Washington - Kirk Alexander didn't call Domino's Pizza for delivery this past weekend.
In fact, he hadn't called the Domino's, where he is a regular customer, in days.
Employees noticed, the Salem, Oregan, store's general manager, Sarah Fuller, told the Statesman Journal.
“Several of our drivers had commented that they hadn't seen an order come through for him recently,” she told the newspaper. “And when we looked it up, we knew instantly it wasn't normal.”
Employees at the store are especially familiar with Alexander, who, according to the newspaper, has ordered from that particular Domino's location “almost daily for more than seven years.”
“It was about 1am Sunday morning, and we weren't terribly busy,” Fuller told the Statesman Journal. “So I asked one of our regular drivers who knew Alexander to stop by the customer's home on Penticton Circle NE and check it out. We all know Kirk and he only lives about six minutes from our store, so the whole team was concerned.”
According to the Oregonian, the driver, Tracey Hamblen, noticed that the TV and lights were on in the home; but Alexander wasn't answering the door.
“He came back to the store and that's when we went ahead and decided to place the 911 call,” Fuller said on ABC's “Good Morning America.”
Authorities from the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to Alexander's home and “could hear a man calling for help from inside the residence,” the agency wrote in a Facebook post.
“Deputies forced entry and found Kirk Alexander, age 48, of Salem down and in need of immediate medical attention,” the post continued.
The sheriff's office noted that Hamblen, the Domino's driver, “had formed a relationship with the victim because of the regular orders and knew he suffered [from] severe health issues.”
“The Sheriff's Office would like to personally thank Hamblen for his quick actions and willingness to take time out of his day to care for others,” the post concluded.
Alexander was hospitalised after the incident. He was listed in stable condition earlier this week, according to authorities.
“We want to give him flowers, cards,” Jenny Seiber, a Domino's assistant manager, told KATU, “hopefully help him recover faster knowing that people do care about him.”
For what it's worth, Alexander does vary his Domino's order - it's not always pizza, Seiber told the Oregonian, noting that he sometimes orders pasta or sandwiches or wings.
According to the Salem Journal: “Fuller said several members of the staff, herself and Seiber included, have visited Alexander in the hospital, but they're trying not to tax him. They said he smiled and nodded when he saw them, indicating he knew the role the staff played in his getting help.”
“We're like a family here, and we were glad we were able to do something to help,” Fuller told the newspaper. “We hope he's able to fully recover from this.”
Jenny Fouracre, a corporate spokeswoman for Domino's in Ann Arbor, told the Statesman Journal that “we are proud of our team members who took the initiative to reach out and help a regular customer who was in distress.
“There are thousands of Domino's stores across the country, but every store is really a part of their neighbourhood, delivering to people in their homes, which means we often get to know our customers well. We have many stories of how our stores have helped regular customers in ways that are big and small over the years, which is a level of customer service and commitment to our communities that we hope everyone will emulate.”
The Washington Post