I was a nineteen-year-old college student in a university under the Hospitality course, majoring in Culinary Entrepreneurship. Every week, each member of our group was assigned to buy certain ingredients for our cooking or baking projects.

After class one day, I went to the supermarket to buy my ingredients. The only ingredients that were assigned to me were heavy cream and powdered sugar, so I went to the dairy and creamery section first. As I picked up the cream and placed it in a basket, an old lady came up to me.

Lady: “Excuse me, sir.”

Me: “Yes, ma’am?”

Lady: “Can you help me find butter? The one I bought yesterday was margarine. It gives my cookies a weird texture.”

Me: “Sure, ma’am.”

As the creamery and dairy sections were close to each other, I went on suggesting items for her.

Me: “If you want the cheapest one, this brand is a good unsalted and salted butter for you. But if you want quality, I recommend this for you; I use this when I bake some myself.”

Lady: “Thank you, young man. May I ask for your assistance with finding more baking items that I need? I might need your suggestions on this one.”

Being a good boy, I helped her as I also got my second and last item.

Lady: “Thank you so much, young man. I can take care of the rest now.”

Me: “You’re welcome, ma’am.”

I decided to buy a soda and snacks for my trips back home before going for checkout. As I finished shopping, I saw the same lady with the manager talking about a nice young man who helped her and demanding that they give that person a raise. When she saw me, she approached me, pointing in my direction.

Lady: “That’s him! That’s the young man I was talking about. I would like to ask that you give him a raise for helping me.”

Manager: “Ma’am, I appreciate your good feedback, but I’m sorry, he doesn’t work here.”

Lady: “Wait, you don’t work here?”

Me: “Sorry, ma’am, but I am only a student — here is my ID. I think you’ve mistaken me for an employee due to our similar uniform.”

Lady: “Oh, how embarrassing for me to ask a complete stranger and waste a manager’s time.”

Manager: “It’s fine, ma’am. If he actually worked here, I would convey your comment to him.”

Me: “It’s fine for me, too, ma’am. I am not that busy anyway, and I’m just helping when I can, even if I don’t work here.”

Lady: “I’m sorry again. Thank you very much for helping me.”

Me: “You’re welcome again, and I’m happy to help.”

And then we went on our way.

I’m in college. I tend to dress somewhat interestingly — not odd, but enough that I stand out and tend to look a bit dapper.

One day, I’m out shopping with a friend, and she wants to pop into a clothing store. I’m standing outside the dressing room while my friend tries something on. This woman walks up to me and just assumes I work there. I get this a lot, actually.

Customer: “I don’t think I’m going to get this shirt. Can I just hand this to you? And do I need to get a number to try these three on?”

Me: *Taking the shirt* “You know, I don’t think you need a number, but…”

I spot a girl in a headset standing next to a Go Back rack.

Me: “…I believe she works here. Let me ask.”

Customer: *Laughing* “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re just dressed so fancy.”

Me: “Thank you, and it’s no trouble at all. I’m just waiting for my friend, anyway.”

I walk up to the attendant.

Me: “Excuse me, does she need a number to use the dressing rooms?”

Attendant: “Oh, no.” *To the woman* “You’re fine; go on in!”

Me: “Oh, perfect. And can I just leave this top with you? I guess she decided she didn’t want it.”

Attendant: “Yeah, sure.”

My friend finally comes out.

Friend: “Who did I hear you talking to?”

Me: “Oh, a customer confused me for an employee.”

Just then, the floor manager comes up because he’s apparently been watching the whole thing.

Manager: “You handled that very well. Would you like to work here?”

It just so happened that I was looking for a new job — my current boss was horrible — so I said sure. I filled out an application as a formality and started within a week.

I’ve had a severe chronic illness since I was a baby. Due to this, growing up, I spent a lot of time in different hospitals and medical offices and have had a wide variety of treatments and tests.

When I was around ten years old, I was due to have an MRI of my brain. I was pretty nervous about it, especially since I needed IV contrast and wasn’t sure how I’d handle the whole “laying super still in a confined space for several hours” thing. There was also a layer of extra anxiety for me, since they were looking for brain cancer.

I was also told before the appointment that I could bring a few DVD movies which could be played for me to watch during the scan to keep me calm and distracted.

Nurse: “Hello! So, you’re here for an MRI, right?”

Me: “Yes.”

Nurse: “Okay, go ahead into the changing room to put on your gown, and make sure to leave all your belongings in there, too. When you’re ready, go through the door on the other side, and that’ll lead you right into the MRI room. Oh, also, did you bring any movies to play during the scan?”

Me: “Yes, they’re here.”

