A restaurant owner in China has won praise online after gifting brand-new BMW cars to some of her top-performing employees, saying she wanted to protect them from difficult weather during their daily commute. Ma Yanli, who runs a beef hotpot chain in Jiaozuo, in central China’s Henan province, reportedly noticed that many of her employees travelled to work on electric scooters. During cold, rainy and windy weather, she felt they were having to endure conditions that she herself did not have to face.
The unusual reward has attracted considerable attention online, with many social media users praising Ma for her generosity and concern for her staff. The gesture has also sparked discussion about the different ways employers recognise and reward hardworking employees. Because of the collective efforts of her employees, the South China Morning Post said Ma believes her business has grown. She said the workers should therefore be able to share directly in the success of the company.
Instead, some of the workers were surprised to learn that they were being given new cars. “I am so thrilled! I dared not think about this before,” one of the lucky employees, Li Jie, was quoted as saying. Ma explained that she was particularly moved after seeing one employee return from a cold commute with a visibly red face. She questioned why her workers should have to endure such conditions when she could afford to travel comfortably.
Ma took a group of employees to a BMW dealership on September 24, telling them they were going for a meeting, according to the South China Morning Post. The South China Morning Post reported that each BMW was worth around 300,000 yuan (Rs 43 Lakh).
“On the way to the BMW showroom, Boss Ma just told me she would gift me a big toy.
The cars had reportedly been purchased in full by Ma around two weeks earlier, meaning the selected employees did not have to pay for them.
