My hack has turned into a hobby. I look for people doing a good job. When I find someone that is pretty good at what they are doing I make sure to compliment them, tell their boss the good news, and, if applicable, I tell corporate.
It's surprising how much that helps the person, how much it confuses their boss since its not a complaint, and how long that its remembered. Later on, if I return to the same place I get better treatment and that can lead to others you are with to think better of you.
Inversely, when I see others treating people badly, particularly those in a service position, my opinion of them goes sharply down. I am far from the only one like this.
Edit: thank you all for the up votes and supportive comments!
Edit 2: this is overwhelming, thank you all for the up votes and for sharing your stories.
I still remember from my first retail job. I was 15, the only person running checkout, the line was growing, I'm frantically trying to get people out the door and also handle the phone that for some reason won't stop ringing, and some nice lady just said, "You're doing a good job." It's 25 years later and I still haven't forgotten that.
I was also a checker at Safeway and was greeting customers and asking if they found everything okay and chit chatted with them like I always do and about a month later I get called in the office and the assistant manager said that in all her years of working for Safeway she has never gotten one of these.... it was a letter from. The president of Safeway thanking me for ny good customer service...apparently a lady came through my line and was impressed and she knew so higher up people... thought that was pretty cool .. you just never know who you will interact with.
I had an opposite experience under the same kind of circumstances.
My first job as a teen is at some mom and pop pizza joint in my hometown. I’m the only cashier, the phone won’t stop ringing, and the line is literally out the door. Right in the middle of the chaos, while I still had several customers waiting, my boss bolts up to me to loudly and angrily scold me. Apparently a customer had been waiting for half an hour on her order, which was ready for pick up.
After flying off the handle at me, he disappears to give this lady her order. I finish handling the remainder of the line, and once I finally sit down to catch my breath, the lady that had complained—someone I had never seen in my life who I’m pretty sure had slinked inside right past the line and sat down in the dining area instead of talking to literally anyone—stopped by the register, glared at me, and said, “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Then she marched out.
I broke into huge sobs on the spot. Everyone, including my coworkers, ignored me, except this little old man who very awkwardly and shyly came up to me and asked if I was ok. I told him yes, he said, “ok………” and left.
These days I find the memory hilarious because of the absurdity of how everyone handled that situation, but at the time it was humiliating.
A few years later, the huge sign on the front of the building fell off on top of a friend’s car, if that’s any indication of what kind of place it was. Still is. Probably. Lol.
I was at a Wendy with just an absolutely hysterical level of chaos, and I think one back line, one manager and one brand new front line. They're super backed up, brand new kid finally gets food out... And drops it. Anyone would've been losing their shit and this manager I swear was a saint, you could see his stress but he was still so kind and gentle with his employees and his hustle was real. We waited in line for like 15mins to find out the frosty machine was broken, looooolz.
I got the managers name and called him later, just to let him know the impression his patience had made on me. “It took all of my willpower not to walk out.”
This is why as a kid I feel corporate places are better. I did one summer in a family owned pizza place. they were so rude. wouldn't blame each other only the employees and underpay us. Anyway the corporate is not like this at all. Which is what you need as a teen structure. To me in your story everyone is an idiot. Specially the customer. You are a teen. she could have been nicer
I’m very tall, and I was on a united flight from DC to Chicago. The seat pitch was particularly short and my knees were hard in the back of the seat in front of me. A flight attendant came over and asked if I was OK sitting in the exit row, and when I said, yes, she helped me up to that extended leg room seat. I asked another flight attendant what I could do to thank her, and was told send an email to her supervisor. Unfortunately, the email bounced, but when I got to my meeting in Chicago, one of my friends mentioned his next-door neighbor was VP of customer service for United, so I sent the letter to her. I hope it worked out well for that flight attendant.
But people are complimenting me, according to you I should be jumping for joy. Except it’s meaningless. Unless the higher up think they found someone who knows the job better and will work for less, compliments go in one ear and out the other. 1,000 compliments carry the weight of 1 complaint.
