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Tipsy patron leaves car at restaurant, returns to a surprise from the manager

When Paula Schultz and her husband took an Uber home after having one too many drinks while dining, they were shocked by a kind gesture.
/ Source: TODAY

When Paula Schultz and her husband decided they'd had one too many drinks while dining out at Original Joe's restaurant in Alberta, Canada, they made a sensible decision to call an Uber home.

But when Schultz came back to retrieve the car from the parking lot, there was something attached to the windshield. A ticket? A nasty note?

Nope! It was a letter congratulating her for doing the right thing (i.e. not drinking and driving) and a voucher for chicken wings at Original Joe's!

Schultz told TODAY that the voucher was "the last thing I expected."

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"(The car) was there for almost 48 hours, literally right in front of the entryway," she explained. "When I got back, it was under 4 inches of snow ... It was a total walk of shame."

But shame wasn't on the agenda — at least not for managing partner Jay McLean, who left the note. Schultz later found he has doing this for about a year and a half.

"I just thought operating a restaurant in a rural type area like Sherwood Park where transit is minimal and a lot of people drive, I just thought it was the perfect match," McLean told CTV News.

Schultz shared the note in hopes that other businesses, especially drinking establishments, might instate similar programs — and that readers would feel encouraged to play it safe rather than sorry.

"You don’t have to be drunk to be impaired," she clarified. "I wasn’t some crazy drunk lady, but I definitely had no business driving."

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And while she's excited for the free wings (obviously), she's more touched by the thoughtful gesture. "In this day and age, the world is all about me, me, me," she said. "He did this because he wanted to do the right thing, and wanted to acknowledge that I did the right thing.