Struggling Canadian business owner John McMillan couldn’t even afford to pay himself a salary from his flat-lining Fish & Chips shop – that is until one generous millennial made his way into the store and made business pick up immediately.
“People don’t know where I am. The last three months here have been absolutely horrible, just horrible,” McMillan said of his store.
But that all turned around when 31-year-old Colin Ross made his way into the Lethbridge, Alberta restaurant in search of a cure for his intense hangover.
Impressed with the food, cleanliness of the restaurant, and personality of McMillan, Ross knew he had to help him get back on his feet in some way.
At first, Ross asked if he could help McMillan by doing something for him like helping with social media or marketing. McMillan, 69 years old, refused his offer, but Ross decided to post a glowing review to Facebook anyway He hoped that this might spark a resurgence in the restaurant which McMillan stated was floundering mainly due to its difficult-to-find location.
Ross posted a photo of the restaurant to Facebook, along with a rave review and directions for those having trouble finding the store. He said in his post:
“Anyone who know me I have a big heart and want people to do well especially a 70 year old man who has put in his time. So I ordered the halibut special for 23$ absolutely amazing that traditional British fish and chips just what I needed.
And the owner was a jem real classy stand up guy so I ask everyone in lethbridge to share this and go support this hard working gentleman he deserves it and makes joeys only look like child’s play.”
The post was so successful that 400 people showed up shortly after Ross put it up, bringing life back to the dying business almost instantly. And it wasn’t an anomaly; the next day 500 people showed up to get their fill of McMillan’s amazing and authentic food.
It has been such a success that McMillan has had to hire another chef to help keep up with business and there is frequently a line out the door to sample some of McMillan’s finest. McMillan even said that some people are waiting up to almost two hours for their food, and don’t seem to mind doing so. [1]
McMillan stated, “He did it out of the goodness of his heart and Lethbridge came and did it out of the goodness of their hearts.”
Sources:
[1] Huffington Post