I work as a waitress in a popular waterfront pub/bar. I was called in two hours early on a four-hour shift — I ended up working six hours — and it was fairly warm by UK standards.

I was on the food pass alone (which I normally am), and it was starting to get stressful. We were in the middle of the 11:00 am breakfast rush and food had a forty-five-minute wait. A ferry from France had come in, so we were very packed.

I grabbed a ticket and food, punched the ticket, and navigated through the 100-plus tables outside to this woman’s table. At first, she didn’t see me, so I made myself known with a little “Hi” and started to put her food down.

I announced the meal I had, and she smiled, stood up, and gave me a slight bow.

Customer: *In a French accent* “Thank you, ma’am!”

I put the meal down and gave her a friendly smile. As she sat down again, I asked if she needed any sauces and she asks for ketchup. When I brought it, she once again stood up and bowed slightly.

Honestly, it was such a small thing, but after dealing with rude customers all morning, it really put a smile on my face and made me enjoy the rest of my shift.

I’m a pretty hairy man; my sister frequently describes me as looking like Santa Claus. We went to dinner the other night, and when I was getting down to mostly done with my meal, I found a hair in it. Now I know it wasn’t there when the server brought the meal, plus it looks very much like one of mine, so obviously I lost one and it wound up on my plate.

No big deal, except that the server was passing by and saw me pull it out and freaked.

Server: “Oh my god, sir, I’m so sorry, I’ll get that replaced right away!”

Sometimes I can get the wisecrack right when I need it, not ten minutes later…

Me: “No, it’s okay… this is mine. I keep them numbered just for such occasions… this is 18537.”

She made some strange noises trying to not laugh and thanked me for being understanding.

I have suffered a few setbacks lately and I need to work a few jobs to get by. One of them is as a night cleaner in a downtown office. I usually finish my cleaning duties around 4 AM and I sit in the lobby waiting for my bus to my next job. The bus comes by around 6 AM so I have time to do some schoolwork in the lobby during that time.

The office I clean must be going through some crunch time for a project or something, as I notice some of them start coming in at 5 AM, coffee in hand, ready to start a long day. This goes on for a few weeks until one of them approaches me.

Office Manager: “Hi, my name is [Name], and I’m the office manager. You’re [My Name], the cleaner, right?”

Me: “That’s right.”

Office Manager: “I see your signatures on the cleaning sheets every day but this is the first time we’ve met!”

Me: “Yeah… hi.”

Office Manager: “A few of us have noticed since we started coming in early, you’re always here working in the lobby. Why is that?”

Me: “Oh, yeah, well the bus stop is right outside the building, but the first bus isn’t until 6 AM. I finish at 4 AM, so I just wait here doing my schoolwork.”

Office Manager: “I see. You don’t have a car?”

Me: “Can’t afford one.”

Office Manager: “I see, yes that was a stupid question. Well, I won’t take up any more of your time! Thanks for always keeping the office so spotless!”

Me: “No problem; it’s my job!”

I think nothing more of it and go back to my schoolwork. The next week the office manager comes up to me again as I work in the lobby.

Office Manager: “Hi, there [My Name]! Still working hard, I see.”

Me: “Yeah, we have a test coming up!”

Office Manager: “How much easier would your routine be if you could drive yourself?”

Me: “It would be a lot easier, but I’ve managed for a while with the buses now so it’s not too bad.”

Office Manager: “Would you like a car?”

Me: “Would I… what?”

Office Manager: “My oldest just started at college and left their car in my driveway. They don’t need it and I don’t want it. Would you like it?”

Me: “I… I can’t just take a car!”

Office Manager: “Why not?”

Me: “Because… it’s a car!”

Office Manager: “Ha! Don’t worry, it’s not a Ferrari. But it’s in good spec, and it’s recently been serviced. I’ll be in my office tomorrow extra early and you can come see me when you finish your shift and we can do the paperwork.”

Me: “But… but I…”

Office Manager: “See you, [My Name]!”

I was left so shocked I couldn’t revise my schoolwork at all. True to his word, the next day he was in his office at 4 AM as I was finishing up. He explained the paperwork to me and took me down to the parking lot to show me my car. It was an older model, but clean and ran like a dream.

I worked that cleaning job for one more year until I was able to get an office assistant job. I eventually graduated and it is twenty years later and I run my own office myself!

Annoyingly, our office cleaning staff already have cars, but I am going to include them in the yearly bonus scheme because we couldn’t do what we do if we didn’t have a clean office to do it in.

