(I have the opening shift at a well-known steak chain. It’s a weekday and typically pretty slow to start off. I get my first table: an older man and his grandson. I leave to get their drink orders, and come back to see the boy wearing origami boots on his fingers made out of $1 bills.)

Me: “That’s some pretty fly kicks you got there. Did you make them yourself?”

Boy: “My pap just made them for me! We’re learning about origami in art class, and he showed me how to make shoes so I can impress my teacher.”

Man: “Don’t expect her to just hand out dollar bills so you can show everyone.” *chuckles*

Boy: “Pap, show me another!”

Man: “That’s the only one I know.”

Me: “That’s a pretty neat trick! I need to learn how to do that when I give people their change. Hey, I know how to make a paper frog; want me to show you? It hops and everything. We used to race note card frogs in middle school.”

(The boy gets wide-eyed and nods his head yes.)

Man: “A frog you say? Let’s see it!”

(The man pulls out another dollar from his wallet. I fashion it into a frog. It hops just enough to make the boy get really excited.)

Boy: “No way! How did you do that?”

(They are still my only table at this point, so I take the time to sit down, and teach the boy how to do that, who thinks it’s the coolest thing. They finish up their meals, pay their check, and leave the restaurant. I notice they tip me very well on their card. However, when I get back to clean up their table, there are 10 little boots sitting by the man’s plate made from various dollar bills along with a note.)

Note: “We thought you needed some fly kicks, so here’s one for each finger.”

(I unravel the bills to discover an additional $36. It was a great start to my shift!)

(I’m getting onto the bus with my seven-year-old son. He gets on ahead of me and puts his fare into the machine.)

My Son: *to the driver* “Thank you! May I have a transfer, please?” *gets transfer* “Thank you!”

(My son goes off to find his seat. As I start to put my fare in, the driver stops me and hands me a transfer.)

Me: “Are you sure?”

Bus Driver: “Yes. Your son is very polite, so thank you!”

(I kept note of the driver’s name and bus number so I could compliment him to the company on excellent customer service!)

(It’s the holiday season and my 6=six-year-old daughter and I are in our local library. Money has been a little bit tight lately, since we’ve had to spend on decorations and presents and I’m a single parent. The library loans out DVDs, $5 for a week but there is a special section where kids’ DVDs are free and they are generally Disney movies or kids’ cartoons/TV shows.)

My Daughter: “Mom, can I get this Despicable Me DVD please? It was in the kids’ section!”

Me: “Sure thing sweetie. Let me just get my card so we can go.”

(As I self-issue the DVD out, I realise it was misplaced in the kids’ section and actually costs $5. My daughter sees this on the screen.)

My Daughter: “No Mom, it’s too expensive! I don’t want it anymore.”

Me: “It’s only 5 dollars! It’s fine; we can get it.”

My Daughter: “No no no! I don’t want it anymore!”

(Not wanting to cause a tantrum from her, I go up to the library assistant behind the counter.)

Me: “Hi there, I issued out this DVD a couple of minutes ago, but my daughter doesn’t want it anymore. I was wondering if I could return please?”

Library Assistant: “Is there something wrong with the DVD?”

Me: “Oh, not at all. There was just a little misunderstanding with the price.”

Library Assistant: “Oh. Well, tell you what! Take it for free. Just give me your card and I’ll take the charge off.”

Me: “Thank you! I know it doesn’t seem like much but, $5 is a lot to us. Thank you so much, happy holidays!”

(When I returned to my daughter with the DVD in my hand and told her the whole story, she was grinning from ear to ear. She got up and ran by herself to thank the lovely library assistant and he even gave her a high-five! We’re much better off now, but I’ll never forget that small act of kindness.)

(A young gay couple has become my favorite regulars at the small restaurant where I work. One day as I am talking with them, an older, more conservative-looking man walks past us to the To-Go pickup area. He stops short next to us, and in the same moment, I see one of the young guys look down with a panicked expression at where he is holding his boyfriend’s hand.)

Older Man: “[Name]! I didn’t know you ate here!”

Young Man: *uncomfortable* “Oh, yeah, um… it’s halfway between work and my… boyfriend’s work, so.”

Older Man: *glances at the young man’s boyfriend* “Oh.”

(There is an awkward pause, where we all just stare at each other.)

Older Man: “I’m sorry, I’m being rude.” *offers his hand to the young man’s boyfriend* “I’m [Older Man], [Young Man]’s boss. Very nice to meet you. We all love [Young Man] in the office.”

Young Man’s Boyfriend: “Oh! Nice to meet you, too! You know, [Young Man] is always talking about how much he looks up to you.”

(The young man is so visibly relieved that he is near tears. The three make some more small talk before the older man heads off to pick up his lunch. I end up taking his payment and he quietly asks me to pay for the young man and his boyfriend’s meal as well.)

Older Man: “You know… when I was growing up, I was taught that being gay was bad, a sin. But that young man is the brightest kid I’ve ever known, and I can’t see a d*** thing wrong with him…” *pauses* “…or his boyfriend.”

(He smiled at me and then walked away without another word. To this day, I can’t think about the look on the young man’s face when I told him that his boss paid for his nearly $100 meal without wanting to cry.)

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(I am having a pretty rough time, and I am not looking forward to work. I work in a small taco shack near the beach. My customers are often inexplicably rude, with a few exceptions. A girl walks up to the counter, and before I can ask what she wants to order she grins at me. Her smile is so genuine, I’m speechless.)

Girl: “How are you today?”

(I’m really surprised at this point.)

Me: “I’m, uh, I’m pretty good, thank you.”

Girl: “Oh, that’s good.” *smiles again*

Me: “Thank you… uh, what can I get you?”

Girl: “Oh, hmm… can I have a chicken taco and a small drink, please?”

Me: “Sure, that will be 4.95.”

Girl: *digs through her purse* “I only have $4.02. Can I take off the drink, please?”

Me: “Oh yeah, sure.”

(I hand her the receipt and an empty drink cup.)

Girl: *surprised* “Wait, I asked to take the drink off.”

Me: “I did. You made my day a whole lot better just by asking how I was and giving me a smile. Least I can do is buy you a drink!”

(She thanks me and gives me her prettiest smile yet before walking away. People should realize the difference a smile can make. It can change an employee’s whole day!)