When an Indiana woman allegedly posted to Facebook that her New Year’s Eve meal at a downtown Indianapolis restaurant was ruined "by watching a dead person being wheeled out from an overdose," she probably didn't expect the response she received from the restaurant's manager.
Holly Jones is accused of writing on Kilroy’s restaurant’s Facebook page that she was dining at the restaurant, as she does every year for the holiday, when her table was "screamed at" while trying to figure out a bill discrepancy.
"The manager told us someone dying was more important than us being there making us feel like our business didn’t matter, but I guess allowing a Junkie in the building to overdose on your property is more important then (sic) paying customers who are spending a lot of money," she wrote, in part.
The restaurant’s manager, Chris Burton, wrote a scathing reply to the woman’s post, pointing out a major error in her note — the "junkie" Jones allegedly referred to in her message was an elderly woman who suffered a heart attack while dining with her husband and son.
"First of all, the 'overdosing junkie' that you speak of was a 70+ year old woman who had a heart attack," he wrote. "Thankfully she was finally revived at the hospital and survived. It sounds like you were very concerned about her so I thought you should know. This poor lady, who was celebrating New Years Eve with her husband and son, had to be placed on the floor of a completely packed bar and have her shirt removed in front of everyone so the paramedics could work on her. But I can completely understand why you think being intoxicated (expletive) that didn’t understand your bill should take priority over a human life."
Burton's reply quickly went viral, generating responses from around the world.
The restaurant has since shared a link to a GoFundMe page for the woman who suffered the heart attack, raising money to help pay for her medical bills. Family members wrote on the page that the woman is in critical care at Indiana University Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
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Jones appears to have taken down her Facebook profile, according to the restaurant, but upset commenters have since targeted a hair salon where she works.
Serenity Salon has acknowledged that a stylist allegedly posted the message to the restaurant’s page, but said the Facebook post "in no way represents the views" of the salon or its staff.
"We are saddened by events that took place that evening and will continue to pray for the women (sic) who suffered a heart attack at this establishment on New Year’s Eve," the salon wrote, adding that it plans to "deal with this matter internally and take whatever actions deemed necessary."
The salon also said Jones "does claim she is not the actual person who posted this and is in the process of trying to clear her name. We all do have to take responsibility for our devices and make sure they are pass code protected."
The salon has since posted a $500 donation to the GoFundMe page. Jones could not immediately be reached for comment.
Read the full Facebook exchange below.