Several services and an engine replacement later, my teenage son now drives that old car to college.

My father just recently died and I was flying back home after the funeral.   I was pulled for inspection after they ran my bag through the Xray. The agent pulled out a bottle well over the three ounces allowed on a carry-on. I had grabbed an old bottle of my dad’s aftershave (with my mom’s permission of course) because the smell reminded me of him. It was a brand he had used for decades. I had totally forgotten I had put it in there.

Me: “Oh, I totally forgot about that. M… my dad just died. It was his… I…”

The agent looked at me, looked at the bottle, and then took off the top to look in the bottle. After a sniff, he says:

Agent: “It looks like there is less than three ounces left in here. I’ll let it go. Have a nice trip.”

He handed me my bag and walked off. I was barely able to squeak out a thank you.

If you are reading this TSA, I really appreciated it. It may have been something small, but it means so much to me to have it on my bathroom counter.

I’m an electrician and I go around to customers’ homes when they’re having power issues. I’m working into the evening on Christmas Eve, with most customers being generally horrid that they had to wait until December 24th to have someone come by, but I am doing my best to make sure as many issues are fixed as possible so our customers can enjoy their Christmases.

I am at my last customer of the day, scheduled as such as she happens to live very close to me. It’s a very old lady, who opens the door to let me in, explaining that she pays for her electricity using a top-up meter, but the meter has been faulty lately.

Customer: *As I am repairing the meter.* “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Me: “No thank you.”

Customer: “What about a mince pie? It’s Christmas and they’re making you work so late on Christmas Eve.”

Me: “It’s okay, madam. I am just happy I can fix your power issues before the big day.”

Customer: “Thank you! I was worried my Christmas Dinner in the fridge would be ruined.”

I check the fridge to make sure that it is working, and I notice the only items in there are a loaf of bread and some eggs. I try not to make a comment, but it’s obvious that I have noticed the sparse contents.

Customer: “It’s all I can really afford these days. The pension doesn’t cover as much as it used to.”

Me: “Is this all that you have to eat for Christmas?”

Customer: “No, no, I have a can of baked beans in the cupboard.”

Me: “You’re having beans on toast for Christmas?”

Customer: “And a mince pie!”

Me: “Do you have anyone bringing you food over Christmas?”

Customer: “It’s just me. All my children live abroad now.”

Me: “I… see.”

I finish the requirements of my job, making sure she has power, and I head home as soon as I can. I inform my husband of the situation as soon as possible, and he agrees we need to do something.

We drive back over together, and she is surprised to see us.

Customer: “Is there a problem with the meter?”

Me: “No… Mrs. [Customer’s Name]. This is my husband, and if it’s okay with you, we’d like to invite you to Christmas Dinner tomorrow with our family – if you didn’t have plans, that is.”

It takes a moment for what we asked to sink in for the old lady. She is a juxtaposition of being overly British and not wanting to be a bother, but also a lonely old lady who is in desperate need of some company.

Customer: “I… I… don’t know, I…”

Me: “You see, we only live five minutes down the road so we could come by and pick you up for lunch. And we could have you back to your house whenever you feel like coming back home.”

Customer: *In tears.* “I… I… I think I would like that very much.”

Me: “Wonderful! My name is [My Name] and this is [Husband’s Name]. We’ll be by tomorrow at 11?”

We agreed and the next day we came to pick her up. She had made an effort to be dressed in her Sunday finest – not necessary at all but I think she enjoyed it.

She got to meet our children, our overly-affectionate dogs, my husband’s parents, and grandmother (the two older ladies have a nice long natter all afternoon). We ate turkey, roast vegetables, and a huge Christmas Pudding, plus enough snacks and sides that half the family had mini carb-comas in the afternoon.

When it was time for gifts, we gave her a card, and inside was a voucher for the local supermarket worth £100. She tried not to accept it, but she finally did albeit with more tears.

Our new friend and neighbour ended up staying until 11 pm before we drove her home, and agreed to take her shopping with her voucher the day after Boxing Day.

In the following weeks, we now have her over to our house once a week for dinner and to play with our dogs, and we take some shopping to her now that we know her tastes and dietary requirements. We also sneakily top up her electricity meter when we are putting her shopping away so that she isn’t without power.

We’ve arranged a Sunday lunch once a month with her and my husband’s grandmother at our home also, who also appreciates the company, and it turns out that even though one is from the middle of England and the other is originally from Barbados, they have a lot in common to talk about!

We can’t wait to see what we can do for her for Easter.