Restaurant Gets 1-Star Review Because A Homeless Man Lives Out Front, But The Owner Defends Him — ‘I Like Him, He’s Part Of Our Community’
Kindness is commendable.
Reddit and Pexels via Canva For most business owners, online reviews and ratings matter. Especially for small businesses, they help lay out the groundwork for improvements, problems, and opportunities to create a better space for customer satisfaction.
However, one restaurant owner used his bad review for a different purpose.
A restaurant owner received a one-star review because a homeless man lived outside of the restaurant.
Reddit user beerbellybegone posted to the popular subreddit r/MurderedByWords where they shared a screenshot of the one-star review — as well the owner's commendable response.
The customer who left the one-star review wrote, “A homeless guy has “lived” (morning, noon, and night) against the front entrance for about a year. Really makes me feel great about spending $5 on a jelly donut.”
Photo: Reddit
Instead of pushing the homeless man away, Keiller stood up for him in his lengthy response to the bad review.
Keiller decided to defend the man, rather than to defend his business. He wrote back, “Thanks for coming into the shop. We’ve appreciated your support over the years, even at the original one on 30th St! I’m sorry that Ray ruined your experience on your last visit. Know that he would like you to continue buying $4 donuts from Nomad every day and doesn’t want you to feel guilty about it.”
Keiller went on to discuss that Ray has helped keep “problematic” homeless people out of their shop so that Keiller wouldn't have to.
Keiller also wrote that Ray is very “intelligent and respectful” and that he liked Ray and spoke with him daily. Keiller ended, “If you stop and talk with him maybe you’ll come to like him too.”
Many agreed that instead of Keiller losing business, he probably gained more attraction.
The 2019 Reddit thread got some attention, with many who said that being nice is “commendable” as it’s oftentimes easier to be mean to others.
Some gave Keiller advice and wrote that he should, “Just hire the homeless man to keep away the other homeless. Or at least give him some new clothes/a place to put his stuff for a while so it’s out of sight of customers. If he’s that valuable to you, invest in him. It’ll please your customers and help him out".
Keiller, unlike other restaurant owners, put Ray in front of his business. This act of kindness shows that the little things do matter, and that kindness truly goes a long way. As the saying goes, "In a world where you can be anything, be kind."
Cortney Crowell is a writer and frequent contributor to YourTango from New Jersey who covers entertainment, news, and human interest stories.