Being nice to someone is one thing. But if you’re doing it because you know you’ll benefit, it starts looking a lot different.

That’s the position this grocery store employee found herself in after a regular customer started coming through her checkout line.

What began as friendly conversations slowly went from snacks and small gift cards to larger gifts.

She knew the customer had a crush on her, and she admits she leaned into it by making him feel a little more special every time he came in. The problem is she never had any intention of letting it become anything more.

Now the customer is starting to ask her out, and she’s left wondering if she created this situation herself.

Keep reading to decide whether she crossed the line or not.

AITA for purposefully making a customer feel special?

I (20F) work at a grocery store while in college, and I’m barely making enough to cover rent.

There’s this regular (30sM) who started coming in a few months ago. He’s a very quiet guy and veryyy awkward.

One day, I made a joke while ringing him up, and he actually smiled for the first time I’d ever seen. After that, he started coming to my register every time he came in.

Then, he started giving her gifts.

At first, it was normal. Then it turned into him bringing me snacks. Then gift cards, which we aren’t allowed to accept during work hours.

I told him that, but he would just meet me at the doors after I clocked out to give them to me. Nothing crazy, just like $10–$20 here and there, which I still couldn’t accept, and which he would still meet me and give me.

I knew what was happening, obviously. I’m not dumb. I sorta leaned into it. Not super crazy, just being extra nice, remembering little things he said, asking how his day was, and laughing a little more than I normally would.

I never flirted outright, never touched him, and never promised anything. But yeah, I made him feel special on purpose, and it worked.

Suddenly, he gave her the largest gift ever.

Last week, after my shift, he gave me a $200 gift card “because I’m always so kind to him.”

I said thank you, same as when he gives me every other gift.

My coworker saw and told me I was being manipulative. She said he clearly likes me and I’m taking advantage of that for money.

But is it manipulation if I never lied to him?

Now, he’s wanting to make plans with her.

I never said I liked him, I never said we’d hang out, and I never gave him my number. I’m just being nice, which is literally my job. If he chooses to spend his money on me because I made his day better, then that’s on him, right?

But then it got worse.

Yesterday, he asked what I was doing this weekend. It was the first time he’d ever asked a question like that.

I didn’t answer his question, but now I can feel it shifting, like the no-strings part is getting stringy. And I don’t plan on saying yes.

At this point, she doesn’t know how to feel about it.

So now I’m stuck wondering: Did I basically set this up?

Like, did I create a situation where he thinks he has a chance, even if I technically never said it?

Part of me feels guilty, but the other part of me is like, I’m dirt poor, and he’s a grown man. No one forced him to give me anything. So I’ve been accepting gifts from a regular I know has a crush on me with zero intention of ever reciprocating.

AITA?

Eek! It seems like she did set this up on her own.

But let’s see what the fine folks over at Reddit think.

It’s really as simple as this.

Here’s someone who tells her to just keep doing it.

According to this comment, she’s definitely wrong.

This is so true and very good advice.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

There’s a big difference between being kind to someone and intentionally encouraging their feelings because there’s something to gain from it. That’s manipulation, and it’s never the right thing to do.

Once the $200 gift card came out, it should’ve been her wake-up call. That was the moment to be honest with him and put an end to all of it.

BUT! The customer should’ve known better, too. Spending that kind of money on someone he barely knew was never a good idea, no matter how nice she was to him.