Sometimes being kind can go a long way.

This guy shares how a woman needed to get a product and couldn’t figure out how to manage.

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You need the ham for what, now?

Another tale from working the deli/hot food section at the grocery store.

Sometimes I was on hot food duty, sometimes I was on cold cuts duty.

This is a story about one of our “regulars at the cold cuts counter.”

I never did learn her name so I’ll just call her “SL” for “sweet lady”.

He explains how things work…

(For context, by far the most time-consuming way to cut the meat is “Chipped/shredded”/ i.e. the blade set to a microscopic thickness setting so the meat is like little bits of torn lace in a pile.)

Shortly after I first started working there, my manager, whom I’ll call “Z”, notices this sweet little lady who I’d guess was in her mid-60s, wearing a classic bright floral-patterned “Grandma shirt”.

This is the conversation that ensued.

This is where it starts!

Z: “Oh no.”

Me: “What?”

Z: “Not again.”

Me: “WHAT?”

Z: Just hope no other customers come to the counter for a bit. And go get the [insert brand name] smoked honey and maple ham. The all-natural one.

Me: (confused but glad to know ahead of time so I don’t have to wait for the customer to make a selection) “Okay, sure, but why?”

He was very confused…

Z: “Just have it ready. She always orders like a TON of chipped honey maple ham once every couple weeks. I’ll try to handle any other customers that come, you’ll be here for a bit.”

My natural first thought is “Oh Great. Yay. Lovely.” or something of that nature, but it wasn’t really crowded at the time as it wasn’t our ‘busy hour’.

Sure enough, SL comes up, says “Hi hon”, and proceeds to somewhat apologetically order A POUND AND A HALF of this expensive specialty ham, all chipped/shredded.

Like, 24 ounces of teeny meat fragments. Usually slicing meat the normal way, even for a pound and a half, would take 45 seconds, maybe.

Things seemed fine at first…

This took me several agonizing minutes, all the while hoping a queue wouldn’t start forming behind her.

While I’m chipping the meat, SL stands there, waiting very patiently, making occasional small talk.

Usually when customers had weird orders like this they were also impatient or spoiled, so it was refreshing that she was so polite, but it still took FOREVER.

Finally I gave her her order, she says “Thanks hon” and leaves.

UH OH…

Over the next several months I saw SL many times, always wearing some super-bright-colored outfit, always coming in when we were sort of ‘dead’ (she must have been aware her order was long) and the order was always the same.

She was always super nice, so I tried to be super nice back to her even though she was causing an inconvenience, and it became a “normal” part of the routine and I didn’t really mind it.

It never really occurred to me to ask if she had a special reason for her order.

Then, we don’t see SL for a long time, by her standards.

He explains the surroundings…

There was an underpass being constructed right down the road from our store at the same time, and we were being constantly slammed at lunch by construction workers, police, and firemen wanting fresh deli sandwiches.

I honestly had forgotten about SL when all of a sudden, in a comparative lull, I see this lady probably in her late 30s-early 40s, hovering around the deli counter.

She looks very embarrassed and clearly doesn’t want to be there.

For a minute she looks like she might chicken out and leave, but I manage to get over to the counter, as I know Z is watching and hates it when customers leave without buying anything.

He wasn’t sure why the lady was acting like that…

This lady we will call “EL” – “Embarrassed Lady”.

Me: Sorry about the wait. Can I help you, ma’am?

EL: (won’t look at me. mumbles something I can’t hear)

Me: I’m sorry, what was that?

EL: (Mumbling something about her mom and the “Stupid dog”)

Me: Excuse me?

EL: (manages to look at me, gives the most embarrassed attempt at a grin ever) My mom’s a regular customer. I’m sorry to have to do this while you’re busy but she’s been very sick lately and she’s been on my case to get the shredded meat for the dog.

UH OH…

Me:(Now it’s starting to come together that this is SL’s daughter) Is it honey maple ham by any chance?

EL: Yes – sorry. A pound and a half shredded.

Me: Coming right up.

EL: (clearly wants to get it off her chest) I’m so, so sorry to do this when you’re busy but mom’s got this 12-year-old pug that’s going senile, and she spoils him rotten. He doesn’t have many teeth so this is about the only special treat he can have, he can’t chew dog biscuits. Mom’s home and recovering now but she’s been begging me to get up here all week.

Me: Oh that’s perfectly fine! I don’t mind at all.

That’s INSANE!

And honestly I didn’t, it was a break from the lunch craziness. I saw SL one or two times after that before I was transferred to a sister store a few miles away.

Before I left, I told Z and the other employees what SL was using the chipped meat for.

Most of them said something like “You’ve gotta be kidding me”, but Z said “Yeah, I figured it was for a dog or a cat, but I didn’t want to ask.”

That was so unexpected.

I felt silly for not thinking of it before, but as I’m an animal lover myself, and at the time had a nearly 20-year-old cat of my own, I could sympathize with her desire to make the last year or so of the pet’s life special when they start to show signs of pet dementia and things like that.

Also I always enjoyed little “Slice of life” interactions like that because they made up for other not-so-pleasant things about working there.

YIKES! That’s a little weird.

He did what he had do!

Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this one.

This user thinks this guy is a nice person.

This user likes this story and shares their perspective.

This user knows retail isn’t for beginners.

This user shares their lunch story with their pet.

This user wants this guy to check with the fish counter.

Someone’s being a sweet person here!

We love our kitties.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.