Most people agree, there’s nothing quite like a home-cooked meal. Still..heading out to a restaurant is also a fun treat, every once in a while. From decadent desserts to the waitress taking away our dirty dishes, it’s simply a great experience! Also, it’s a great alternative to those who can’t, or don’t like to, cook their own meals.

However, while heading out to a local burger-joint might be fun for us, it means work for the cooks, managers, and waitresses, like Melina Salazar, from Texas. During her years as a waitress, Salazar learned to deal with difficult situations, along with even more difficult customers. But some customers are harder than others, like Buck, a WWII veteran who seemed to hate everything around him. In the end, though, Buck changed Salazar’s life forever.

1. Loving Her Job
Melina Salazar was a middle-aged woman working as a waitress at Luby’s, a cafeteria-style restaurant, in Texas. While most don’t consider waitressing a dream job, Salazar felt differently about it. Over the years, Salazar learned to love her job and became incredibly good at it. Without a doubt, she was one of the best, if not THE best waitress in this restaurant.

Salazar always focused on excellent customer service, treating every single customer with respect and sympathy, no matter how difficult the customer was. According to her colleagues, she was always smiling and trying to cheer everyone up. But, by setting herself apart from the rest of the staff, Salazar also opened herself up to her most difficult challenge yet…

2. Great Customer Service
Because of her great attitude towards every single customer as well as her swift service – especially where demanding customers were concerned – a manager assigned Salazar to a special position: she would deal with the ‘pickiest’ customers at Luby’s. Most of us would hate this job. However, Salazar, naturally, had no problem fulfilling her duties, wanting to treat everyone with respect.

One particular customer behaved so badly that the others waitresses never took his orders, unless they absolutely had to. To be fair, Salazar didn’t find dealing with this customer particularly easy, either. In fact, he was one of the most problematic customers she had ever come across in her entire career. However, Salazar had her reasons why she decided to continue serving him.

3. The Pickiest Customer
89-year-old and veteran of World War II Walter “Buck” Swords was the regular customer whom the staff at Luby’s wanted to avoid as much as possible. According to most, he had a short temper and a much less-than-pleasant personality. You’ll see why the staff at Luby’s avoided him.

Over the years, he built quite a reputation among the waiters and waitresses. Not only did he have a bit of a temper, but he also went to Luby’s for lunch every single day! Unfortunately, his reputation ultimately got the better of him. In time, no one wanted to serve him, no one except Salazar. Thankfully, she always felt ready to serve Buck.

4. Finding Flaws
While everyone knows someone grumpy, Buck took it to the extreme. Whenever he walked into the restaurant, no one knew what to expect. It didn’t matter what the quality of food was like or the time of day, he would always find something to complain about.

Buck didn’t like to be kept waiting, so he often became impatient and cranky with his orders. In fact, according to Salazar, he even sometimes “cursed the staff.” It reached the point where even the most senior waitress in the restaurant had, little by little, grown tired of his unreasonable demands. However, unlike the rest of the staff, Salazar always relished the challenge and would happily wait at his table, with her bright smile.

5. Respect Comes First
How did Melina Salazar continually serve Buck, while others could not? Well, despite his grumpy reputation, Salazar had always believed the key to successful customer service is respect. Still, like everyone else who worked at Luby’s, even she had some run-ins with the infamous customer.

In fact, the first couple of times she served Buck, Salazar admitted she was on the edge of losing her calm demeanour. Nevertheless, she found in her heart a soft spot for Buck. In time, she had grown to care a great deal about the grumpy old man. Little did she know, that Buck had a special surprise for her…

6. The One, And Only, Waitress
In time, 89-year-old Buck became so grumpy that everyone else had become indifferent towards him. So, Salazar became his primary waitress, serving him almost every time he came in. Salazar didn’t care about his temper or about the things he said. She simply saw him like any other customer or an elderly person in need of assistance.

Apart from an urgent request from a manager or another customer, Salazar couldn’t stand and watch Buck sitting around with no-one attending to his request. For her, Buck was an individual who deserved to get the best possible service. There was no room for doubt: she was his number one waitress.

7. A Special Request
While Buck didn’t like a lot of things, he did love one thing: Luby’s menu. However, he did have one immovable and unusual request. Whatever the WWII veteran ordered, he wanted it served piping hot! In fact, Salazar said he even liked it when it “burned the roof of his mouth.”