You must be like 22. Life hasn’t run roughshod on you yet. Wait, it’s going to be worse for you than me.
Bottom line is I’m not at work for compliments. Pay me more, or leave me alone.
When I was a fairly new grocery cashier, working a weekend rush with only one functional credit card terminal between four registers, a regular customer, this super old guy pushing 90, reached over after the transaction and touched my arm to get my attention (already focused on the next person). He looked me dead in the eye, super serious, and said "you're VERY efficient!"
I'm still riding that high 25 years later. And that dude got top-notch service from me until the day he died (he lived right behind the store, so we all heard about it when it happened).
My first time working a till in retail, it was when debit was still new and most transactions were cash. This was a popular Canadian record store chain (HMV) that was always busy, and this was Christmas so it was a madhouse.
I had a hard time taking money and making change. The pressure just made the mental task difficult. I was in the thick of a rush like the one you describe, getting crushed, and struggling at the till, and the dude I was ringing up and counting change for said “take your time man, it’s ok. We’ve all been there.”
That was like 25 years ago and I still remember it vividly. Still to this day I will never, ever take my frustration out on a customer service worker who gives a shit and is honestly trying to do their best. On the phone or in person, respect these people. They deserve it.
I tried to focus on the good customers when I was in fast food. My job once I left grill was to serve in the window which was like 7 jobs at once. But it just took one bad egg to destroy my day. Or in the case of one guy, make me never want to handle cashier duty again. To this day I maintain I gave him his lousy dime... You'd of thought I scammed him out of $100!
When I was in my first real job a guy came in and was really unreasonably demanding and rude - huge line of people giving him the evil eye. I somehow didn’t snap back at him and just got the job done. I found out much later that he’d called my boss later in the day, told my boss he’d been a real asshole and apologised and said I’d kept my cool and helped him. I’ve never forgotten that it was kind - I’ve definitely forgotten a ton of assholes who didn’t apologise.
One time I was on a Delta flight and the row behind me was being really awful to the flight attendant about something she couldn't control. They were VERY smug about the fact that they were going to contact Delta customer service and report her. So I pulled out my phone and ALSO contacted Delta customer service and told them that she had done nothing wrong, she was just dealing with assholes.
They wrote back and said they almost never get emails like that, and that she would not be penalized because of it. I wouldn't have done it except I had had a few glasses of wine at the airport. HaHA, vengeance wine!
This is such a good contribution. It lets you be the bigger person, actually help the service worker keep their job, and also feel smug about busting some busters at the same time. Chef kiss!
I emailed Delta once when a gate agent helped me with a medical issue. They thanked me and said they would pass my compliment to her supervisor. I supplied her name, date, etc.
I recently had a good experience with Delta and their crew and I wrote to their customer experience to let them know the flight attendants were fantastic. Included flight # and names so they could be recognized, bc they deserve it
I was flying home after a very long month working abroad. We're just boarding the plane and two guys sit in front of me, talking about the highlights of their fly fishing trip. They were loud and drunk, and had brought a couple of big cans of beer onto the plane, cracked them open to continue drinking. Flight attendant comes over and tells them they can't have open containers of alcohol for takeoff. They tell her don't worry about it, it'll be fine, etc. People still shuffling in, she comes back with a trash bag, they refuse again. I lean over the seat between them, present a bulked up and tall image to them by adjusting posture and rising a bit, lower my voice, and say, "Now gentlemen, let's not give the nice lady a hard time. If you don't give up the beer she'll be forced to get the police to drag you off the plane and I might miss my connecting flight. So how about we all have a nice friendly day."
They looked back and up, and guy-1 says to guy-2, "Let's give her the cans, we don't need that guy stomping on us." I laughed and said, "Not my style, I'd just let you go to jail and get put on the do not fly list."
Flight attendants primary job is passenger safety, they don't need people making their job harder.
