Working in the food service industry is more or less a Herculean task, which is why one man from South Carolina who worked at a McDonald’s for more than 21 years was recognized for his efforts. Of course, it appears McDonald’s and their staff did it as a surprise, and once it was revealed, the 21-year food service veteran was a few teardrops away from bawling all out.
The rather wholesome moment happened to Montrell of Greenville, South Carolina, aka MontrellMcFly, the McDonald’s veteran in question. Apparently, he has been working in the same South Carolina branch since September 2004, putting his experience at 21 years and 3 months. For this, McDonald’s apparently rewarded the man with none other than a bicycle, so he could get to work faster.
In the now-viral video inside the McDonald’s kitchen, you can see Montrell being recorded by his co-workers as he gives a thank-you speech. “Today, when I came to work, I had a ride, I didn’t walk, I came fresh and neat, clean clothes on. They gave me a bicycle… This is a blessing in disguise,” recalls Montrell, holding back the rest of his tears. “Thank God for every person that put a dime in this, for my hard work,” added Montrell.
It’s not clear whether Montrell’s bicycle was an initiative of McDonald’s as a corporation or just from Montrell’s co-workers (who might have chipped in using their money personally). Regardless, it appears Montrell is happy and grateful for the reward for his 21 years of work in McDonald’s.
People online think the worker deserved better
Despite Montrell’s gratitude to whoever was responsible for gifting him the bicycle, some online reactions were not particularly positive. According to certain commenters and viewers, McDonald’s could have given something more rewarding to Montrell, assuming it was actually McDonald’s as a whole that rewarded him with the bicycle.
“[Expletive] was prob found on the side of the dumpster and cleaned up,” mocks a commenter on X, while another expressed that, “They should buy him a car.” Of course, many others assumed that the effort wasn’t actually from McDonald’s but from Montrell’s co-workers, though that didn’t prevent an X user from trying to get the corporation to reward their 21-year worker, “And it’s probably just the coworkers who bought this. McDonalds time to step in and up the ante!”
“McDonald’s is one of the richest businesses in the world. And these co-workers paid out of pocket because they wanted better for him,” reasoned out another commenter. Thankfully, it’s not McDonald’s or Montrell’s co-workers who became aware of his loyalty and hard work. Some of the most highly-liked comments online also seem to be aiming to give the worker his due, “Let’s fund him something,” adding more wholesomeness to the discussion.
