Some mornings just start off in a haze of caffeine deprivation and confusion.

For one early morning shopper, that haze led to being mistaken for an employee before she even had her first cup of coffee.

It set the scene for a misunderstanding that would leave everyone laughing.

Read on for the full story.

Employee wanted my name to compliment me to “our” manager

I was at my local grocery store really early one morning. Not a lot of customers were there yet.

I was minding my own business, trying to efficiently get my stuff and leave, when I noticed a really short employee, about my age, on her tiptoes trying to reach some stuff from the very back of a high (for her) shelf.

She had a big curbside cart next to her.

So the shopper decided to do a good deed and help out.

As a tall woman, I’m used to paying the tall person tax, so I offered help.

She told me how many of the things she needed, I handed them to her, she said thanks, and that was (I thought) that.

The employee was extremely grateful, but what she said next confused the shopper.

As I turned to continue shopping, she said, “Wait! What’s your name?”

Very confused, I answered her and then asked why.

She was going to tell management how helpful I had been.

I just blinked at her, looked down at my very obviously not-an-employee uniform outfit, then back up at her.

Soon, the employee realized her understanding and the two bonded over the awkward exchange.

The light dawned before I could think of a polite response, and she promptly apologized.

We both laughed, agreed we needed more caffeine, and continued about our days.

Now that’s how you handle a case of mistaken identity.

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter is quite familiar with the “tall person tax.”

Although misguided, the stranger’s offer to brag on her to management was very kind.

It’s always great when a tall person is willing to help out.

This user recently had a similar experience.

They both laughed it off and went their separate ways, bonded by mutual embarrassment and exhaustion.

At least they both got a good story out of it.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.