Small moments can say a lot about how someone was raised.

So, what would you do if you watched a parent pause a fast food transaction to teach their child how to treat a cashier with respect? Would you think he was making too big a deal out of it? Or would the moment leave a lasting impression on you?

In the following story, one sandwich shop employee encounters this exact scenario and is a little moved by it. Here’s what happened.

“This is the right way to give the cashier your money.”

I worked at a national sandwich chain for two years, and in that time, I saw some crazy crap going down.

Not everything was bad, however. As weird and bizarre as my town is, there are some good people who live here.

One afternoon, as I was starting my shift, a dad and his son came in to get a sandwich.

The little boy was excited to order his own lunch.

This kid was maybe 5 years old and as cute as could be.

He had been saving up his money to get one of our kids’ meals, and he was so excited to pick out everything he wanted on his sandwich. He added a cookie and a chocolate milk to complete the order, and everything got put into one of the new, awesome Lion King bags we had.

When we got to the register, he pulled out his Spider-Man wallet and the money he needed. It was all bunched up and wadded, but he carefully placed it on the counter and then looked at me.

His dad took a moment to teach a lesson.

I have adults who hand me wads of cash, so it’s nothing new to reach across the counter and smooth it all out before I end the transaction. However, as I started to reach for it, his dad stopped me.

Dad: “No, son. This won’t do.”

Son: “What did I do, Dad?”

Dad: “Well, it’s rude to just throw your money in a ball at the cashier. You need to be polite and take the time to straighten out each bill, and then hand it to her, so she can get you the right amount of change.”

Then, the father taught his son the most important part.

The dad took the bills, straightened them out and handed them back to the little boy to try again.

Dad: “This is the right way to give the cashier your money. They’ll always appreciate you for it.”

The little boy was so excited when I took the money from him and gave him back his change and his lunch bag. He shouted thank you and took his dad’s hand to be on his way.

Thank you to that dad for teaching his son that retail workers are people, too.

Aww! How’s that for a “first?”

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit feel about this story.

That’s actually this cashier’s pet peeve.

Here’s a cashier who would count the money very slowly.

For this person, the story didn’t go as expected.

According to this comment, the world needs more people like this father.

He deserves an award, because that’s how you set your child up for success in life.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a cashier who gave her phone number to be friendly to a guest, but immediately wished she could take it back.