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A small detour turned into a big payday for an Idaho pizza driver on the verge of retirement.
Dan Simpson, a 68-year-old Domino’s delivery worker in Boise, went viral after he stopped at a convenience store to buy Diet Cokes for a customer when his restaurant ran out — a kind gesture that’s now earned him more than $40,000 in donations.
The customer, Brian Wilson, didn’t answer his call asking for a soda substitute, so Simpson shrugged and ran across the street to grab a pair of 2-liter bottles for his delivery on March 27.
“On the surface, it probably looked like such a small gesture,” Wilson told the Idaho Statesman. “But to us, it felt like so much more than that. That kind of thoughtfulness and personal care just feels so rare these days.”
When Simpson arrived, Wilson didn’t have extra cash to tip and offered to call the store — but the driver waved it off.
“Oh, you don’t need to. It’s a good tip,” Simpson said in the video.
Footage of their viral interaction on TikTok has racked up over 600,000 views and sparked a wave of support.
Wilson was so moved by the kindness that he launched a GoFundMe to help the driver, who is retiring on April 30 and has struggled financially, and has nearly reached its target of $45,000 in eight days.
Wilson also revealed why the moment hit home.
“What Dan didn’t know is that my wife and I are both visually impaired, so running out to the store for a ‘quick’ pickup is not something that is simple or easy for us,” he said.
“What may have seemed like a tiny inconvenience to solve on his end actually made a huge difference on ours.”
Simpson told the outlet that the response has been hard to process.
“This can’t be real,” he said, recalling how he kept checking his phone as donations poured in. “I’m thinking, ‘This has got to be some kind of a scam.’”
The longtime delivery driver, who works nights to supplement his job with the Idaho Department of Agriculture, said he’s always tried to help others.
Simpson revealed that he spent time in prison for a DUI in his past, got sober, returned to school more than 20 years ago, and has still struggled to save for retirement despite years of work.
“I’ve always tried to be a pretty nice guy and help people out, because I know what it’s like to be down and out,” he said.
Viewers rallied around the feel-good moment.
“The world needs more Dans,” Wilson wrote in his TikTok caption, a sentiment echoed across the social media platform.
“I love when humans human,” responded one user, while another said, “This is old school respect and going beyond duty.”
After donating to Simpson, one person wrote in a message on GoFundMe: “I love that people respect how hard it is to do this job and risky, especially for older people. Bless you for doing this and happy retirement Dan!”
Now, thanks to a quick stop for soda, Simpson is heading into retirement from his state job at the end of April with a financial boost and possibly bigger travel plans.
He plans to continue delivering pizza for Domino’s and hopes to use the GoFundMe money toward a trip to see the Redwood trees in California.
“They say I went the extra mile, but for goodness’ sake, it was no big deal,” he said. “Well, now I might go to Hawaii. Actually, I’d rather go to Melba.”
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