Robert Irwin Forgets To Pay For Food At Restaurant, His Apology Video Wins Hearts

NDTV

4 days ago

Wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin has made headlines after he accidentally forgot to pay for his food at a restaurant in Australia. Robert is the son of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. He publicly acknowledged his mistake and apologised for the same in a video posted on social media. The reel has since gone viral and received a lot of interest. Robert also did something special to make amends, and his gesture is winning many hearts online. Robert starts the video by saying, "So I have a funny story. I'm road-tripping down the East Coast of Australia at the moment, and I stopped in Coffs Harbour, which is a beautiful coastal town in northern New South Wales, for a bit of dinner. Found a great restaurant, ordered a takeaway salad."
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He went on to explain that he found the restaurant (The Jetty Pavilion) quite packed. He ran into many people who wanted to take a photo with him. He obliged them, but noted that "It turned into a bit of a frenzy. It was a little bit of a flurry there for a minute." Despite this chaos, Robert said that the service was quick. He added, "They got the salad done super fast, and I made sure I said hi to absolutely everyone." He then greeted people one last time, wished them goodnight and left with his food. He only realised the next morning that he had not paid for it.
"I just did the old dine and dash and didn't even realise I had done it. I felt terrible," he narrated. After this, Robert reached out to the restaurant and offered to pay them in some way. They declined and asked him to only leave a good review online instead. Robert decided to go the extra mile and take advantage of his large Instagram following (he currently has around 7.6 million followers) to do the restaurant a good turn. He called on his followers to support The Jetty Pavilion in Coffs Harbour. He called them "a fantastic local business," and praised the "great team, great food, and amazing atmosphere." He ended the video by thanking the restaurant and apologising again. He promised to return to Coffs Harbour and pay them for the salad in person. He declared, "Today is not the day I start my life of crime; as much as the tabloids would love that, it's not happening."
The official page of the restaurant reacted to Robert's video in the comments. They wrote, "Ohhhh my goodness! We were just out on a family walk to Woolgoolga Waterfall and came back to see this! Thank you soooo much for visiting our venue, we're honestly blown away. Being from a humble little coastal town, it means the world to us to have you stop by. We're all huge fans and truly appreciate the shoutout. We can only imagine how hard it must be to enjoy a quiet meal without being bombarded, so thank you again for choosing us, and no stress about missing the payment! We'd absolutely love to have you back anytime... we might even have to name a salad after you."
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A post shared by Robert Irwin (@robertirwinphotography)
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This viral video has led to Robert receiving a lot of appreciation online. Here's how some people reacted in the comments section:
"Love this - best gift for a small business."
"As a chef and restaurant manager, this is both extremely flattering and overwhelmingly terrifying. Pray for the staff."
"Not Robert being a salad criminal."
"An accidental dine and dash! You're such a good person for showing that place some love!"
"As a small business owner, I can confirm that you just did the absolute most WONDERFUL thing for them by doing this!! Such a kind (and life-changing) gesture."
"That is the absolute cutest and most honest thing I've seen all day, you really did them a solid with that wonderful review, love it!"
"I'm from the USA, and I'm following too! Maybe someday I will visit Australia and get to come in and eat."
"Just when we thought we couldn't love him anymore? Zing!"