Fast-food employee feeds customer who was unable to feed herself, hopes to inspire others to pay it forward

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Ridge Quarles didn’t hesitate to help a customer in need. And his good deed is now going viral.

A few weeks ago, Quarles, then an employee at a Louisville, Kentucky, Qdoba Mexican Grill, helped a regular customer get her order.

The woman, unnamed in the press, had been dropped off at the fast-food restaurant by a Transit Authority of River City (TARC) bus that helps people with disabilities. Dr. David Jones, a fellow customer, helped her get into the restaurant where Quarles greeted her and helped her through the line.

“Sadly enough she has to sit outside the restaurant until someone notices her or another customer that’s coming in has to let her into the building,” Quarles told WAVE 3 News, the local NBC station. “By now, she’s actually been in so many times that we know what she likes to eat.”

Quarles recalled their recent exchange:

“I had helped her through (the) line and sat her out in the lobby, got her a drink, got her utensils and napkin and kind of started to walk off and I was like, you know, ‘Is there anything else I can help you with?’ and she turned around and she was like, 'Sir, if you don’t mind, could you help me eat?’”

And that’s just what he did.

“I mean, she needs help and if I wasn’t going to do it, no one was. Who else is going to do it?” Quarles said.

Jones captured the scene on camera.

“He didn’t stop to think about, 'Well, should I help her, should I not,’ he just went over, put the gloves on and started feeding her,“ Jones told WAVE 3 News.

Jones posted the video of Quarles helping the woman eat her favourite meal online, hoping to encourage his friends that “there’s still some good people in the world.” The clip, however, quickly went viral.

Quarles has since left Qdoba for a full-time job elsewhere.

Earlier this week, he took to Facebook to encourage others to pay it forward.

“Today I had the honour to accept public acknowledgment for helping someone else in need,” he wrote. “I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to impact lives around me. Go out and help someone today and pay it forward. Happy day everyone!”