As highly valued members of our families, it's no surprise that most pet owners speak to their beloved fur babies as if they're human. The lack of distinction between four and two-legged addressees can easily get confusing, though. In fact, when an Australian man was scolding his barking dachshund, his DoorDash driver thought the shouts were directed at him.
Mark Polchleb, who runs the Instagram account @dogsworkingfromhome, realized there was a misunderstanding after viewing his home's security footage. Unfortunately, it was too late. Determined to apologize to his driver, Sami, Mark took to TikTok in hopes that the platform would work its magic. "Can someone please tell this sweet sweet UberEats man I was yelling at my dog and not him," he wrote at the start of the video, which has more than 44 million views. He then included footage of the painful miscommunication. "Get away from the door, mate!" yelled Polcheb at his loudly barking pooch, causing Sami to sheepishly retreat from the porch, assuming the command was for him.
@markp_ Im genuinely losing sleep over this. He was so sweet and my dog is a menace ?
Viewers of the TikTok felt both heartbroken for Sami as well as second-hand embarrassment from the unfortunate situation. "I WOULD BE IN TEARS FOR WEEKS IF I DID THIS OMG CAN YOU FIND HIM ON YOUR APP SOMEHOW," one user commented. "He was trying to tell you he had to take a picture because he didn't physically hand it to you," another explained.
Relentless in his quest to locate Sami and make things right, Polcheb updated viewers with follow-up videos. "Thank you for collectively sobbing with me," he said to his invested audience. Once Polcheb discovered that Sami worked for DoorDash, not UberEats, he contacted the food delivery service only to find that customers are unable to contact their Dashers after 24 hours. Thankfully, his videos reached Sami's daughter, Mary, who was able to put them in contact.
@markp_ #duet with @maroob MAJOR UPDATE. We found Sami!!!!!! Thank you so much TikTok. I love this community! I?ll keep you all posted after my opportunity to connect! ??
"This afternoon I got to head out and meet with my DoorDasher Sami to say thank you in person and make sure he was happy," Polchleb shared in the final video. "It was great to meet him and his family who were so so proud of him working to raise money to see his son overseas."
@markp_ Replying to @stylands Thank You, TikTok for helping me apologise and show my appreciation to Sami!
When DoorDash got word of the story, the company was moved by Sami's admirable behavior: "We're so inspired by your love and kindness for Sami that we're going to award him Top Dasher status for life and extra Dasher pay."
Sami's daughter launched a GoFundMe to raise money for a trip to visit his overseas son. "I came to Australia 8 years ago as a refugee and I haven't seen my son for 10 years. He lives in France, and I have to do some work to book a [plane] ticket to see him," Sami wrote. So far, the kind delivery driver has received more than $8,000 Australian dollars in donations from supporters across the globe.
TikTok has done it again!
What do you think of Sami and Mark's story? Tell us on our Wide Open Pets Facebook page!
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