After serving him nearly every day for seven years, Salazar had got to know precisely how Buck liked his food to be. After all, she truly wanted to live up to Buck’s expectations. So, Salazar served Buck his order exactly the way he liked it. She always tried her best to make him happy, although it wasn’t a walk in the park.

8. Times Change
Slowly but surely, over those seven years, things began to get better. Salazar got to the point where not only did she work hard trying to perfect Buck’s food, but she also served him with a smile. A naturally kind person, the waitress always tried to strike up a conversation by asking the grumpy man how his day had gone so far.

Meanwhile, the restaurant’s staff kept wondering how on earth she managed to put on a happy face every day and handle their pickiest customer. However, Salazar would welcome Buck every day with excitement. She no longer saw him as everybody else did. Sometimes, although not very often, she would even manage to get a smile out of him.

9. An Unusual Day
As Melina Salazar and Buck got to know each other, time marched on. For seven whole years, waiters came and left, cooks made their food, and Buck came in, at the same time, every day, for his meal. For better or worse, he had been a prominent figure at Luby’s all because of his “colourful” personality.

Of course, Luby’s, like every other restaurant, had plenty of regulars. However, Buck had set himself apart from the rest. So, that day, when he didn’t show up, even those waiters and waitresses, who didn’t appreciate him at all, noted his absence and started wondering. Still, none of them seemed too concerned, except, of course, Salazar…

10. Concerns Started Rising
Over some seven years, Salazar was accustomed to seeing Buck every day. As with all her regulars, she looked forward to serving him! So, naturally, Salazar knew the time he would drop by, well aware that he was never late. The day continued to progress, but there was no sign of Buck. Salazar found herself wondering if something might have gone wrong.

Despite his age, Buck seemed healthy and energetic. After all, he needed energy to fuel that temper! However, Salazar couldn’t help but have overwhelming thoughts. She tried to brush off all negative thoughts. While she felt genuinely worried about Buck, she still had a job to do as a waitress.

11. Noticeable Absence
Another day went by, and still no sign of Buck. He never missed a single day, yet no-one but one person seemed to miss him very much. Salazar just thought he might be feeling under the weather and needed a couple of days or so to get some rest. However, there was no way for the caring waitress to check on his well-being.

Meanwhile, her colleagues began joking around about Buck, asking her if she missed her short-tempered customer. Salazar just laughed back at them and kept positive that they would have him back in no time. The waitress had no idea what the future held for her and Buck…

12. Days Turned Into Weeks
Soon the days turned into a week, and Salazar couldn’t help but ponder what had happened to her every-day customer. Still, the waitress had no way of reaching out to him, nor did she even know where to start. Salazar had learned a lot about Buck; most importantly, he enjoyed his privacy.

Not once had he talked about his personal life, with anyone. Salazar had been his number one waitress for almost a decade, and he never said anything about his life to her. She resigned herself to not knowing and continued with her life, serving her customers like she always had. However, Salazar would soon make a discovery that would change things forever for her.

13. An Unpleasant Discovery
Depending on where you live, you might not know that Luby’s is a very popular restaurant in Texas. So, with so many customers to attend to, Salazar eventually forgot about Buck. Then, out of nowhere, the waitress discovered something in a local newspaper. What was mysterious, was that she felt compelled to pick a newspaper up, not looking for anything in particular.

There, Salazar spotted something written on the obituary page that immediately caught her attention. In an instant, she found out the reason why Buck hadn’t been back to the restaurant. Sadly, it was because he had passed away. Salazar started to feel very perplexed, unable to believe what she read in the newspaper.

14. Emotions to the Surface
During their time together, Salazar had grown to appreciate her grumpy customer. For a while, after having read his obituary, the waitress couldn’t bring herself together to utter a sound. She just stood there speechless, staring at the details written on the obituary page as sadness filled her heart.

Of course, Salazar was surprised by how she reacted to the sad news. The waitress never expected to feel this way. Salazar could not believe the sudden feeling of sadness and loss that gripped her heart. While the other serving staff acted as if nothing happened, Salazar could not help but feel brokenhearted. She would never see one of her favourite customers, ever again.

15. Grieving
Salazar’s colleagues could not understand the reason for her sadness. After all, she could count the number of times Buck had smiled at her on both hands; if you can call the slight twitching of his mouth a smile. Nevertheless, the waitress had found a special place in her heart for him.

