Despite his cold appearance, Buck would change this waitress’ life forever 

For most people, going out to eat is a nice outing. It’s the perfect time to enjoy perfectly cooked food and try out new things. And you don’t have to worry about clearing the table or doing the dishes. On top of that, it’s always nice to get out of the house. 

To give the guests a relaxing experience, restaurant workers have to work hard. The chefs, managers, and servers do their very best to make sure things run smoothly. One of these hard workers was Melina Salazar from Texas. With years of experience, she knew how to deal with challenging situations and needy guests. Some customers were pickier than others. As a regular at Luby’s, the WWII veteran, Buck, was one of the hardest to please. But despite his reputation, he would change Salazar’s life for good. 

A career in waitressing isn’t a dream job for most people, but Melina Salazar wasn’t like most people. She worked at Luby’s, a cafeteria style restaurant chain in Texas. After years in the industry, Salazar started to love her job.  Customer service was at the top of Salazar’s priorities. Every customer deserved to be treated with respect, no matter how difficult they were. Salazar’s colleagues say that she was always smiling and making people happy. These qualities set her apart, but also exposed her to the roughest challenge she’d faced up to that point…

Top service 

Because she was so good with handling difficult customers, she was given a special task. Management wanted her to take care of Luby’s most difficult customer. Many people would be fed up with the job, but Salazar didn’t have a single problem with it. She was excited for the challenge. There was one specific customer that was so difficult that other servers didn’t want to serve him unless there was no other choice. Even Salazar admitted that it was no walk in the park dealing with him. He was one of the most difficult customers she had ever come across. But still, she had her reasons to go on serving him. 

The feared Luby’s customer was 89-year-old, World War 2 survivor, Walter “Buck” Swords. Due to his short fuse and unfriendly personality, the staff tried to avoid him as much as possible. Buck had been coming to Luby’s for lunch for years. In that time, he had built up a terrible reputation. After a while, nobody wanted to serve him.

Salazar was the exception: she was the only one who could handle Buck.

Always finding a mistake 

Old men complain and moan about things all the time, but Buck was especially difficult. The second he walked into the restaurant, everyone braced themselves for what was to come. However good the food was, Buck always found something to complain about. Buck didn’t have much patience and was always upset when he had to wait. It was so bad that he sometimes cursed at the staff. Even the most experienced staff members were fed up with his behavior at a certain point. But for Salazar, Buck wasn’t a problem, he was a fun challenge. She always served him with a smile on her face. 

But what was her secret? How did Salazar handle his cursing fits? Despite his bad attitude, Salazar believed that respect was the key to good service. She stuck to this, even though there were a few times when she nearly lost all patience with Buck Despite all this, Buck had earned a special place in her heart. She started to care about the grumpy, old man. But she certainly didn’t expect the unique surprise he had for her.