The Infection Is Happily Spreading

(My husband and I are having one of the worst nights of our lives. I won’t go into the full story, but it involves an argument, a broken-down car, and dealing with a parade of rude, inconsiderate people. We’re finally on our way home, around 1:00 am, and since neither of us have had dinner, I stop at a 24-hour fast food restaurant. There’s a sign on the drive-through speaker to pull through and order at the window, so I pull up. The girl who comes to the window looks to be in her early twenties, and she has the biggest, most sincere smile on her face.)

Cashier: “Well, good evening to you, folks! How are you doing tonight?”

Me: “Ha… Well… To be honest, it’s been a rough night, but it’s almost over.”

Cashier: “I’m sorry to hear that! Let’s get your order through so you can get home!”

(I order, and she has this incredible, cheerful attitude throughout the whole transaction. It’s kind of infectious, and I’m smiling, too, by the time we get our meal.)

Cashier: *hands us our food out the window* “Here you go, sweetie! I hope you get home safely and that tomorrow is much better for you!”

Me: *nearly crying from finally being around someone nice* “Thank you! You have a good night.”

(The next day, I am still thinking about that cashier, so I call the restaurant and ask for a manager.)

Manager: “Yes?” *sounding a little wary*

Me: *thinking he must be the one who handles complaint calls* “I just wanted to tell you that the cashier you had on the drive-through last night was wonderful!”

Manager: *surprised* “Oh? Well, thank you very much. Do you know their name?”

Me: “No, I didn’t think to ask her, but she looked college-age. We came through around 1:00 am and we had [order]. Maybe you could look up our transaction in the computer?”

Manager: “That’s very helpful; I’ll give that a try. And thank you for letting us know about her.”

Me: “Absolutely! We were having a terrible night, and she made it so much better.”

Manager: “Well, I’ll make sure she is rewarded for making our customers so happy!”

(It was a little thing, but that girl really was the bright spot in an otherwise completely horrible evening. I hope to run into her there again!)