Some regular customers seem to know their local grocery store even better than the employees.

When one kind shopper went out of his way to help an elderly woman with her shopping, he caught the attention of the store manager when she demanded he get a raise even though he didn’t even work there!

Read on for the full story.

I got promoted while shopping at a store I don’t work at.

So yesterday, I was at my favorite local supermarket.

I’ve been shopping there pretty much once a week for the past six years.

I know the place like the back of my hand.

I know most of the employees by name (I live in a small town of ~4,000 people).

I’m standing in the taco aisle, trying to decide exactly how hard to punish my bathroom later (I picked Ghost Pepper salsa, so a lot).

But then someone comes up to him asking for help.

I then am approached by a woman who must have been 75 if she was a day.

SL will be Sweet Lady, and M will be Me.

SL: “Son, can you help me locate the aluminum foil?”

Without even questioning it, he happily obliges.

M: “Sure, it’s right up this way.”

Walks her to aisle 7B.

M: “It’s pretty high up, let me grab it for you. Do you want the Reynolds or the store brand?”

SL: “The name brand, please.”

Hands her a 200-foot roll.

He then decides to continue helping her out of the kindness of his heart.

M: “Do you need help finding anything else? I’m a walking directory of this store.”

SL hands me her shopping list.

I spent about ten minutes filling her cart with heavy/hard-to-reach items, and then I got back to my shopping with a smile and a “Have a great day.”

It turns out, his helpful attitude made quite the impression on her.

As I’m standing in the checkout, I see SL arguing with the floor manager (Greg — he goes to my church, we’re pretty familiar with each other) over by the express line.

I pay for my groceries and walk over to be nosy and maybe help out.

She’s insisting that he be rewarded for going above and beyond to help her.

SL is telling Greg that “The big guy with the red beard” helped her, “I didn’t get his name,” and she wants to see him get a bonus, promotion, or employee of the month—something.

Greg is insistent that no one with that description works there.

But then the manager starts to catch on to what’s happening.

I get to the counter, and before I can explain that I don’t even work there, Greg pipes up.

G (to SL): “Oh, you mean Mark? Yeah, he’s one of our best employees.”

G (to me): “Mark, this lady has been over here singing your praises for the past five minutes. I didn’t even know you were working today.”

He decides to play along with the joke too.

M (lying through my teeth): “Well, Sharon (a cashier I know) called me and said we were slammed, so I came in on my day off.”

G: “Well, that’s some real initiative. How would you like to be Assistant to the Regional Manager?” (We’re both huge The Office fans.)

M: “Oh my God, thank you! Are you sure?”

G: “Well, you’ve definitely earned it.”

The lady leaves the store pleased and the kind shopper leaves with a story to tell.

SL: “See, this is why I shop here instead of Walmart, even though you guys charge more. You care about your employees, and your employees care about your customers.”

So that is how I became Assistant to the Regional Manager at a store I am not even employed by.

This guy somehow (jokingly) managed to climb the corporate ladder without even clocking in!

What did Reddit think?

Mexican food does have a pretty nasty reputation.

A very specific part of the story caught this redditor’s attention.

This helpful gentleman may not have been on the payroll, but he still deserved to be compensated somehow.

But on the other hand, people like him who choose to help others while getting nothing in return are real gems.

But if there’s one thing he learned from this experience, it’s that excellent customer service doesn’t always require an employee badge.

What a great little story.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.