Salazar had a hard time trying to understand why she felt pain, knowing she would never serve him again. So, the waitress did the only thing she could think of: she said a prayer for her favourite picky customer. In doing so, Salazar hoped he would find his way to rest in peace.

16. Life Must Go On
Despite the loss of a regular customer, Luby’s continued operating on a daily basis. They had to move forward as there were many other customers they had to take care of. As for the rest of the serving staff, they were completely oblivious. They didn’t seem to care a fig that Buck would no longer come to their fine establishment.

Some of them were even thankful that they didn’t have to look at Buck’s grumpy face ever again. They felt really glad that they would no longer have to endure his sneers or curses. For the rest of Texas, the world didn’t stop; yet, to Salazar, it felt like it had.

17. Empty Feelings
After Buck’s death, Salazar felt an empty feeling inside. The waitress often found herself staring at the door, hoping Buck would walk into the restaurant. Unfortunately, he never did. Even if she didn’t know much about his life, just knowing that Buck served during World War II was enough to earn Salazar’s respect.

Based on what she learned from friends and family, Salazar knew what the soldiers had gone through in order to preserve people’s freedom. His service for the country meant he had been through enough hardship and pain, and Salazar had just wanted to make his life a little better. However, it was time to move on….until Salazar’s phone rang.

18. An Unexpected Call
After a while, Salazar’s everyday life began to get back to normal. She made peace with Buck’s passing and starting giving excellent service once again. Then, one day, the waitress received an unexpected call from someone she didn’t know.

Salazar was on her break-time when the call came in, so she answered it. On the other end of the line, a stuffy-sounding lawyer asked for her, by name. Afterwards, the lawyer said something that made her heart stop for a second. She couldn’t wrap her head around it, thinking it must be a mistake or maybe a cruel joke. However, the lawyer soon confirmed his identity and the legitimacy of what he was telling Salazar…

19. Buck’s Will
At first, Salazar couldn’t understand what the lawyer was saying. She understood the words, but not the context. The lawyer revealed he was the legal attorney of the late Walter “Buck” Swords. Then, he proceeded to tell her that Buck had included her in his last will. He asked if they could meet tomorrow, to go over the inheritance. Salazar felt stunned, trying to process all the information, but she agreed to it.

The old man had a very special surprise for the waitress who, without fail, had been there, the last seven years of his life, always with a big smile across her face.  Still, after the call, Salazar couldn’t quite explain how she felt. What on earth could Buck have left her? More importantly, why her?

20. Why Me?
After her shift at the restaurant, Salazar just wanted to head home and think about Buck. The lawyer would be over, the next day, tying up the necessary processes. However, all the while working, she couldn’t help but wonder why Buck had chosen her to be part of his will. What set her apart from his friends and family?

In all their time together, Buck had never been kind to her or ever shown any interest in her, much less so in her life. Nevertheless, he had included her in his last will. So, Salazar began to pore over every memory she had of Walter “Buck” Swords, seeking answers.

21. Bringing Memories Back
Before falling asleep that night, Salazar recalled every memory she had of her grumpy customer. She remembered how Buck never had any kind words for her and others. However, she had learned how to adapt to his crabby nature. The waitress had even learned to care for the old man!

Salazar was filled with compassion for him, along with an incredible amount of respect for his profession and his past. However, not once did she feel appreciated or did she think Buck noticed how hard she tried to make him happy. She would soon learn how much Buck truly appreciated her efforts…

22. A Great Gift
All of the customers and other waiters knew of Salazar’s incredible customer service. She did a great job expecting nothing in return from the restaurant’s customers, least of all, Buck. That’s the reason why, when the lawyer called her, she was so surprised, to say the least.

The next day, just as he said, Buck’s legal attorney showed up at her door to discuss with her the details of Buck’s last will. Once inside, he explained exactly what Buck had left for her. In the end, the veteran left the waitress his favourite car and $50,000! She couldn’t believe Buck had left her this incredible gift, of all the people in the world, he chose her!

23. Ensuring The Future
Thinking ahead, Buck expected that Salazar wouldn’t accept the gift straightaway. So, he made a firm request to his lawyer to ensure Salazar would ultimately receive his gift. As Buck predicted, Salazar was having a hard time deciding whether or not she should take his gift.

