Unfiltered Story #209767

I work at a floral shop, and with prom coming up soon, we’ve had a lot of customers coming in for Boutonniere’s and Corsage’s. Soon after the local high school lets out, two couples come in, all four people being in their teens. The first of the couples comes to the counter and explain that they would like matching blue Boutonniere’s and Corsage’s for prom, but done in a specific way to honor a friend who had died recently. Our shop likes to have custom orders explained to the maker themselves, so I explain to them that the designer will be out in a few moments. They thank me and wait while I help the other couple. The girl in the second couple chomps on her gum and mutters things about our prices while they look through a catalog of common items, wanting the same as the previous couple, just a different color and a different style. As I help them, the designer comes out and talks to the first couple. When the topic of cost comes up, the boy smiles.
“Spare no expense.” He says, clearly trying to sound sophisticated. I can’t help but smile as his girlfriend laughs. They were clearly sweet people. “We want to go all out.”
Our designer smiles as she writes a note down on her notepad where she had written the details down. “Alright, then for the Boutonniere it will be [price], and for the Corsage, [price]. Are these separate transactions?”
“No, I’m paying for both.” The boy explained. This got the girl from the second couple’s attention, and she looked over.
“What, is she too poor to pay [price] herself?” She asked. Everyone there was shocked and stunned, and the girl, who looked to be a year or two younger, slumped her shoulders and glanced down at her phone, pretending to play on it, when I could tell it wasn’t even on. The boy was clearly outraged as he stood up, but the girl in the second group continued.
“I mean, why would she come to a ritzy place like this if she couldn’t afford it? Look at those jeans!” (The first girl’s jeans were ripped up, but it was pretty obvious that it was a style thing, not a sign that she was poor.) “Why is she going to a prom when she can’t even afford [price]? The rest of us have to pay for ourselves, so why shouldn’t she?”
The older girl’s boyfriend ignored the exchange, still looking through the catalog as if nothing was wrong. I sat my pen down on the counter and looked at her.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” I said as calmly as I could, holding back my anger at the girl. This got the boys attention, and he lifted his head.
“Wait a minute! This is America! She has the right to free speech! We learned that in history class!”
A random lady who had been waiting for an order spoke up. She never lifted her head from reading a book as she sat by a window. “Well I’m starting to think that [school] should start to offer a class on etiquette and kindness. That girl has been nothing but sweet and polite, and you’re here trying to ruin her day because you’re upset that her boyfriend cares about her and is a gentleman.”
The girl scoffed, and I asked them to leave again. Finally the boy took his girlfriends hand and dragged her out, embarrassed and outraged, threatening to get us in big trouble. When they were gone, the younger girl smiled sheepishly at me and the lady reading the book.
“Thank you both.” She said, as polite as she had been earlier, even before the exchange. “Some people are just cruel, but you’ve proved that not all people are like that.”
She got up and gave us both hugs, and the lady smiled before going back to her book. The designer shook her head when the boy handed her his credit card.
“It’s on the house. People like that can’t ruin prom, and I’m not letting a few dollars cause a fuss.”
The duo got their Boutonniere and Corsage the same day, and thanked me again. The next day my manager came in and said that someone had called and told him what happened, and that they were hoping that he would pass it on that I deserved a raise. Apparently the boss liked how I handled the situation so well that he gave me a raise, and although it wasn’t a lot, it still helped me pay my bills. A little kindness goes a long way.