A group of Whataburger employees went TikTok viral for the creative way in which they let a customer know she left her phone in their restaurant.
Madie (@messyymadie) uploaded a video Whataburger staff recorded on her device which they then posted to her social media as a means of letting the TikToker’s friends know where her phone was. Madie took the video and posted it to her TikTok account, where the clip garnered over 326,000 views, leaving throngs of users on the platform praising the group of workers for their kindness.
“I left my phone at Whataburger & they posted this on my story,” a text overlay in the video reads as a group of Whataburger employees pose in front of the camera and let the customer know that they left their phone at the restaurant.
The one worker who is holding the phone speaks directly into the camera, notifying Madie’s friends to inform the woman that she left her device, which was echoed by another employee.
“You left your phone here,” the worker says, a crowd of other workers behind him. “One of your friends need to tell your phone’s out at Whataburger on Tennessee street.”
The man adds, “If you love your friend please tell her that you left your phone at Whataburger,” before the other worker interjects, joking that she has 40 days to come and get her device or one of the workers will take it. The man recording the video that his co-worker is just joking and that they “love” Madie, asking her to come back to retrieve her phone.
The Whataburger crew didn’t just record the video to Madie’s phone and call it a day, however, they managed to upload the clip to one of Madie’s social media stories online so that one of her friends would see the video and let her know where she left her it.
A user in the comments section of the video, who appears to know Madie, confirmed that this was the case. “When i saw this on ur story i died,” they wrote.
However, there were some people who were concerned with how easily the Whataburger employees were able to post the clip they recorded to Madie’s story, wondering why she didn’t have a lock on her phone. “This is freaking adorable. And girl put a lock on your phone! You’re lucky they found it lol,” one user wrote.
@messyymadie PLEASEEE THIS IS SOOO FUNNY #fyp #college #whataburger ♬ original sound – madie
One TikTok viewer said that Madie’s experience with the Whataburger she dined at differed greatly from the ones that they’ve had. “Last time I left my card at whataburger and the worker decided to use it all over the city,” they shared.
And then there were folks who were positively impressed by the atmosphere engendered by the group of Whataburger employees.
“I want this work environment,” one said.
“They are soo sweet! They deserve a bonus!!!” another penned.
“Whataburger has some of the nicest workers!,” a TikToker remarked, while someone else wrote, “Sooooo wholesomeeeee.”
Lost smartphones are a staggeringly common occurrence; around 70 million devices are lost each and every year, with only 7% of these devices being recovered by their owners. Only 57% of these smartphones are protected by mobile protection services, which are pre-packaged app features that often come with the most popular smartphone mobile operation systems: iOS and Android. If you’re worried about recovering a smartphone that is lost, it’s probably in your best interest to set up these phone recovery tools in the event your phone is ever lost or stolen.
According to Fast Company, some of the most common areas folks lose their devices are in taxis, airplanes, buses, and subways, or at the airport security queue. So whenever you’re commuting, it might be in your best interest to keep your smartphone in a secured spot like a closed bag or jacket pocket close to your person you can routinely tap to feel and ensure it’s there.
Venture Beat reported several years ago that many lost phones at restaurants ultimately end up stolen, and that the most common time of day that cell phones go missing is between the hours of 12 pm and 5 pm, right in the middle of the work day and probably when you need your device the most.
With all of these statistics painting a less-than-stellar phone recovery picture for Madie, it’s a good thing she encountered some honest Whataburger employees who found a creative solution to let her friends know that her device was in safe hands, and precisely where it was located.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Whataburger via email and Madie via TikTok comment for further information.