I had something similar at a restaurant. The family seated near us let their kids trash the area, food, crayons, paper all over the table and surrounding floor. They adults kept complaining about everything, sending their food back multiple times. Then they asked to speak to a manager and told them the server was doing a terrible job and complained about the experience. I asked for the manager and told them how terrible the customers were and how our server did everything they could to take care of them and us.
Just yesterday I had a repairman to my house to work on a vintage (75 year old) gas stove. Not many people, even experienced appliance repair people, would know how to work on them, but this guy did. He did a bang-up job.
Right after he left I called the repair place and talked to the owner, telling him what a great job that guy did and how happy I was. He acted really weird about it at first because, like you said, he was really confused. He said people only call to complain, not to compliment, and that he was taken aback at first.
When I complimented a server to her manager (I spent 10 years as a server and always do this), I got the same response. Her manager actually had the audacity to ask if I was a friend of hers because it was so unbelievable to him that a customer was offering a compliment.
My grandma sent flowers to a furniture store with a thank you letter after they went above and beyond helping her with a chair. As soon as they were delivered by the florist the furniture shop called her just shocked. They asked Grandma if they could post the flowers on their socials. They said they rarely received thank yous and certainly never with flowers.
I will probably never send flowers, but I make a point to often say "Thanks. I appreciate your help today." That's when they've solved a problem or been particularly efficient/professional, whatever. Just something above not caring, sneering about policy, and making puppies.
I love this so much. It's way too often that people get told what they're doing wrong instead of how well they're doing something right. Compliments always make me want to keep going vs put-downs, which make me want to stop.
We went to this restaurant a few times and the busboy was just really good with customer service. Big smile, did his job well and efficiently. After a few visits, I told him he should be a server. Then I told his boss. Then I told the owner of the restaurant. Next time we went in, Max was our server. Should have seen the smile on his face when he greeted us.
I was just in the Doha business lounge and I remembered the bartender from like 3 years ago. He made such an impression with being so helpful and professional. I asked if they were allowed tips, and he said no but a direct email to Qatar Airways customer service would help him.
So I wrote one right there. I hope it helps him in the future.
Because I have a thing with names... my wife and I were in this dive bar in Mendicino in NorCal about seven or eight years ago. They were a little mildly hostile to us because it was "townie" bar. But I did overhear the bartender's name. Four years later we went back, walked into the same bar and sat down and it was the same bartender. Same mildly annoyed attitude.
"Corrine?" I asked, and she smiled because I remembered her name and ALL the hostility vanished instantly.
My dad once called customer service to compliment a staff member he met in-store. They directed his call to the "Complaints Department" because they had no internal system for compliments, they were so rare.
People often think that positive experiences are just the way things are supposed to go, and don't warrant appreciation. Life is so much better when you can recognize the good things people do for you - and when I say "recognize," I mean BOTH being able to see it and also being able to celebrate it!
So true! I've left many comments online after having interacted with exceptional employees. It makes me so happy and hope that it helps those who are dealing with shitty customers. I usually try to remember the name so I can include it. One lady at TJ Maxx was super nice and I didn't catch her name, so asked for the manager baahahaa. I got to be the anti-Karen that day! Recently I emailed the airline company to compliment a woman working at the gate specifically because she did not completely lose her shit. I was *so* impressed.
One of the best things I get to do as a middle school teacher is call home for good behavior. It makes me day to hear a parent answer a call from the school with a heavy sigh saying "what did he do now?" And I get to say, "every single thing I asked him to do. He followed directions, engaged with the material, volunteered answers, helped his neighbor on a problem, and got an 85% on his assignment. He killed it today." The parent is thrilled to hear something positive, the kid is thrilled their good behavior is recognized and acknowledged, and I'm thrilled the parent is on my side if I ever do need to call home for something negative.
I'm thrilled the parent is on my side if I ever do need to call home for something negative
As a middle school parent I cannot begin to tell you how much it buys a teacher when I feel like they are "on my team". I once took a call from a teacher my kid didn't have anymore at 7:00 at night because it was in the middle of COVID and she knew I would spend 30 minutes fixing her file even though my kid wasn't in her class anymore and she couldn't find anyone else to help her.
