A single mom has gone viral after she was spotted working at a Burger King all alone. The mom, Nykia Hamilton, told news station WACH that she worked more than 12 hours the day the video was taken, without any support from other employees. As the only person working that day, Nykia ended up working in the kitchen, manning the drive-thru, cleaning, and taking orders from customers, by herself.
A clip of the single mom’s busy shift went viral on TikTok.
TikTok user @dejlatae, shared a video of Nykia working at Burger King. Over the video, she wrote, “She is all alone y’all!! Columbia, sc help her!!!”
As she captured Nykia doing several different jobs at a South Carolina Burger King restaurant, the customer said, “I just need y’all to know that at this Burger King right now…we got one beautiful person working here all by herself. She’s doing everything.”
People said the mom ‘deserves a raise.’
After watching the viral clip, several people pointed out that Nykia deserves a raise. “Bless this beautiful queen!” one person commented on the video. “She deserves a raise and help! She doing the job of at least 5-6 people.”
Another person who praised the mom’s hard work added, “She’s the Burger Queen!!!!” Several people said they’ve been to that Burger King when Nykia was the only person working. “She’s always the only one when we’ve went,” one of them said. “She has amazing customer service [and] she’s just such an amazing person all around.”
Though many admired the mom’s dedication to her job, they also felt bad for her and questioned why she was the only person working at that location. One person called it a “shame,” adding that they “feel for her” because of “low wages” and “dangerous and disrespectful” customers.
“That’s awful!” someone else commented on the video. “Bless her.”
She has to work long hours to provide for her kids.
Nykia’s so motivated to work hard because she is mom to three children. Unfortunately, because she has to work so much to provide for them, she doesn’t get to spend very much time with them. “I be missing out on my kids’ lives when I work so much,” Nykia told WACH. “I have to provide for them, but I really don’t have time to spend with them — and it hurts me a lot.”
The viral clip also sparked a conversation about working conditions.
The customer who recorded some snippets of Nykia’s shift suggested that the Burger King was understaffed because people don’t want to work anymore. However, many people who commented on the video pointed out that the issue is more nuanced than that.
“People are tired of getting underpaid for the workload they require,” one person pointed out. Another person asserted that “it’s not because nobody wants to work.” Rather, it’s because “$12-$14 an hour is not getting bills paid in this economy.” The customer who posted the video agreed with this take.
Speaking to WACH, Nykia said she’s thankful for her job even though it can be taxing. In her case, finding a job was challenging and she appreciates the manager who took a chance on her. “I wouldn’t have no job because I do have a record, and it is hard to find a job with a record. And by grace of God, she gave me a job,” she told the news outlet.
Burger King responded.
After Nykia’s work situation went viral on social media, Burger King shared a statement with WACH. “At Burger King, it is our policy that all company and franchise owned restaurants require more than one Team Member to be working per shift,” the company said in the statement. “We are working with the Franchisee of this location to understand what happened and take any necessary action.”
