Last week, a mom, Amanda, came in with 3 kids to get some take out. She seemed almost at the end of her rope as the kids were being a handful. When she came to pay for lunch, she took out one of those old gift cards we sold back in the early 2000s and asked if there was a way we could see if there was any value. I haven’t seen one for quite some time and told her this was an old card, and to give me a minute to look it up. There was $1.63 left on the card. I made up a new $25 certificate on the side and gave it to her, asking that it not be so long for her to come back and use it. The kids got real quiet when I did this, and then got all excited when I gave them the Pay it Forward certificate. She thanked me over and over, saying they love it here and don’t get to visit as often and couldn’t believe what we had done.
Early Mother’s Day Treat
A nice lady came in Saturday wanting take out. Her husband assured her they had $10 on their Paybacks$ Card so he could order prime rib. When we looked, no Payback$. She was going to change her meal to a kids meal so he could still have his prime rib, but no way that was happening on my watch! I bought her dinner and gave her a PIF for the next time!
A Little Help
Had a couple come in tonight and the man was wearing a Squam Boats and Livery jacket. I asked him if he knew the family who owned it as I grew up with the owner’s son. He explained he lives in Ashland and works at Squam Boats. Having grown up in Holderness we began talking about the area and who we both knew and what not. They told me they frequent T-Bones Laconia as it is so close, so I asked what they are doing this far South. They went on to explain that they are staying at Catholic Medical Center, as their son, Noah, was born 12 weeks early. They explained that he is doing well and hopefully be released in the very near future. I immediately gave her a hug and shook his hand, telling them congratulations on the addition to their family and that my thoughts and prayers were with them. When I went on to explain that T-Bones was going to pay for their dinner they were so thankful and appreciative of how we would do that for them during this hard time. I gave them a Pay It Forward and they once again thought it was amazing that we would then let them help someone else. As they left I said a last goodbye and told them they need to bring Noah in and show him off when he’s ready.
Welcome Home!
Tuesday night we had a party of 5 come in to celebrate the home coming of an Army Veteran from Iraq. The mom was first to arrive and asked if we could do a birthday cake for her son as he missed his birthday over seas. We took it one step further! Upon completion of dinner and before presenting the check, I went over to the table with a birthday cake and a candle. He was very surprised. I thanked him for his service and announced that we would be taking care of the bill. They were completely blown away. He mentioned that T-BONES was the last restaurant food he ate before deploying and the first he has had since returning. His daughter was moved to tears and you could tell that the family had a lot of catching up to do. I presented him with the Pay It Forward and he couldn’t stop thanking us. Tables around them were commenting afterwards how nice the gesture was on our part.
Popcorn Crave
Tonight I had a nice lady come in. She said to me “this is probably a weird request but can I get a large bag of popcorn to go?” I told her that is not weird request at all and I would be happy to. She told me that her best friend’s husband is in the hospital with pancreatic cancer and they always came in just the four of them and absolutely loved our popcorn. I proceeded to get the popcorn and gave her an extra bag. I brought it out to her letting her know it was on the house and to please tell her best friend’s husband that T-BONES hopes for a fast recovery so we can see him in here again healthy and happy eating our popcorn. She was so excited she almost started crying and she said this is why they always come to T-BONES. I gave her the Pay It Forward gift card and she said she knows the perfect person to give it to.
I Am Going To Be Old Someday
I was working on the bar Saturday and these two young gentleman came in from work to have some lunch. At the end of the bar stood an elderly gentleman who seem lost. I approached him asking him if I could help him. He was looking for a foot doctor office around this area. I went to get my phone so I could google it for him to help him. By the time I got back to the bar one of the young men had already looked it up for us. I said “thank you” and he came back with “I am going to be old someday” The elderly gentlemen went over and the young man showed him how to get where he needed to be. I decided to do a random act of kindness for these young men. It touch my heart because I don’t think most kids theses days think like this young man does. He seemed excited about having to go out and find someone to share the act with. “Pay it forward” where his last words as he walk out the door.
Loving Foster Mom
We have a nice couple that comes in and our hostess Gloria knows them well, from many years of coming in. This visit she noticed that they had a young kid with them and he was a little scared to come in. Gloria approached them and asked who the young gentleman was and she found out that this couple used to foster this child before he went to another loving home. The kid loved his foster mom so much so, they still get together and visited with one another. What a wonderful story and come to find out she is getting another 2 young kids to foster. If anyone deserves a random act of kindness is was this regular! I bought theie meals for them and they are more than happy to pay it forward to someone else who can enjoy this