Favorite
Kirk Alexander is a 48-year-old man who lives alone in his house in Salem, Oregon. His favorite food is pizza. For the better part of a decade, Alexander has been ordering from the same Domino’s Pizza shop almost every day. But, one day, he suddenly stopped. And the Domino’s employees were shocked when they found out why.
Loyal Customer
“He orders every day, every other day,” said Sarah Fuller, the general manager for the Domino’s shop, when interviewed by reporters. “His order pops up on the screen because he orders online. So we see it come across the screen and we’re like, ‘Oh, Kirk’s order.’” When his orders stopped coming in for a few days, it gave them a bad feeling.
No Order In 11 Days
Initially, they thought he might have been out of town, maybe for work or visiting family. Then more time went by. Fuller was approached by her delivery drivers, who had noticed that Alexander’s order hadn’t popped up in their screens for a while. So Fuller checked the system and saw he hadn’t ordered anything for 11 days straight. That’s when she knew something was wrong.
Friend Of The Staff
Alexander had been getting his food from that place for years. “He orders all the time, so we know him,” said Fuller. The staff knew him as a nice, quiet, and friendly guy. He was friends with them and some even saw him as a family member. They knew he never took trips that long. Could it be that he got sick of pizza and started ordering from a new place?
Loved The Whole Menu
“Kirk is a very well-known customer, but he doesn’t have a regular order – he’ll order anything from pasta or pizza to sandwiches or wings. It’s never the same thing every time.” Clearly Alexander was getting enough variety in his food from Domino’s, and he was a man of habit. Employees feared that the reason for his absent orders was something more unsavory.
Checking Up On Him
As her staff became more worried, Fuller decided to send an employee to check up on their loyal customer. The task fell upon delivery driver Tracey Hamblen. As he approached the front door, he could see that the lights were on inside. He got closer, and could hear sounds coming from the television. Then he knocked on the door.
No Answer
There was no answer. Hamblen knocked again a few more times, but to no avail. He then called Alexander’s cell phone number, but it went straight to voicemail. His gut told him something was wrong, so he decided to go back to the restaurant and talk to his colleagues. They’d know what to do.
Calling 911
After talking with the rest of the staff, Hamblen called 911. “Well, I need some help on what to do, it could be an emergency,” he began. “This is Domino’s Pizza and we have a customer that usually orders like every night from us. And he hasn’t ordered in 11 days.” After getting all the details from Hamblen, the operator contacted the Marion County sheriff’s department.
Found Him On The Ground
The sheriff dispatched his deputies to Alexander’s home, unsure of what they would find. When the police arrived at the house, they knocked on the door and tried calling out to him. Surprisingly, there was a response. They could tell it was a man calling for help. So they broke into the house and found Alexander, laying on the ground.
Lucky To Be Alive
The officers immediately called an ambulance, which picked up Alexander and transported him to a nearby hospital. It looked like he’d suffered a stroke, and paramedics were able to stabilize him. But his fate was uncertain as there were no witnesses of the incident, and doctors weren’t able to determine how long it had been between then and when he was found.
Relieved By The Good News
Luckily, after some life-saving care, it looked like he was going to make a full recovery. Domino’s staff was delighted to hear the news. “We’re like a family here, and we were glad we were able to do something to help. We hope he’s able to fully recover from this,” said Fuller. Now you probably think these people are heroes, but they disagree.
Humble And Compassionate
“I think we were just doing our job checking in on someone we know who orders a lot. We felt like we needed to do something,” explained Fuller. Their humility is truly inspiring, but that didn’t stop the media from going crazy about the story. The news spread through town and local outlets, and eventually, it made it to nationwide media.
A Newsworthy Story
Good Morning America interviewed Fuller and her assistant manager, Jenny Seiber. The pair recounted the events of that evening and the host congratulated them for following their instincts and doing the right thing. She also asked them for updates on Alexander’s condition, since they had been able to visit him in the hospital.
Still By His Side
Seiber told host Robin Roberts that she had been to see Alexander three times since he was admitted to the hospital. The first day he was “out of it” and could only answer yes or no questions. On the second day, he looked better, and by the third day, he was well enough to be moved to the rehabilitation wing. Then Roberts gave Seiber and Fuller a big surprise.
Rewarded For Their Good Deed
“Since you guys are superheroes, we’re gonna send you to Captain America: Civil War,” said Roberts, announcing that the whole restaurant staff would be getting tickets. And that wasn’t all. Domino’s corporate office would be sending Fuller, Seiber and delivery man Tracey Hamblen to the Domino’s Worldwide Rally, a yearly convention of Domino’s members taking place in Las Vegas. We think it’s the least they deserve for helping to save a man’s life.