(I’m having a bad day as I’ve heard some unfortunate news from a coworker, so my face is a bit somber. A little girl walks up with her parents to my register; her head barely peeks above the counter. I love kids and normally interact with them when I am ringing up the items.)

Little Girl: *softly* “You’re pretty.”

(Unfortunately, I can’t hear her because of the beeping from the register.)

Me: “What was that, sweetie?”

Little Girl: *louder* “You’re pretty.”

Me: “Aww, thank you, sweetie.”

Little Girl: “I hope I am pretty like you when I grow up!”

(My heart has melted by now.)

Me: “You are already the prettiest little girl ever! I know you will keep getting prettier as you get older!”

(I finish the transaction with her parents. As they are slowly walking away, I hear her dad.)

Dad: “That was very nice, honey. What made you say that?”

Little Girl: “Because it is true, and she wasn’t smiling when we walked in. And I wanted to get her to smile!”

(She was right. I was smiling for the rest of my shift!)

(My then-boyfriend and I are at ‘Otakon’ in Baltimore. We have just run into a Jareth cosplayer, the Goblin King character from the film ‘Labyrinth’, played by David Bowie. I am a huge fan.)

Me: “Oh, my, God! Jareth!”

(I start ‘fan-girling’ over the amazing costume with the Cosplayer, who is playing up the costume really well.)

Boyfriend: “I remember the end. Sarah was stupid not to acccept his offer.”

Me: “Don’t ruin it by reminding me that the Goblin King didn’t get his Queen.”

(He suddenly gets down on one knee and takes my hand.)

Boyfriend: “I ask for so little. Just let me rule you and you can have everything that you want.”

Me: *stunned* “Oh, God.”

Boyfriend: *pulls out ring* “Just fear me. Love me. Do as I say and I will be your slave.”

Me: *grinning like an idiot* “Yes. Yes! YES!”

(I grab him in a stranglehold of a hug.)

Me: “How many times did you watch that movie to remember that line?”

Boyfriend: *putting the ring on my finger* “Don’t ask, but I knew that you’d only say yes if I did something unique.”

Jareth Cosplayer: “Well played.”

This story is included in our Cosplay roundup.

Click here to read the next story!

Click here to go to the roundup!

(I am at a sit-down restaurant at a theme park. A waitress comes up to me while I’m eating.)

Waitress: “Are you finding everything alright, sir?”

Me: “Yes, the food’s very good! Thank you for asking.”

(As she is walking away, I realize I have only $20 in my wallet and no credit cards. I’m fairly young, so I don’t have a credit card and always pay in cash. Because the meal including tax is $19.05, I find out I only have 95 cents for a tip.)

Me: “Excuse me, ma’am… I have a question.”

Waitress: “Yes?”

Me: “Am I supposed to tip you? Because, I don’t think I have enough money left. You see, I only have $20, and the meal I paid for left me with only 95 cents.”

Waitress: *smiles warmly* “Oh, don’t worry about it. The tip is already included with the bill!”

Me: “Really? I don’t have to give you any physical tips or anything like that? Because I really thought I had to give you one.”

Waitress: “Don’t worry about it! Like I said, tips are already included with the bill. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me! Please do enjoy your meal!”

(She walks away with a smile on her face. A couple sitting in the table right next to me paid attention to the whole conversation.)

Husband: “Hey, uh… excuse me, sir?”

(I turn in their direction. He is leaning towards me with a few $1 bills in his hand.)

Husband: “Here, take this. My wife and I overheard your conversation with your waitress. She was really nice and friendly, and we felt a little sorry when we also heard that you wanted to tip her but didn’t have the money. Please, do take this.”

(I stretch out my arm and take their money. Using my thumb, I leaf through it and find out they are giving me $10 to tip my waitress. I am dumbfounded.)

Me: “Why, that’s really kind of you sir, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t!”

(The husband shakes his head in a friendly sort of way, and pushes the money towards me.)

Husband: “No, really, I do insist that you tip your waitress.”

Me: “Thank you…thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?”

Husband: “You don’t need to pay me back. Honest. You both really needed it.”

(I finish my meal, and my waitress comes over to my table to get the bill.)

Me: “Here, take this tip. I really do want you to take it! It came through the kindness of others.”

(She turns to all three of us; apparently, she overheard our conversation.)

Waitress: “Thank you! I’ll go get your bill and hope all of you have a wonderful night!”

(She goes to get the bill and I pay for the meal, getting my last 95 cents as calculated.)

Me: *to husband* “Please, I know it’s not much, but take this 95 cents.”

Husband: *waves me off* “No, no, I can’t. Keep the change. You’ll never know when you’ll need those coins.”

(I try again to give my change to him, but get the same reaction.)

Me: “Well, I know this isn’t much as well, but please have my thanks, and have a great night!”

(I wave to them as I leave the restaurant and they wave back. I still have that receipt to this day to remind me of the kindness a couple brought to me in a tight spot.)

(After receiving excellent customer service from a representative, I ask to be transferred to a supervisor.)

Supervisor: “Hello, I’m [Name]. How can I help you?”

Me: “Hello! I was just working with [Name Of Rep], and I wanted to tell someone what a great job she did. She was patient, friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable, and she really helped me out.”

Supervisor: “I’m very glad to hear that! Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention! I sincerely apologize!”

Me: “Um… you apologize?”

Supervisor: “Oops. I meant to say ‘appreciate’. I guess I’m just used to taking calls and immediately having to apologize.”

Me: *laughing* “No worries whatsoever. I work in customer service, too.”

Supervisor: “Oh! Then you know.”

(A sharplydressed man comes to the counter with a woman of his age and a five-year-old kid walking near them.)

Me: “Can I help you, sir?”

Man: “Yes, can you tell me the price of those books, please?”

(He hands me a list, and I use it to calculate the total price of the books in question.)

Me: “Okay, the total comes to $242.14.”

Man: “Alright. Do you take debit cards?”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Man: “Ten years ago, when I was a teen, we stole those books in your shop with my wife here as a student prank. Now that we both have a good job, we want to show my kid that you must fix your errors in life.”

(I stayed speechless for a good minute before taking his payment. If there’s a “Customer of the Month” award, this family takes the cake!)