Working in customer service often means enduring endless complaints with a smile.

But one offhandedly kind comment from a shopper caught an exhausted retail worker completely off guard, it revealed just how frequently she was treated as less than human.

Read on for this wholesome tale from retail.

Apparently being a nice customer is rare?

At a large bulk store this afternoon (we’ll call it “Ham’s Club”), my MIL and I were looking for clothes for my kids.

So they flagged down an employee for help.

We couldn’t find something we wanted in the right size and asked one of the employees if there was anywhere else it could be.

But when she couldn’t, they decided to lead with understanding instead of entitlement.

She said, “There’s another table up by the entrance, but if it’s not there, we don’t have it, I’m sorry.”

To which I replied, “I already checked there, thank you. And it’s not like you’re purposefully hiding it from me.”

Which completely floored this retail worker.

The look of sheer and utter gratitude as she responded, “Yes! Thank you!” made me really sad for the state of our service industry. I worked retail for years, so I get it.

But still, that poor woman!

When you work a long, largely thankless job, finding a customer who gets it can feel like a breath of fresh air.

What did Reddit think?

Good service and a little kindness goes a long way.

Bad customers aren’t just annoying to deal with, but downright traumatizing.

Just because someone looks like a Karen doesn’t mean they have to act like one.

When you work a stressful job, it’s nice to be reminded of your humanity once in a while.

Rudeness can really take its toll on retail workers, especially when it’s all day long.

You know there’s not enough kindness in the world when someone’s reaction to a good deed is genuine shock.

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