A viral photo taken at a Domino’s Pizza in San Antonio, Texas, offers a glimpse into the chaos and tension food workers face as icy weather and power outages hit the state earlier this week.
The photo, taken by employee July DeLuna, was shared to Facebook on February 17th. Since then, it has been shared hundreds of times.
“This is what it looks like when we worked the hardest,” DeLuna wrote in the photo’s caption. “This is us. Dominos. Work hard. Serve yourself during this crisis.”
DeLuna, who could not speak to TODAY Food, noted in the caption that other restaurants and pizzerias were closed, and although the business was only open for a short time, they served much more food than they normally would.
“We were open for four hours,” DeLuna wrote. “… And what was a weekend’s food to serve before that time?”
DeLuna said in her report that she and her colleagues served “countless” meals, but were regularly harassed by customers.
Video: Texas residents wait for hours at water distribution center
Related: Local organizations and restaurants are working to provide hot meals to Texans in need during cold weather and dangerous power outages.
“Many people shout at us. We have tried countless times to say ‘We are sorry’,” she wrote. “It’s us when we run out of food and can no longer serve. We did not even have food to serve ourselves. ‘
While DeLuna’s message drew mostly positive reactions, some commentators responded with the same vitriol to which it drew attention.
“Hahahaha please. That’s a joke, isn’t it?” asked a Facebook user.
“Oh no.” A whole four hours! 4 hours of work must be very stressful, ‘added another.
But much in the comments, DeLuna and her colleagues defend.
‘Although I’m not a fan of some pizza places, I love those who abuse people who serve them, while their servers have done so much to get there, they have to take the abuse, WITH A SMILE, they invite back while almost collapsing exhaustion, ”wrote one Facebook user. “… Good job by doing everything!”
Another commenter said those who reacted negatively because they could not resist an opportunity to regret someone for their efforts.
Related: “There are a lot of people struggling, so we just paid for it,” the owner said.
“We are so proud of our store team members who work hard to serve hot food to their local communities,” a Domino’s representative said in an email TODAY. “It’s currently a very fluid situation in Texas and stores are navigating the best barriers.”
In her report, DeLuna asks that those who eat at restaurants or other establishments should remember that servers often deal with their own problems.
‘We have given up our rewards to serve you. We gave up our safety to drive here, ‘she wrote. “We gave up our time to be here. We dared to be here to serve everyone. You have to understand that we work hard, not because we have to, but because we want to help and care. Thank you. “
EDITOR’S NOTE (February 19, 2021, 17:17 EST): This story has been updated with a statement from Dominos.