A pair of social media pranksters set out to embarrass a man stocking frozen pizzas at a Michigan grocery store. Instead they turned him into one of the most beloved working dads on the internet.

The man is a Red Baron delivery employee known to the public only as Walt Z. He spends his days driving to stores and loading the freezer cases himself. In a video that blew up online this week a creator walks up and casually asks him for the time.

As soon as Walt pulls out his phone the prankster plays a chime that sounds just like an Apple Pay payment going through. Then he announces that he just took ten bucks off him. Walt calmly says he is going to report it and walks away from the freezers.

The rant that won people over

The creator follows him toward the checkout lanes and keeps pushing. That is when Walt finally lets loose. He explains that he is already an hour late getting home, that he has a mountain of work and that he is struggling to cover the mortgage while raising four kids. Life is hard enough already, he tells them. He does not need this nonsense on top of it.

The prankster insists it was only a joke for a video. A store worker eventually tells the creator to leave. The last thing Walt worries about on camera is whether he will be the one who gets in trouble for raising his voice.

Viewers did not see a punchline. They saw a guy just trying to finish his shift. The account behind the clip has since disappeared and the incident itself turns out to have happened back in August.

Strangers chip in by the thousands

A man in Arizona who has never met Walt started a fundraiser to give him some breathing room and a little protection in case his job was on the line. It took off. As of Friday morning more than 9,000 people had donated and the total was closing in on $450,000.

The organizer posted that Walt is completely blown away by how much people care. He asked everyone to respect the family's privacy and called the donors rock stars. The fundraising site says it is working with him to make sure the money reaches Walt and his family.

Red Baron says he is staying

Any fear about his job was cleared up fast. The company that makes Red Baron said it has checked in on him, that he is doing well and that he remains a valued member of the team. On Thursday the brand went further with a short post online. He is still here, it said. He has a fan club and the company is in it.

The post came with a graphic declaring that employee of the month nominations are closed and everybody knows why. Fans loved it. Some swore their freezers would be Red Baron only from now on. One shopper bragged about grabbing four pizzas in one trip just to show support.

The prank was supposed to cost Walt ten dollars. Instead a lot of tired working people saw themselves in him and decided to make his week a whole lot better.