(Several years ago, my wife was on disability and I was unemployed, and finances were always tight. I had a contract job lined up that would pay $50, but I needed gas to get there and back. We went into a local store and started feeding all the loose change we could find into the self-checkout to load a gift card for gas.)

Person: “You know, there’s a change-trading machine over there.” *motions toward change-trading machine*

Me: “Yeah, I know, but they charge a fee, and I need every cent to go into the gas tank.”

Person: “Ah, I understand.”

(A moment or two later, she came over and pressed a $10 into my hand.)

Person: “Hope this helps!”

(I was so thankful, and I have never forgotten that. I do my best to pay it forward as much as I can.)

(I work at a car rental office that is located near the major airport. However, as we have an airport office, my office does not provide pick-ups or drop-offs from the airport. We are generally cheaper than the airport office, due to the taxes and fees they have to pay to operate a shuttle. My office makes it a point to call every reservation in advance to make sure our customers are aware that do not have a shuttle and they will need to hire a cab to take them here. I’m on one such phone call. I call the customer, and explain the above to a nice gentleman. At first, he’s slightly upset about the added costs of the cab fare.)

Customer: “I know it’s not an expensive cab fare; however, it is still an inconvenience.”

Me: “I apologize, sir, that’s why I’m calling you so that you don’t have any surprises in the middle of your traveling. If you want, I can check to see what the airport office’s prices are and see if they are comparable?”

(He agrees to this, and when I bring up the website to check, I’m pleasantly surprised to see that they do currently have cheaper rates, and even with their additional taxes, our customer is still saving about $50. I give him the good news and then offer to book him a reservation with them, and cancel his current reservation with my office. He gives me the necessary information to send the confirmation number to his email. When I’m about to finish the call, he says:)

Customer: “Wait, before you go, I want to ask you something.”

Me: “Sure, anything else I can do for you?”

Customer: “You mean to tell me that you call all of your customers to confirm their reservations and tell them about a possible extra expense they may not have planned for? And when I wasn’t happy about it, you quickly got be booked at a different location that does provide a shuttle AND you saved me a significant amount money?! That is amazing customer service. Tell your manager you deserve a gold star.”

Me: “Well, customer service is our main priority here, and I’m glad it worked out for you. It doesn’t always. I appreciate you being understanding about the confusion.”

(What that man said stuck with me for weeks. I’ve since made a goal of mine to compliment good customer service in my own life.)

(I work for a disability lawyer as the receptionist, so I’m often the bearer of bad news. We have a client who has just gone before the judge for a hearing a month earlier, and is waiting to hear if he’s going to be given disability or turned down for a third time. This man is homeless and had a rough life, but he has kept a sweet disposition through all his tragedies.)

Me: “Thank you for calling [Law Office]. How can I help you?”

Client: “This is [Client]. I was told I’d gotten a letter in. It’s not bad news, is it?”

Me: “Let me look you up in our system… It seems that we got the response back from the judge yesterday, Mr. [Client], and you were found fully favorable.”

Client: “What? I got it?”

Me: “Yes, they’re awarding you. That letter you got was either from our legal assistant telling you all about that, or from Social Security’s office telling you the good news. Congratulations!”

Client: *breaks into tears* “Really? I really got it? I get to go to a doctor now?”

Me: “You really got it. I’m happy for you, sir. Go get that letter and have a great weekend, okay?”

Client: “Thank you. Thank you all so much. Y’all are my guardian angels. I was praying that something good would happen.”

(I was quietly crying by the time we ended the phone call. Sometimes it’s a blessing in itself telling someone whose life has been debilitating that it’s turned around for them and humbling at the same time, because we take such things as a simple doctor visit for granted.)

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(I’ve just graduated high school and my family decides to eat at a nice restaurant after the ceremony. A lot of my extended family has made a considerable drive to be there. Since it is pretty late, we ask the hostess when they close and if we should try somewhere else but we found out they still had an hour to close. We order some appetizers and our meals, those of age order alcoholic beverages too. All in all eight people have meals consisting of $30-50 dollars. The appetizers never came out but we figured they were close to closing so it wasn’t important and we would rather just have them waived from our bill. Upon telling our waitress this, she fetches the manager.)

Manager: “I’m very sorry to hear that your appetizers never arrived. I’m going to comp you for them and still give them to you if you don’t mind waiting 5 or 10 minutes.”

Stepfather: “Sounds good to us. We are just talking and catching up.”

(The manager leaves to presumably oversee appetizers before coming back not three minutes later.)

Manager: “Okay, guys, I found out what happened to the appetizers. Apparently the fry cook decided he would call it a night early and shut off the fryer and refuse orders for the last hour of opening. He is currently restarting the fryer now.”

Stepfather: “Well, I know it was late when we came in; it really isn’t that big of a deal.”

(The manager goes to leave but stops and regards me for a second. I’m still dressed in my cap and gown from the ceremony.)

Manager: “Wait, did you just graduate?”

Me: “Yes, sir.”

Manager: “So that makes this your graduation dinner?”

Me: “Yes, sir…”

(He mutters under his breath and double times it to the kitchen where we can hear him yelling in the now quiet and closed restaurant. He returns shortly with our check.)

Manager: “I got to thinking about how you just graduated and this was supposed to be a special meal for you and my employees couldn’t even fulfill our basic menu items. It left a very bad taste in my mouth. So in addition to your appetizers, I’ve decided to comp your entire meal. I’m very sorry for the level of service.”

Stepfather: *dumbfounded while he stares at the bill that has been comped to the tune of over $200* “I…. we appreciate you being straightforward with us and we really appreciate the gesture of comping our bill!”

(The manager just wishes us a good night and returns to the back, presumably to continue reprimanding his kitchen. As I grew up and got jobs in retail, I never forgot how honest and dedicated to the customer that manager was. He could’ve given us the run around but he decided that the truth, even though it made him and the restaurant look incompetent, was more important. He was so ready to take the blame himself and I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him to write off a $200 bill.)

(I get into work and begin my shift, and am thrown into a very confusing situation.)

Boss: “Okay, you’re going to take over on till three, and I’ll give you orders as I get them!” *runs back to drive-thru*

Me: *thoroughly confused, looks at the man standing there, then at the cash register screen* “Um… so I’m assuming the cambro of coffee is your order?”

Man: “Yes, but that’s not all.”

Me: “Okay, well, what else can I get for you?”

Man: “Nothing. I’m paying for some other orders on drive-thru.”

Boss: *yells* “Okay, add an extra large coffee, a crispy chicken Caesar salad, and a cookie!”

Me: *finally understanding* “Ooooh, okay. Well, thank you for paying for someone else’s order. That’s very kind of you. Will that be everything?”

Man: “Uh, if I ordered another cambro of coffee, would that take extra time?”

Me: “Well, yes…”

Man: “And the other register is open?”

Me: “Yeah.”

Man: “Okay, I’ll take another one, and add on whatever else you get to my order as well.”

Me: “Seriously…?”

Man: “Yeah, why not, right? Might as well.”

Me: “That’s… very kind of you.” *typing in more orders as they come in* “That’s probably the nicest thing any customer has ever done.”

(He ended up paying $70, only taking 2 small cambros of coffee with him, and once he left another employee told me he also offered to pay for anything the employees wanted to eat during their shift. I don’t even know his name, but it was the most generous act I’ve ever witnessed at work.)