Featured Image Credit: YouTube/WACHFOX
Topics: Burger King, Social Media, South Carolina
Joe Yates
Burger King has responded after one of its employees who single-handedly kept the store afloat for 12 hours was fired.
Mom-of-three Nykia Hamilton flipped the burgers, shook the fries, packaged the food, poured the drinks, worked the till inside and took orders from the drive-thru alone as her colleagues failed to turn up for their shifts.
As customers lined up inside and outside in their cars at a Burger King in Columbia, South Carolina, one decided to video the 25-year-old's valiant effort manning every station there was at the fast-food chain.
She became a viral sensation, and many believed that fame was actually a double-edged sword as a media frenzy swarmed and the American started taking interviews from local TV stations before ultimately being cut from the payroll.
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Taking to Reddit, one user posted a concerning theory as to why they thought Nykia got the axe: "Well, she's clearly embarrassing the company, so corporate had to fire her before she again reveals they underpay and understaff. What sucks is that it wasn't even her doing for going viral."
Now, Burger King has finally responded to the rumors around Nykia and her firing.
"No Team Member should ever be left to run a restaurant alone, even for a short period of time. That’s not how we operate, and we’re disappointed that our policy, which requires more than one Team Member to work per shift, wasn’t followed," the firm said in a statement issued to UNILAD.
"Terminations are the decision of the franchisees who own and operate the BK restaurant. In this situation, the franchisee confirmed that the individual involved is no longer employed due to repeated attendance issues.
"While we can’t share more on individual personnel matters, we’re focused on making sure every restaurant, whether company or franchise-run, has the staffing and support needed to take care of our Team Members and deliver the kind of experience our Guests expect."
Nykia was informed by her manager on August 8 that she was being fired due to turning up late, which the hard-working mom pinned down to the hardships that come with parenthood.
"[Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids," she told Watch Fox 57. "My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing."
Nykia, who was working two jobs prior to the sack in a bid to make ends meet for her family, has since set up a GoFundMe - noting that she never asked for the fame she found.
"I am a 25-year-old single mom of 3 who works 2 jobs. I just went viral for working on TikTok. If you wanna contribute, it's OK. Thank y'all for the support," she wrote in the description.
"I wasn't expecting my life to change how it did. I really do everything for my kids."
Incredibly, she's received more than $90,000 to help support her family.