Editorās Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; weāre reposting it here in case you missed it.
Have you ever done something that you thought was nice, but then got in trouble for it? Unfortunately, when that happens it can have a negative impact, making people hesitant to do nice things in the future.
One Texas teen will definitely think twice about doing an Act of kindness in the future. What started out as a thoughtful gesture ended in the young man running into some trouble.
Zack Randolph was an 18-year-old employee at Great American Cookies Company in Katy, Texas, according to a KSAZ-TV report from JulyĀ 7, 2017. When a Police officer came by to pick up some dessert, Randolph had an idea.
He told the officer that he wanted to pay for his treat, as a way of saying thanks for everything that he does. Randolph pulled out his wallet and paid the $2.75, not even taking advantage of the employee discount.
āHeās just a really nice guy and on top of that he has a badge,ā Randloph told KSAZ-TV shortly after the incident. āThatās enough for me to buy him something. Thatās the least I can do.ā
Randolph was feeling good about what he had done until the next customers came up to the counter. The man and woman with their child apparently asked for free desserts and gave Randolph a hard time because heād extended his act of goodwill to the cop but not to them.
Randolphās mother, Tami Randolph, told KSAZ the couple was very confrontational.
āHe was told, āyou know youāre probably going to get fired,'ā she said.
āHe put his daughter down and came around to the side and was about to come back and come at me and thankfully my assistant manager and my co-worker stopped him,ā Zack Randolph told the station.
The trouble didnāt end there, though.
The teen was written up and received a week-long suspension from work.
Randolphās mom, Tami, posted about the incident on Facebook, and readers were outraged at the story.
It wasnāt long before the Great American Cookies Company issued an apology. Randolphās suspension was revoked, and the company admitted that it had been a misunderstanding, KSAZ reported.
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It is unfortunate that this incident occurred when a teen was just trying to show his respect for law enforcement.
āA lot of people I know my age donāt support Police officers. I donāt think itās fair,ā Randolph told KSAZ.
Itās difficult to understand how some people can be so selfish and unkind, but weāre happy this young man was recognized for his graciousness. Keep being a light!
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.