25 Workers Who Took Care Of Customers Who Were Kind Or Just Needed It

Photo via @jennycavallero/Twitter

February 16, 2022, 2:59 pm

Working in retail, food service, or any other job in which you need to ring people up as a cashier can be an incredibly difficult and draining experience, requiring extensive emotional labor while you pretend like you don’t hate working there and plaster on a fake smile for rude customers. For these underpaid and underappreciated workers, kind customers can be a godsend, bring a little bit of brightness into their long shifts on their feet, operating the most essential part of the business while being treated as disposable.

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One such former retail worker brought up a story in which she gave a customer a substantial discount on Hobby Lobby items for any “old lady” who offered her a compliment.

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i worked at hobby lobby in high school and they didn’t use barcodes for anything so sometimes i’d ring up $30 whatevers as $3 if an old lady told me i had nice skin

— jenny (@jennycavallero) February 9, 2022

This kicked off a long list of replies by people who had done something similar in their own jobs, or who engage in this kind of off-the-book discounting currently. Sometimes there’s not enough kind customers, so workers bring their own positivity into their work by helping out people who seem like they need their own uplifting that day. Not only do people universally love this kind of surprise as a form of customer service, it helps the workers themselves get through the day.

From giving small discounts to regulars or people who are clearly students or healthcare workers to paying for an entire parking pass for a woman whose son was dying in the hospital, hundreds of people offered their own stories of how they’ve made a customer’s day. We simply cannot get enough of these uplifting tales of people putting kindness into the world rather than cruelty, but here are 25 that stood out:

1.

I once had a little boy come in , all excited to buy some pizzas for dinner as a ” surprise ” for his parents who were ” having a sad day” . He had a dollar. The pizzas were ten. I let him keep his dollar, told him he got ” Good Boy ” discount , and paid myself.

— Virgil, Professional Angst Dealer (@AnxiPurpleCloud) February 10, 2022

2.

Not hobby lobby… but the cashier at target once whispered to me “say you forgot your coupon..” so I did.

And she said “oh I have one right here!!” Really loudly and scanned it for me

— chelsie sparks (@chelsiesparks) February 10, 2022

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3.

When I worked in a mall bookstore back in the 90s, a group of really old women would come in for their weekly harlequin romance books and pay in change. Broke my heart. I’d put my finger over the barcode so the scanner wouldn’t work and I’d have to key it in… at 1/6 the price.

— Jane Says (@DunzoWithSergio) February 10, 2022

4.

Once the nice lady at the Michael’s register noticed I was trying to scrounge together art supplies for school and she used a one-item-only 25% coupon on each item I bought

— 장미 Kim Yeon Koung thinker (@starrynightokki) February 10, 2022

5.

A friend’s cat passed away and I was buying a card. At self checkout it rang up as $8(!) so I asked an employee to take it off, I was going back to find one cheaper. She took it off but gave it to me as I left saying “you chose this for a reason, it’s the one you should use.”

— Sabrina Kell (@sabrinamaezing) February 10, 2022

6.

Love. When I was the pizza phone girl, I’d send free breadsticks or chicken strips on delivery to the sweet old people I got to know and adored.

— Earthen Vessel Kel (@KelliMendenhal4) February 10, 2022

7.

I went Hob Lob after thanksgiving for a 50% off Christmas sale to pick up my first tree. The lady rang up my $225 tree at $22. When I told her, she looked up at the *loooong* line, shrugged, and said “Merry Christmas.” Love that lady; y’all the best tbh

— Andy (@andysch00ltz1) February 10, 2022

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8.

I used to take my disabled son to dinner every Friday @ Texas RdHse. Super sweet waitstaff, after awhile dessert and a cocktail started showing up every week without me ordering them and weren’t on the bill. They were so sweet and patient w/ my son. I tipped well .

— Boosted AF (@DeeStengel) February 10, 2022

9.

one time i was at this vintage goods store and there was this gorgeous sage green cardigan i wanted and was getting so excited when they said it belonged to the employees great grandparents. didn’t end up having enough. the cashier bought it for me. i cried that day

— paige (@paigeybabybear) February 10, 2022

10.

i worked at a phone store and a sweet older man would always come in without fail to bring me ice cream. one day he lost his phone (didn’t have insurance) and he was so sad so i told him he actually did have insurance and i just bought him a new phone. and i’d do it again tbh

— aura ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚ (@auratheman) February 10, 2022

11.

I’ll never forget the sweet Starbucks worker who bought me a free hot cocoa when I got stood up by my date. Benjamin you are a treasure

— Virgil, Professional Angst Dealer (@AnxiPurpleCloud) February 10, 2022

12.

one time a lady was nice to me so her 25 balls of yarn were 39 cents each

— ses (@cowliker3) February 10, 2022

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13.

I had a 1st timer at the register, Christmas stuff was like 80% off. She said “these are all presents right?” and gave me 80% off a ton of expensive ass art pens

— Me (@emerszi) February 10, 2022

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*First Published: February 16, 2022, 2:59 pm