Rich Man Sees His Spoiled 32-Year-Old Son Mocking Café Cashier, Later Son Becomes Janitor There – Story of the Day

When a rich man sees his 32-year-old son mocking the cashier at a café, he teaches him a lesson he will never forget. But it doesn't end there. The son soon faces karma for his actions and regrets them.

As parents, we all want the best for our children, don't we? But what if you realize one day that your parenting was flawed? What if you realize that providing your child the best of everything wasn't worth it?

When Darren overheard his son, Tristan, mocking a lady at the cashier's counter, he realized the same thing.

"How in the world could you mess up the order? What do you have to do the whole day besides selling coffee, you fool? Ugh, this place is awful!"

When those words pierced Darren's ears, he immediately turned around, and the sight of his son yelling at the cashier infuriated him. He had asked Tristan to place the order, but the 32-year-old was busy insulting the woman behind the counter. Darren was shocked by Tristan's arrogant and rude demeanor...

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir," said the woman gently. "I'll have your order ready in five minutes. Please understand, it's a busy day for us."

"Ma'am," said Tristan rudely. "Those five minutes are critical for a businessman like me who runs a large corporation! I don't run a little cafe selling coffee. Keep that goodman order with you!"

With that, Tristan threw a couple of dollar bills on the counter and was about to leave when Darren appeared behind him. "You need to apologize, son," he said, picking up the dollar bills. "Say sorry to her. Place the order again, and we'll wait until it's ready."

"Dad…" said Tristan defensively. "What are you doing? These people stand nowhere close to us! Why should I apologize to a nobody?"

"Because the company you just mentioned running is not yours. You see, I still own all of my businesses, and I can fire you any time. Let us not embarrass ourselves publicly…Please, apologize…"

Tristan was furious, but his position in the company and money mattered to him, so he apologized despite his reluctance.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, staring at the floor. "I'll place the order again…"

"Not only that," his father added and turned to the woman. "On my way here, miss, I spotted an add at the door saying the cafe was looking to hire a cleaner. Well, my son would like to take that position because he's on temporary suspension from my company. Please help him around…"

Unnecessary arrogance and pride will not get you anywhere.

"DAD!" Tristan's eyes widened in anger. "Have you lost your mind? I - I—"

"If you want to keep your job, son, you need to understand that you can't get away with disrespecting others around you. I'm sorry I didn't teach you that before. But it's not too late."

"Sir," said the woman at the counter. "Thank you for your apology, but we don't just hire anyone. We're new, and we only accept applications via the online form. And, no, I'm not the cashier... I'm the owner of this café."

"Then I'd like to apologize again, miss," said Darren. "I'm sorry about how my son behaved. My son will apply through the form, and I hope he's a good fit for the role…"

Tristan was upset, but if he wanted his job back, he couldn't go against Daren. Knowing he had no choice, he applied for the janitor position. To his dismay, he was hired.

***

"That woman is exacting revenge on me!" Tristan grumbled as the supervisor showed him the cleaning supplies room on his first day on the job. "Make sure the cleaning's done every day before the cafe opens," his supervisor told him. "I hope that's clear."

Tristan nodded, then went about his job. He swept the entire establishment, mopped the floor, and cleaned the windows. The work was exhausting, and he started to regret his anger toward the owner every day he had to show up.

"Ah, it was just the wrong order! I shouldn't have overreacted…" he told himself.

With time, Tristan changed. He realized he was wrong to mock the owner over something as insignificant as a misplaced order. But that wasn't all.

Throughout the months Tristan worked at the cafe, he realized he felt more than just guilt for disrespecting the owner. He had started to like her. He had developed strong feelings for her.

Susan was sweet, charming, and extremely polite and helpful. Regardless of how Tristan treated her, she never responded to him rudely. And she was so beautiful that Tristan couldn't help falling for her.

At the time, he was just a janitor working under her. Would she go out with a cleaner? Tristan wondered. He wasn't sure. But he had his charming looks. That would surely work, he thought.

"So what are you doing after work?" he asked her one evening, flashing the smile that had made most women in the past fall for him.

But Susan didn't even look at him. "I have some place to be. Please excuse me…"

"Oh alright, we'll make time for coffee another day..." Tristan whispered, and she heard him.

"I'm not up for it. Not any time. Sorry."

She hurriedly grabbed her stuff and left the café, leaving Tristan dumbfounded. No woman had ever rejected him. And this woman didn't even glance at him before turning him down?

Tristan didn't believe that. He thought she'd said no in a hurry, so he tried asking her out for coffee again, and this time, her reply was stern. "I hope I've made myself clear, Tristan. Didn't you invite me for coffee last time and I said no?"

Tristan was so embarrassed. He was rejected on the spot. But two months later, Susan said yes to the coffee…

Susan had burst into tears that day after receiving word from the hospital that her husband Ethan's surgery could be scheduled anytime soon. Ethan had been in a severe accident and required the surgery, but Susan had no savings, and their insurance would not cover it.

So when Susan received the call from the hospital telling her that the expenses for the surgery had been taken care of, she burst into tears of joy. "But who - who paid for it?" she asked.

Then the staff on the other end of the line told her the name, and Susan had to take a moment before replying, "Thank you. I will meet him and convey my thanks too."

That day, right after she put down the phone, Susan walked towards Tristan and thanked him.

"I'm sorry I kinda eavesdropped on your conversation the other day and overheard you talking about your husband on the phone...I'm glad I could help," Tristan said. He was crushed to learn that she was married, but he loved and respected her enough to let her go.

"This was more than just help, Tristan. You saved my husband…the surgery was necessary…How can I pay you back?"

"Uh, well, how about a coffee?" he asked with a smile.

"Good Lord! Sure! I can't say no this time," she chuckled and thanked him again.

After working at the cafe, Tristan changed. His arrogant self had vanished, replaced by a humbled man who found a new friend in Susan and whose father was proud of him.

What can we learn from this story?

• Unnecessary arrogance and pride will not get you anywhere. Tristan learned it the hard way after his father forced him to work as a janitor at the cafe. He not only realized his mistake but also became a better human.
• Sometimes parents need to use a firm hand on their children to make them realize their mistakes and learn a valuable lesson. Darren's tough decision to temporarily suspend Tristan from the company and force him to work as a janitor helped Tristan in realizing the error of his ways and becoming a better person.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a rich boy who mocked his poor classmate and learned a lesson the hard way after karma caught up with him.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.