(I work at a well-known video game store. We just got in an exclusive figure from my favorite TV show, and a customer and his friend come in looking for it.)

Customer: “I’m looking for [figure]; do you have any?”

Me: “We have them right here!” *points to the only three we have in stock* “They are so cool! And they are exclusives. I want one but can’t afford to be spending money on figures right now.”

(His friend puts one on hold to pick up later and he turns to my coworker.)

Customer: “Isn’t there a buy-two-get-one-50%-off thing going on for these right now?”

Coworker: “Yes, there is; did you want to pick something else up?”

Customer: “Yeah, I think I will take both of them—” *the remaining two figures* “—and this.” *he finds a different character and adds it to the group*

Me: “Well, there you go. Now I won’t have the temptation!”

(At this point, I have handed over the conversation and transaction to my coworker while I work on other things. I take notice of him again just as he is finishing his transaction. He pulls one of the figures out of his bag and hands it out in my direction.)

Customer: “Oh, by the way, this is for you!”

Me: “Really?!”

Customer: “Yup!”

Me: *jumping around with excitement* “Thank you so much!”

(I spent the next five minutes geeking out and dancing with excitement. He ended up forgetting something and coming back in, and I thanked him two more times. Best customer ever; he made my year.)

(I’m volunteering in a shelter after Hurricane Katrina. One of the residents is a frail, elderly woman; she is all alone and possibly suffering from dementia. She is barely able to tell the medical staff her name, and any paperwork and records were lost when she was evacuated a second time — before Hurricane Rita hit, many shelters housing Katrina evacuees were moved because they were in the path of the second hurricane. I just happen to be getting a cup of coffee in the staff room when the medical officer is lamenting to the shelter manager that they are getting nowhere trying to find her family.)

Me: “Are you talking about Mrs. [Common Last Name]?”

Doctor: “Yes. Nobody seems to know anything about her except that another resident thinks she may be from [Mid-Sized Town on the coast].”

(Like me, the doctor is from a major city, but I now live in a fairly rural area. I have an idea and Google [Mid-Sized Town]’s City Hall. The receptionist at City Hall doesn’t know our lost lady, but she gives me the number to the local senior services office. The woman who answers the phone there almost screams when I tell her my errand.)

Woman: “You have Mrs. [Common Last Name]? My Lord, her son is frantic! She’s been missing for almost two weeks!”

Doctor: *somewhat later* “What an incredible piece of luck, that woman knowing Mrs. [Common Last Name]. What if she hadn’t?”

Me: “Then I would have started calling every single church in [Mid-Sized Town] until I found someone who did.”

(I’m not exactly Sherlock Holmes; you just have to know where to look.)

(I work at a cinema. For those who haven’t watched it, the Deadpool movie contains an extra at the end of the credits, stating that it is a “d**k move” to leave garbage lying around in the theatre. This occurs after the end of the credits:)

Me: *to people exiting the theatre* “Thank you! Come again!”

Man: *behind most of them* “Deadpool will get them because none of them f****** listened when he told them to not leave their garbage lying around!”

(I have never seen so many people go back into a theatre to pick up their trash off the seat.)

(My grandmother passed away this year at 95 years old. She was the only grandparent I ever knew well, the others having passed away before I was born or when I was very young. She and I shared a love for vintage jewelry and clothing, and “oldies” music. The rest of my family is happy to let me have her record collection from her estate. It takes me a while to go through all of them; there are only twelve 33 rpm albums left from her original collection, but over one hundred 45 rpm singles, like you would find in a jukebox. After I’ve finally gone through each one to make sure none are broken, scratched beyond playing, etc., I call my dad.)

Me: “Hi, Dad.”

Dad: “Hey, [My Name]! What’s up?”

Me: “Just finished going through Grandma’s records. I’m so happy to have them, but organizing them made me miss her even more.”

Dad: “I understand. I’m glad you got them. No one else would appreciate all of them like you do. Do they all still play?”

Me: “Yes! I can’t believe how many she had in storage! Over one hundred 45 singles, and they’re all in great condition.”

Dad: *chuckles* “Yeah, I’d forgotten about those.”

Me: “And they’re really an eclectic mix of genres. I’m surprised she was interested in some of these.”

Dad: “Oh, she didn’t pick all of them out. Did I not tell you how she got them?”

Me: “No… How?”

Dad: *laughs* “When I was a kid, [Brand] potato chips ran a promotion where you got a coupon for a ten-cent record on the back of each bag. If you sent the coupon in, they’d send you a 45 record through the mail. It was usually a single disc of one of the popular radio hits of the month. Your grandma bought so many bags of potato chips that year I got sick of them!” *laughs again* “If you see any records that still have the ten-cent sticker on the label part, those are from the chip coupons.”

Me: *laughing too* “That’s great! I never would have thought of that!”

Dad: “You should contact [Brand] potato chips and tell them about your collection!”

(It wasn’t a long conversation, but it made me feel better, and it was great to add one of my dad’s funny memories about my grandma to my own. Maybe now I should keep an eye out for a jukebox for sale!)

(I work with a few other people at the front desk of a suite-based hotel. It’s vacation season, and the lobby is super busy. A girl who looks about 17 comes in and bee-lines for the concierge.)

Coworker: “Hello, miss, how can I help you today?”

Girl: “Uh, there’s a problem in our suite.”

Coworker: “I’m sorry to hear that. What seems to be the matter?”

(The girl glances around, leans across the counter, and beckons [Coworker] towards her. She says something to him in a very low tone, and he immediately goes pale.)

Coworker: *leaning back* “Oh, wow! I am so sorry you have to deal with that. We will take care of that right away. Is there anything I can do for you or family in the meantime?”

Girl: *at a normal volume* “Nah, don’t worry about it. I took care of most of it. Just thought you ought to know before you get anyone else in. Take care!”

(She turns and leaves.)

Me: “What was that all about?”

Coworker: “Only the chillest guest ever.” *lowers voice to whisper* “She wanted to tell me that she found some cockroaches in their room and that we should take care of it before we rent the suite out to anyone else.”

Me: “Are they asking us to comp them on the suite?”

Coworker: “She isn’t even asking to be moved! Said they’re checking out tomorrow, anyway!”

Me: *stunned silence*

Coworker: “I’m going to go make her a basket.”

(We have gift baskets with candy bars, snacks, and coupons to various local businesses and restaurants for VIPs. With all the unreasonable complaints we get, it was MIND-BLOWING for someone to come in with a legitimate issue like that without getting angry or making any demands. We still thank our lucky stars that someone that polite got the room with cockroaches. And yes, we immediately scheduled an appointment to have the room treated after they left.)