dawn there.”
“She starts your day off right,” said another customer, Darlene Hollingsworth.
“She is a ray of sunshine,” customer Kim Thornton said. “She is just a blessing to a lot of us.”
It’s that positivity and a genuine love for the job that led one customer to show appreciation for Crager on Facebook.
A lot of people felt the same way and hundreds responded to that post singing Crager’s praises. Crager knew nothing about the kind messages on Facebook, until a couple days later when a surprise rolled up to her drive-thru window.
“I was like ‘wow,’” Crager said. “It was just, I couldn’t believe it.”
A couple weeks ago, throughout her shift, Crager was showered with cards, gifts and love. It was customers’ small way of repaying her kindness.
When given the chance to invest in others, we often make the excuse that we don’t have time, but Crager proves the impact of even just a few seconds can last forever.
“It’s just wonderful,” Crager said. “It’s a wonderful feeling. And like I said, I really love my job.”
Giving so selflessly is a great way to guarantee there will be billions served.