The lawyer told Salazar that Buck would be happy and rest in peace knowing that he had at least made her life better. It was an unexpected act of appreciation which Salazar deeply appreciated. After some hard thinking, she decided to co-operate with Buck’s attorney and respect the old man’s final wishes.

24. An Incredibly Grateful Waitress
Salazar was extremely grateful for Buck’s act of appreciation towards her. She believes no amount of money can equal a human’s compassion and kindness for another. Furthermore, she loves her job and would treat any customer the same way she treated Buck.

In the end, all those years of effort finally paid off, although Salazar never expected this gift all at. For her, a simple act of gratitude is more than enough to make her feel her work is worth it. For as long as she continues to work, she will keep having the same smile on her face, treating people the way she would like people to treat her.

25. Looks Are Deceiving
Besides being grateful, Salazar also learned a valuable lesson she will hold onto for the rest of her life: looks can be deceiving. When a person appears constantly angry and hot-headed, it doesn’t mean that they have forgotten the simple virtues of life. Buck proved to be the best example of this for the waitress.

Afterwards, Salazar made a promise to herself that she would continue to be cheerful and helpful, never expecting anything in return. As for the gift, Salazar is aware she should use it wisely, making sure she uses it to extend Buck’s generosity to other people in need.

26. Not The First Time
Most people must think Salazar’s story only happens in movies. Well, guess what? The story of a waitress getting a hefty sum of money is not as unusual as you might think. In 2015, a similar thing happened to two restaurant workers, and their story went viral.

This time we’re not talking about a grumpy customer, instead, it was the restaurant’s most likeable customer, who also treated them as part of his family. As it turned out, the man who changed their lives in a second, was also a famous art dealer. Not only was he filthy rich, but he was also kind.

27. A Generous Man
Donohue’s Steakhouse is a popular restaurant in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Like most restaurants in the district, theirs was a favourite patron. Whenever this generous man wasn’t away on business trips, he loved to eat most of his meals in the steakhouses.

The restaurant staff had grown to love this man enormously. He was never grumpy or picky and was open to having a cool conversation at any time. However, their favourite part about him was his incredible generosity towards every single one of them. Every time he dropped by, he’d make sure there were tips for everyone, including the busboys.

28. Dear Friends
Maureen Donohue-Peters was a staff member of the famous restaurant. She was also the head waitress of the restaurant. Just like everybody else, she loved to waitress for her favourite customer every time she had the chance. He brought joy and happiness to the place as soon as he walked through the doors. The entire room lit up just as a result of his presence.

Donohue-Peters and the generous man had known each other for many years. Over the years, they had developed a special relationship. She even got to the point where she considered him one of her dearest friends and, he did as well.

29. Come and Join Me
The generous man enjoyed the company of the restaurant’s workers. So, whenever they were not busy, he would ask them to come and join him. It was that type of kindness that set this man apart from the rest of the restaurant’s customers.

He often shared his meals with his business associates, yet other times he dined with the homeless. For him, everybody was the same, and he was kind to everyone. It didn’t matter who he was with, he’d still treat them with the same respect and appreciation they deserved. Without any doubt, he was no ordinary man, as he knew how to appreciate the important things in life.

30. Meet Everyone’s Favourite Guy
This charitable man of this viral generosity story was no other than the famous art collector, Robert “King of Ming” Ellsworth. Despite having a net worth of $200 million, this man was known for maintaining a humble life and always being generous to those who found themselves in need of his help.

He was sympathetic to everybody surrounding him and always had a big smile on his face. With a cheerful and positive attitude, he had the power to turn a bad day round to make everybody happy. He was the type of person you would want always to have around.

31. Just A Speck of Dust Within The Universe
People who held him dearly, knew Ellsworth as Bob. He was a friendly man who had many close friends, which was not at all surprising, given his kind nature. Despite his incredible success, Bob never believed he was better than anybody else.

Instead, Bob saw himself just like any other normal person. He never acted in an arrogant way or belittled anybody. Always preferring to see the beauty in people, Bob was well aware he was just a speck within the galaxy, so he decided, as long as he lived, he would bring out the best in people, rather than make them feel small or not worth it.

