JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Richard Reuer wears his sheriff’s outfit at Minot’s Pizza Ranch Wednesday, May 13.

Pizza Ranch employee Richard Reuer doesn’t clear tables for customers. He arrests their plates for loitering.

Dressed as a sheriff when he takes his weekend shifts at the Minot restaurant, Reuer is a stickler for a clean and welcoming environment, but he also wants guests to enjoy their dining experiences. His efforts earned him recognition in March as one of the top employees in the companywide Hospitality Hero initiative. The initiative offers a $250 Amazon gift card to reward 25 team members each month from its more than 210 restaurants across the Midwest who live out “Service from the Heart.”

Reuer’s contributions have included store survey promotions, seasonal decorating and spurring creation of an employee recognition called Deputy of the Month.

“Richard Reuer goes out of his way to give every customer a legendary experience,” local Pizza Ranch General Manager Matthew Christianson said in his nomination of Reuer. “He comes in on his time off every holiday to decorate the whole store. Richard has received the most reviews by one person in the Minot store ever. He is the epitome of a Hospitality Hero.”

Joining Pizza Ranch about three years ago, Reuer decided a week into the job that the T-shirt uniforms didn’t do justice to the ranch theme, so he began coming to work in a sheriff’s outfit.

“I just created that to make Pizza Ranch more of a western atmosphere for the people,” he said. “I made it a fun thing for our customers.”

The late Jesse Nelson, general manager at Pizza Ranch at the time, gave the outfit his endorsement at Reuer’s six-month employee review, letting him know his status as restaurant sheriff was now official.

Reuer likes to tease customers when clearing tables that he needs to arrest the plates for loitering while letting them know they are welcome to loiter longer without worry. He added the youngsters love the outfit, which has been confused with “Woody, the sheriff from “Toy Story,” giving Reuer an idea for his next Halloween costume at the restaurant.

Reuer goes out of his way to decorate the restaurant for holidays such as the Fourth of July and Valentine’s Day or special times such as graduation season. The restaurant provides Christmas decorations, but Reuer’s decorations for other holidays come from items he’s personally collected.

Determined to boost response to the restaurant’s customer survey forms, Reuer began urging guests to fill them out and invited them to mention him in the comments. The number of completed surveys rose considerably, and Reuer’s name was always mentioned, causing the corporate office to remark that whoever this employee is, the restaurant better hold on to him, Reuer chuckled.

Reuer also is a past recipient of the Minot Area Chamber EDC Eagle Award, given monthly to nominated local employees for customer service.

Reuer’s real satisfaction came last year in seeing his restaurant earn the elite Shield award as a top performer in the chain last year. To encourage employees to ensure the restaurant stays on top, Reuer created a twist on a former Employee of the Month program, suggesting reviving it as Deputy of the Month, determined by customers based on survey responses acknowledging employees for good work.

Reuer works as head busser supervisor and is responsible for training new employees.

“The best tip from the customer is a smile on their face when you show up to remove their plates,” he tells his trainees.

The appreciation of the customers and not the recognition is what makes it all worth it, he added. He said he lives by Colossians 3:23-24 and its biblical direction to work for God and his reward.

“To work for the Lord means to perform every task with wholehearted dedication, integrity and a mindset of serving God rather than merely human authorities,” he said. “That’s why I do what I do. I don’t do it for myself. I’m doing it because I want to see our Pizza Ranch really stand out.”