Burger King franchise owner sells Corvette, Rolex, donates $150k proceeds to employees

IS THIS the best boss ever? He sold his Corvette and Rolex watch and donated the $150,000 in proceeds back to staff.

Boss sells car and watch for staff

IS THIS the best boss ever?

A Burger King franchise owner has stunned his employees by giving them a $US120,000 ($A153,800) bonus for helping the company win a national corporate award.

Tom Barnett was given a brand new Corvette and a Rolex watch after being named Franchisee of the Year, for highly rated customer feedback and corporate inspections at his 24 stores across Arizona.

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Instead of keeping them for himself, Mr Barnett and the other franchise owners decided to sell the pricey items and donate the proceeds back to the hardworking staff responsible for the success.

More than 100 employees received bonuses ranging from a few hundred to several thousand, local news station 3TV reported. Some long-term employees received as much as $US5000 ($A6400).

Employee Charity Callahan said she was in shock. (Image: 3TV)

Eric Tejeda worked his way up from cook to supervisor. (Image: 3TV)

Franchise co-owner Shelley Krispin said giving the money back was the right thing to do. “The award needed to go to the people who got us here,” she told 3TV. “We’re all better when we have people who work for us long term.”

Fifteen-year employee Eric Tejeda, who worked his way up from cook to restaurant supervisor, said the staff initially joked with their boss, asking if they could take the car for a drive.

“It was great to have that extra money to make the family happy,” he said. “I don’t see my job as come in and make hamburgers, I see my job as come in and work with the people.”

Charity Callahan, another long-serving employee, said: “I just couldn’t believe it. I was in shock. It was almost an entire month’s worth of pay for me. They made us all feel appreciated.”

Last month, a Burger King customer in the US state of New Hampshire made headlines after returning a bag full of cash mistakenly handed to her at the drive-through.

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