A Burger King employee in South Carolina is being recognized for her dedication to supporting her three children after she had to manage the entire store alone when a co-worker unexpectedly quit.
Nykia Hamilton, 25, moved quickly between different tasks at the Columbia, SC fast-food restaurant to keep customers served during a staffing shortage, as shown in a viral TikTok video posted on July 6.
“One of my employees just quit on me, and there was no one else to cover, so I had to work and close the store by myself,” Hamilton told WACH News.
“I had to wash dishes, prep food, clean the floors, run the front counter, and handle the drive-thru.”
Hamilton usually works shifts longer than 12 hours at Burger King to support her three children, and said her responsibility as a parent to provide for them didn’t stop even when she was left to handle everything alone.
“I miss out on my kids’ lives because I work so much,” Hamilton said, holding back tears. “I have to provide for them, but I barely have any time to spend with them, and that really hurts.”
The dedicated mom said she got some help the next day, but the Burger King was still short-staffed, and she had to close the store alone again.
“I closed by myself again last night. I finally got some help today. I’ll be here until close at 11,” she said. “We just don’t have enough employees. Nobody wants to work anymore.”
Hamilton expressed deep gratitude for the chance to work and support her children after making a fresh start in life.
“I wouldn’t have a job otherwise because I have a record, and it’s hard to find work with that,” she said.
“But by the grace of God, my manager gave me this job, and that’s the main reason I stayed,” Hamilton added, referring to her manager.
The customer who filmed Hamilton, known as Dejlatae on TikTok, praised the “amazing” worker for “busting her behind” despite having no help.
“She’s doing everything necessary to make sure everyone here is taken care of,” the customer said.
They also criticized management for leaving Hamilton to handle everything alone—a sentiment echoed by many viewers in the video’s comments, which had over 100,000 views as of July 16.
“This isn’t fair to her. She shouldn’t have to run the entire restaurant by herself. Thank you for showing up and giving it your all,” one TikTok user wrote.
“Bless this beautiful queen! She deserves a raise and some help! She’s doing the work of at least five to six people,” one user wrote.
“This is shameful on the part of the business. Bless her, but whether it’s a franchise or not, she shouldn’t have to work that hard! Another reason I won’t eat fast food anymore—they don’t care about their employees or customers,” another commented.
Many viewers also encouraged Hamilton to start a GoFundMe to help with her children’s expenses, which she did—sharing that she juggles two jobs to support her family.
In response to the praise for Hamilton’s dedication and criticism over her being left to work alone, Burger King released a statement confirming that working solo goes against company policy.
“At Burger King, our policy requires more than one team member per shift at all company and franchise-owned restaurants,” the fast-food chain said in a press release to WACH News.
“We are working with the franchisee of this location to understand what happened and take any necessary action.”
