Moments of compassion can reveal just as much about a person as moments of hardship.

So when a well-meaning woman stepped in to help a mother and her daughter at the thrift store, one retail worker witnessed the act of kindness take a rather disappointing turn.

Read on for the full story!

A stranger gives me money for my kid? I wonder what I should do with it?

I’m a cashier at a thrift store. We see a wide variety of customers, from poor people who need to shop here for the savings to rich suburban folk looking for a deal.

So this story features me, a woman with four kids (from here on known as 4K), her daughter (D), and a good Samaritan (GS).

The shift was pretty uneventful, that is, until these three characters came together.

I’m ringing up 4K while her kids run around wildly.

As she finishes putting all her items on the counter, one of her girls puts a pair of shoes priced at $3.99 on the counter.

The daughter makes a scene over how much she wants the shoes, but her mother reminds her they can’t afford them.

4K: Sorry, honey, we don’t need those.

D: But mom!

4K: I’m really sorry, give those back to the cashier.

The daughter really isn’t happy about having to give them up.

The kid whines and pouts but finally gives in and surrenders the shoes.

I set them behind the counter with the intention of putting them away later.

4K gets out her wallet and starts to pay.

At this point, I feel terrible for this mom and her daughter. It must suck to be scraping by and knowing that you can’t afford this pair of shoes.

But that’s when GS steps in.

GS is next in line, so she saw all of this play out. She is a middle-aged, well-dressed woman, clearly has some money.

A ten-dollar bill in hand, GS makes her move and approaches 4K.

GS: Take this. I had four kids too, and I know how hard it can be and how much girls love their shoes! Good luck as they get older!

This warmed the cashier’s heart to watch.

I was completely floored.

The look on my face was of pure surprise. This was probably the nicest thing I have seen at the store.

I could see the happiness in this little girl’s face.

I reached for the shoes, thinking 4K would buy them, and what does she do?

Until…

SHE POCKETS THE TEN!

She turns to the girl and says: We don’t need those.

She put the ten in the billfold of her wallet, and finishes paying for her other items, and leaves.

The look on my face was of pure surprise.

Well that story took a turn fast!

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter agrees the $10 would likely be better spent on other things.

Perhaps GS should have bought the shoes herself and handed them to the child.

Pocketing the money is one thing, but not so much as even a thank you is just wild.

This commenter who used to work retail is no longer surprised by things like this.

The little girl never got her shoes, but this mom sure got her money.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.