Dairy Queen Employee Recognized for Good Deed, Enjoying Newfound Fame
Joey Prusak made headlines earlier this week when a customer at the Dairy Queen where he worked told about an unusual, inspiring incident. Now he is surprised by his newfound celebrity and has spoken with Warren Buffet and Queen Latifah.
Prusak, 19, was working at the restaurant when a blind customer dropped a $20 bill on the floor. Another customer picked it up and pocketed the cash; when Prusak asked her to return the money, she refused. He then asked her to leave and gave the blind customer $20 of his own money and offered an apology on Dairy Queen's behalf.
His story was captured in detail by another customer who wrote to the Dairy Queen Corporation to praise Prusak for his good deed. Before sending it, a photo of the letter was snapped and posted to Reddit, where it instantly went viral. Prusak never expected that his good deed would bring him such fame.
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"It's the only job I've had, the only job I've needed," Prusak told KARE11 News. "After the visually impaired man gave his order, right then and there I knew when he dropped that $20 bill, game's over, he's not going to know. He just kept walking and that's when the lady picked it up and I thought, she's going to give it back 'cause she picked it up so quickly."
When the woman attempted to order her own meal, Prusak confronted her and asked her to return the money.
"I said, ma'am, I'm not going to serve someone as disrespectful as you, so you can either return the $20 bill and I'll serve you, or you can leave. And she goes, well, it's my $20 dollar bill and I go, well then, you can leave," he explained.
Prusak, who is happy to manage the Dairy Queen where he works has been flooded with requests for interviews, which is new to the teen.
"Warren Buffett called me this morning and we talked for about 10 minutes. I go, 'What I would like to know is why you're calling here.' He goes, 'I just wanted to call and thank you for all that you did. It means a lot to me,'" Prusak said. Buffett, a major shareholder in Dairy Queen, offered to fly Prusak out to the investor's conference in Texas.
"I was too star-struck to be asking questions," Prusak said. "I didn't even know what to say. I just felt like it was the right thing to do."
Prusak may make his small-screen debut on "The Queen Latifah Show," which has been requesting an interview with him. He has not confirmed or denied whether he'll actually appear on the show but knows it's an opportunity.