I handed them to her and then went into the changing room. After I put on my gown, I pushed my way through the door to the MRI room and was immediately rendered speechless. The walls of the room seemed to be made of wall-to-ceiling digital screens, and playing on the screens was a scene of the ocean with fish darting around and whales floating by. On top of that, the MRI machine had been turned a blue color to match the scenery.

I was totally surprised and just went to pieces, smiling and crying, and I could feel my anxiety and nerves melting away. One of the nurses was sort of hovering nearby and watching my reaction.

Me: “How…?”

Nurse: “Since this is a children’s hospital, the screens were put in to help children feel better about getting scans done, and to reduce the number of kids that need to be sedated.”

Me: “Wow, but… how did you know that I love the ocean?”

Nurse: “Well, we noticed that all three of the movies you gave us were about the ocean, so we assumed that you like the water and that seeing the fish might help you feel calmer.”

Me: “Gosh, thank you so much! I hadn’t even noticed that all of my movies were about the ocean!”

The scenery did make me feel better, and I wasn’t nervous at all after seeing it. I managed to last the entire MRI without freaking out or moving and was able to see the scenery and my movies through a small mirror inside the helmet that I had to wear during the scan.

Honestly, the kindness of those nurses left a huge impact on me, and I consider it to be one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I still think about it now, as an adult, especially since most hospital nurses are overworked and have chaotic schedules. I know that noticing a tiny detail about me, and then intentionally going out of their way to help me feel better was immeasurably kind. I’ve had many MRIs after this, none of them with the special screens and effects, but I’ve never felt nervous about them, and I think it’s because my first MRI wasn’t nearly as traumatizing as it could have been.

Related:
Why Nurses Should Rule The World, Part 14
Why Nurses Should Rule The World, Part 13
Why Nurses Should Rule The World, Part 12
Why Nurses Should Rule The World, Part 11
Why Nurses Should Rule The World, Part 10

My work requires me to travel to the UK quite often. The first time, I go alone, but the second time, my husband and kid go with me. We live in a small town. Since I have to go to work, and we love to travel on weekends, we agree that he will do the grocery shopping during the week.

On his first shopping trip, he buys rice from a supermarket. It’s not the kind we eat regularly; it’s somewhat odd tasting. Since that’s our staple, he has bought five packets of one kilo each and there is no way we can use it.

Back in my home country, the return policies are very strict. They don’t take back anything opened. Even if it is unopened, we need to give a strong reason and the only option is store credit. We both decide that we’ll take it back to the supermarket and try to return at least the unopened packets. We also have the receipts with us.

Me: “Hey, we bought this rice here and would like to return it, if it’s okay.”

Helpdesk Rep: “Was something wrong with it?”

Me: “Not sure; it tastes bad. Maybe we cooked it wrong?”

Helpdesk Rep: “Looks like it; this rice is for Italian cooking. It is high in starch content. May not be for your style of cooking. You may want to buy something light and long grain.”

Husband: “Oops! My bad, then! I am the one who bought it without asking any of you.”

Helpdesk Rep: “No problem, sir. Since you have the receipts with you, I can refund your money for the four unopened packets. And for the opened packet—”

Me: “Oh! No, don’t bother about it if you can’t refund it. It’s okay. I am just glad that you are taking the four packs back. I’d have hated to throw food away and waste money.”

Helpdesk Rep: “No, actually, I was going to say that I can give you store credit for that packet. It’s okay if it is opened.”

Me: “Are you sure?”

Helpdesk Rep: “Yep, that’s possible.”

Husband: “Wow, you guys are awesome!”

Helpdesk Rep: “Well, here I was wondering if you’d oppose a store credit.”

Husband: “Oh, no, why would we when it is our fault?! We are coming back here for sure to use the credit!”

The transaction went smoothly and the staff there helped us pick the right kind of rice we wanted. My husband became a regular there and knew many of the staff. My daughter had some great shopping trips there. He made sure to bid them all a goodbye when we were leaving the UK.

Related:
To Give Credit Where Credit Is Due, Part 3
To Give Credit Where Credit Is Due, Part 2
To Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

It’s my first day on my own at work at an infomercial store. It’s been a wild day so far.

Customer: “Do you have any religious stuff?”

Me: “Let me show you where our audio Bibles are.”

He tried to get me to talk about religion, but the only thing I told him was that my dad converted right before he died. The man bought three of the audio Bibles AND GAVE ME ONE. The reason why I’m so surprised at this is that they’re like $40 apiece! I tried to decline, but he insisted on giving me one. He bought three sets of batteries to go with them, too. He spent over $120 and basically gave me a $40 thing!