Thanks, I'm Just Doing My Job

Today a 40-something man and his daughter (who looked to be 4 or 5) stopped by the mall Customer Service desk. They were on their way to this afternoon's Cardinals baseball game, but before he could get into the stadium he needed to print the tickets his friend had bought online. He’d already tried at the Cardinal store in the mall, but they couldn't help him. Was there any place that could?

Our desk has an all-in-one machine that prints, faxes, and copies, and we offer to do all of them for customers. When I told him that he asked if he could pay me for my effort or get me a soda from the food court (the answer was ‘no’-we don’t accept money or tips to do our job).  

The mall has attached the computer monitor to the desk with a thick metal cord.  It's difficult to turn it around for customers to see, so with the man's permission I pulled up the ticket website, then entered his friend’s email and password. Together we figured out where to click to retrieve the tickets; I printed them out and handed them over.

The whole time the man was bubbling over with excitement; he kept telling his daughter they were going to have "the best day ever" thanks to my help. When I got done he looked at my nametag and told his daughter that Miss Kathy had been so nice printing the tickets for them--would she give me a thank you hug? I came out from behind the desk, but the girl slid behind her dad's legs and hid there. The man then asked if HE could give me a hug of thanks. It felt a little weird, but I sensed he was being sincere, so I let him.

One quick hug later, they were on their way.

Five years ago today: New Thing #90--Mahjong Madness