32. The King of Ming
Ellsworth had spent a great deal of his life collecting art and furniture pieces from the Ming Dynasty. One of the most famous pieces attributed to him is the Astor Chinese Garden Court in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Given that his main goal was to acquire every piece that would remind people of the golden era of the Ming Dynasty, people soon gave him the nickname “The King of Ming.” His love for art had required him to travel all over the world. Over the years, The King of Ming had been to the most beautiful places. However, none of those felt like home to him; only spending time at Donohue’s did it for him.

33. Bob’s Daily Routine
As soon as Ellsworth walked into Donohue’s Steakhouse, everybody knew what he wanted. It was like an everyday routine, for he had never lost his appetite for the steakhouse menu. For lunch, Ellsworth would have grilled cheese on toast with bacon.

For dinner, he had prime sirloin steak, chopped and broiled. Ellsworth liked to smother this dish with onions. He wasn’t impatient, and never complained about the food. From the staff to its menus, Ellsworth loved everything about the steakhouse. It was his favourite place to hang out, and he had some dear friends who would take great care of him, including one particular companion…

34. A Four-legged Companion
Whenever Ellsworth dropped by, he had his four-legged companion with him. It was a beautiful golden retriever who never left his side, not for one second. They shared every meal, and their obvious bond was such a heart-warming scene to observe. His dog was like any other customer.

His dog was just as kind as he was. He too enjoyed the company of the waiters and loved the way they treated him. Everybody that dined with him was treated as a dear friend. Ellsworth considered his dog one of his best friends, and you could see how much they loved each other.

35. A Man Full of Kindness
The King of Ming enjoyed treating people as his equal. Over the years, the restaurant’s staff had seen him dine with his driver, just as he did with prominent people. Whenever he was by himself, he would call any restaurant’s workers, who were on a break, to come and join him for supper.

Ellsworth loved meeting new people and getting to know them. He liked intriguing them with his stories about his travels and collections. The King of Ming did so with such enthusiasm that, anybody who was listening, understood his passion for art. Not for a single moment did he sound like a wealthy businessman.

36. The Final Goodbye
The time came for Ellsworth to say goodbye at 85 years old. Unfortunately, the King of Ming passed away in 2014. Thousands of people from all over the world gathered in a beautiful service to pay their final respects for this generous man. He’d left his mark on many people’s lives, and they would remember him with great love and affection.

As for Maureen and the rest of the restaurant, the workers were devastated when they first learned the terrible news. They were so sad to hear of his passing and knew the steakhouse would never be the same without him around. In short, they lost a dear, close friend.

37. Sadness Stayed For a While
Back at the steakhouse, nothing was like it used to be. For the months that followed,  everyone remained deeply sorrowful as they grieved . Every time they thought of him, they couldn’t help missing him and wished he would walk through the doors once again.

As a way to remember him, they often looked at the pictures of him in the restaurant. He would live forever inside their hearts. Bob would forever be remembered as a cool and loving guy. However, Bob didn’t leave this earth without putting together a special gift for his dear friends. They would soon learn how much Bob cared about them.

38. The Last Gift
Almost a year after Bob had passed away, Maureen and her niece were contacted by the legal representatives of their favourite customer. They were confused, as they didn’t know exactly what to expect when the legal representatives called them. The restaurant’s workers were stunned when they learned Bob had left a hefty sum of $50,000 for each of them.

They had no words to express how grateful they were for Bob’s final act of generosity. However, they said they would have no hesitation to trade the money in if it meant they could have Ellsworth back. Unfortunately, she knew that just wasn’t possible.

39. Expanding The Business
Maureen and her niece decided to invest the $100,000 to further expand Donohue’s. They also used part of the money for other people who were close to Bob. Maureen wanted everyone to know, that even after he had passed away, he never forgot the people who made his life better.

After the story went viral, lots of people reached out to them to attest to what a wonderful man Robert L. Ellsworth was. He was a man full of compassion and kindness. It seemed that he truly lived life to its fullest, and people will always remember his legacy.

40. The Most Important Lesson
Buck, the veteran, and Bob, the art collector, both shared compassion and kindness as their final acts. Upon leaving this world, they treated people with respect and love, and that reflected a happy and healthy life.

In their final acts, both Buck and Bob let those closest to them know how much they appreciated what they’d done for them. While not everything is about money, Buck and Bob surely knew that the people they chose to include in their last will would use the funds wisely. Hopefully, they will indeed use that money to make the world a better place for themselves and their loved ones, just like Buck and Bob did!