She Heard Their Conversation
She was buying some groceries at Publix. There was an elderly man wandering around the aisles that had caught her attention from the first moment.
There was something endearing about him; he looked a bit lost and helpless, and she was keeping an eye on him in case he needed help with something. At one point, he started a conversation with one of the clerks; She heard it all, and she was shaken by it.
Being A Clerk Ain’t Easy
Sometimes, store clerks and the effort they put into their role are not always as valued as they should. Regardless of what some people think, being a store clerk is not an easy job.
You have to always be amicable to the customers, be always willing to help them with their queries, and have a lot of patience. And it does not always pay off.
Food For Thought
This story will be quite illustrative of how important and valuable the labor of a good store clerk is and how ugly things could get if the wrong person was hired for the job.
That elderly man approached one of the clerks. Our protagonist thought that he may need some help. But when she heard the conversation between them, she couldn’t hold her tears.
A Clerk’s Hardships
Sometimes, the mantra that “the client is always right” is taken too literally. As a result, many customers get rude or demanding: they abuse their power and take advantage of the store clerk’s position.
In other words, some customers get things twisted and take kindness for weakness when it comes to their treatment of customer service workers. And it shouldn’t be that way. But sometimes, things take a turn.
She Saw It All
And that’s what happened in this story. Our protagonist is a woman named Jennifer Christopher Coker. She witnessed the interaction between this anonymous store clerk and this vulnerable client in a wheelchair.
What she heard made her bawl her eyes out; and after she composed herself, she felt like she needed to share it with the world. This is how it happened.
He Caught Her Attention
Jennifer was strolling across the aisles of this Publix store in Tifton, Georgia. She just wanted to get some groceries, and she probably didn’t expect any moving experience to come out of it.
But at one point during her shopping trip, she noticed an elderly man in a wheelchair. And for some reason, he caught her attention from the first moment.
Vulnerable
Maybe it was his vulnerable and helpless appearance. He looked a bit lost, and Jennifer wondered if he would need any assistance at some point.
But that wasn’t all about him. The man bore that enigmatic and mysterious air that some elderly people have to them, making them look like they are aware of something no one else knows.
She Would Learn Something
Maybe that was what made Jennifer keep an eye on him. Perhaps that was fate warning her that this man would make her learn something new that day.
In any case, she kept paying attention to what the man was up to as she continued with her shopping. And after a while, she noticed that he had stopped by one of the clerks at the store.
He Asked Something
The first thing that the man asked the clerk was if he was busy. Quickly, the clerk turned around and replied to him: “No, sir, how can I help you?”
Jennifer was close by, and she pricked up her ears to listen attentively to what the elderly man in the wheelchair had to say next.
What Did He Say?
He told the clerk about how he was afraid of how long it would take him to do the shopping all by himself, having to go through the aisles in his wheelchair and whatnot.
So he asked him if he would have the time to escort him around the store and help him pick up his groceries. Jennifer was impressed by how the clerk replied.
Clerk’s Response
“Sure, sir. It will be my pleasure,” he said. And without any hesitation or second thought, he picked up the man’s shopping list and started walking with him across the aisles.
The kind clerk didn’t seem to care that he was asked to deviate from his usual duties. But why? Was there a reason for that?
He Was A Good Man
The answer to that question seems simple: the clerk was just a good and compassionate person. He understood that his role there wasn’t to do the bare minimum but to make things easier for the store’s customers.
And that implied doing whatever it took to help the customers out. Jennifer was strongly moved by this young man’s gesture. This is how she explained it.
Moving
“There was no agitation in his tone for being interrupted. There was no rush to his walk to make the man feel like he was a burden.”
“It is so rare to see such a young person have such respect for his elders. I had tears knowing that the elderly gentleman was probably happy to have someone help him AND to listen to him.”
She Shared It On Facebook
She was so moved by what she had just seen that she decided to take a picture of the moment and share it on Facebook, along with her narration of what happened.
And soon enough, her post went viral. Thousands of people liked, shared, and left their comments on it. The kindness of that young man had impressed everyone. But who was he?
Anonymous Hero
Well, it seems like we’ll never know. All Jennifer knows is that he was named Roger. But to this day, no one knows his surname or even if he’s still working at Publix.
But regardless of that, and even if he doesn’t know about his Internet fame, that young man has given the world a great example of respect, kindness, and appreciation for our elders.