Although not everyone celebrates Christmas, it is generally customary to give employees the day off so that they can spend the holiday with their family and friends. If you have ever worked on Christmas while your family spends time together, you understand how nice it can be to have the day off.
At the end of the day, people still need to eat and purchase certain items even on Christmas, so there are many businesses that will stay open. It is nice to make sure to be extra kind and tip extra well on Christmas since the people working are sacrificing so much to keep the business running.
When you think about food and sharing, there is one food that comes to mind: pizza. It's a food that is meant to be shared with people. That's why it is so fitting that Rockstar Pizza in Brownsburg, Indiana gave their employees a special bonus: a cut of the day's profits.
Christmas is the time of giving, which is why this story comes at the perfect time! Some companies don't do anything for their employees for Christmas, while others go above and beyond. Rockstar Pizza in Brownsburg, Indian definitely went above and beyond this year. The two owners of Rockstar Pizza, Colby and Ron Matthews, are open on Christmas Day. Sound bad, right? Who would make their employees work on Christmas day? Firstly, they schedule on a volunteer basis so only those who want to work end up working. Secondly, they let the employees split the profits they make that day.
This Christmas there were seven employees who volunteered to work who ended up making $700 each, all thanks to the local community who went pizza crazy on Christmas, as well as the generous owners who made it all happen.
Colby Matthews spoke with TODAY about the surprise amount of business they received. ""They always do well, but this year it really caught on, and they had a huge turnout this year. At 3:00, the phone started going crazy ... and finally, at 6:30 [the staff] called us and asked, 'Is there any way we can turn off the phones, because we have 60 orders to make.' At 6:30 they were like, 'We cannot accept any more orders.'"
Colby said she makes sure to promote her giving tradition on social media so that it turns out to be a success, but this year was unlike anything they'd ever seen. "They make a lot more than I could ever bless them with as a bonus. It ended up being a really good night." Colby and her husband don't include the pizza supplies, paying for them themselves, so that the staff can maximize the money they earn.
Instead of a traditional Christmas bonus, Colby and Ron donate the supplies for the pizza like the dough and toppings. "They just take over the shop, and whatever money is made, it's divided between them. It's just a way to do more for them than we could otherwise. They worked hard, and they earned it. They earned every dollar of it, and for some of them, it's a very big deal and can make a big difference to make that amount of money in that short a time."
The success of this year's Christmas is most likely due to the pizzeria's large social media following and general popularity. Posting on social media ensured that the employees had an amazing Christmas bonus. Maybe this will give other business owners some good idea for how to help out their employees.
