Autistic delivery driver was left 'shaken' after rude customer berated him — then boss 'fired' him in a sassy response

Every human being deserves respect, no matter their background or job title. When it comes to employees with special needs, though they may require a more patient approach, it doesn’t mean they deserve any less respect. Little Italy Restaurante owner TJ Gialopsos revealed that when she learned her autistic driver was berated by a rude customer, she immediately took a stand, per The Mighty. After learning how negatively the customer treated the driver, she didn’t hesitate to post a lengthy yet powerful perspective on Facebook in support of her driver and to call out the reckless customer. 

Professor of graduate industrial-organizational psychology, Ludmila Praslova, who is also autistic, shared that it's not so much skill or potential that owes to issues at the workplace but rather bullying, disrespect, and uneducated approaches toward those with autism, per Harvard Business Review. A report by Quartz revealed that employees who are neurodivergent showed “90% to 140% more productivity” in certain roles compared to “employees who had been there five or 10 years.” These facts are further supported by the statistics, which note that countries have an autism unemployment rate of around 80% and above globally, per Above & Beyond Therapy. However, autistic people are no less than other employees in their skills and determination. The owner learned of the situation when the customer called to complain about the driver.

“He was ranting and foul. He informed us our driver was an idiot and strung out on drugs, and was furious!” she wrote. She tried to explain that the employee is autistic and has a speech impediment, but the customer wouldn’t budge. “He called the phone person a liar, had a few more choice words for her, and hung up,” the post revealed. The employee had mistakenly misplaced the orders but quickly amended the error and delivered them efficiently. However, the customer’s reckless attitude had him shaking with fear.

“Mistakes are made all the time in the course of a business life, and when we make them, we do our very best to correct the problem immediately. That didn't satisfy this man; he berated him and then called him a name I won't even allude to here,” Gialopsos said. She also noted that even though there have been issues in the past with the driver, customers have always been patient and understanding. “This driver has worked for us for two years. He is a seriously accomplished University student, has an amazingly inquisitive personality, a wicked sense of humor and one helluva work ethic!” the owner said.

She even added that though the topic of autism might be unknown to many, they have “no right to take that ignorance and turn it into a foul-mouthed rant on two of my employees!” Taking a bold stance, the woman said that she “fired” the customer, that’s right, not the employee, the customer. “That address, that name and phone number will be tagged with a ‘Do not deliver/Do not accept order’ message,” she noted. 

In an inspiring conclusion, Gialopsos added, “And won't that customer be surprised later in life to learn that his ‘idiot, strung-out’ delivery driver long ago turned out to be the physicist, microbiologist or chemical engineer who could quite possibly make a discovery that will save his sorry a** someday.” “The fact that he has autism doesn’t cross anyone’s mind at the restaurant. We just work, he just works, that’s it. Maybe it’s the mom in me, but I had to write that response," the owner remarked. Angela K Brady wrote, “This man is a sorry excuse for a human being. There was no reason to warrant that type of treatment for this worker.” Katie Wright remarked, “Good business means looking out for people. I'm sure this was hard to put out there, but I'm glad you did.”