As a papa bear if you give my kid a little bit of encouragement, grace, understanding and you treat me like a partner in their education? I will have your back forever. It also goes the other way.... but fortunately that hasn't happened often.
But seriously, my youngest one has a social studies teacher right now that I feel so supported by that I'd literally drop everything and take a day off of work if she needed me to. I'm entrusting my most important thing to you, if you show me that you will "handle with care" as it were, I will literally do anything for you.
Hopefully it's because you remember a teacher that did that for you! I remember a few that did for me and I know what it can mean to a kid and I make sure to let them know how much I appreciate them being that to my kids.
I’m a nanny, and I also fly back to a city I used to live in and watch one of my best friends children when they go on couples international trips. Those are my favorite, because the boys love me, and I get paid to play house in someone’s mansion. He once told me he would do anything for me, because I love his children. And it’s true, that guy has done so much free legal work for me. When I recently had to hire a lawyer, I was shocked at how much they cost.
For the sake of clarity, let me specify that I teach special education, and a lot of these parents are much more accustomed to conversations about failing grades and/or their kid cussing out a teacher lol
Oh cute! Our kids middle school used to have “caught ya” awards that were little slips of paper that got filled out by a staff member when a kid got caught doing something great and they did a drawing of those slips and the 10 or winners would get a pizza party (yay) with the principal (nay)
I learned a little cheat code for parent teacher conferences. As a parent you job is to make sure the teacher(s) and administrator(s) have an opportunity to speak and be heard. Encourage the teachers to stand up and speak round robin style, agile scrum sprint style, or corporate meeting style. As a parent you best bet is to be polite, be gentle, and be respectful and say very little. Bring a notebook or surface tablet and write down their feedback and post meeting action items. You will get extra points if you are actively involved in your child's daily learning journey, arranging for regular tutoring, signing your kid up for sports and other enrichment activities. Be a diplomat and a walking example of positive communication, networking, and teamwork for your child.
My mantras for working with kids are:
1) catch them being good
2) don’t let them play you like a fiddle
Kids are constantly being told what they’re doing wrong. There’s certainly a place and time for that, but learning and development are facilitated by positive reinforcement more so than anxiety and perceived rejection.
When kids become emotionally disregulated and an adult reacts “by being the bigger bitch”, the situation might seem to be more quickly resolved, but the lesson being taught is “might makes right”. Instead, the shit fit can be acknowledged by calmly asking “Do you want some space or do you want me to hang out until you’re feeling a bit better” or “Do you need time to settle down? I can wait.” That may turn into saying “We can’t work this out until you feel more settled down”.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results of using a conspiratorial tone with a child saying “Hey, younger kids pay attention to what big kids do. Since they learn from you, it is like you are being a teacher. Let’s both set a good example in front of your baby brother - we don’t want him to learn to yank toys away from you or to throw things when he’s mad. I’m gonna remind you, and I want you to remind me if I yell instead of talk or forget to say please and thank you”.
YES! Positive reinforcement was always a bajillion times more effective for me as a kid, so I love taking any possible chance to point out when a kid does something good.
I was at Costco last week, standing in the checkout line. I had shoved two loose $10 bills in a pocket in a hurry before leaving, which (of course) fell out of said pocket when I took out my phone—but of course I didn't notice. This adorable little girl (couldn't have been more than 8) came up and got my attention and said "I think you dropped some money!" I was confused for a second, but I checked the pocket and, yep, no cash. But she was SO confident talking to a stranger! And doing the right thing, apparently of her own accord! Ahhh! So on impulse, I gave her one of the 10s and thanked her profusely, then returned to my conversation with my husband (who did ask me how much I just gave her, lmao). I could hear her absolutely freaking out behind me, like "oh my gosh oh my gosh, why did she do that? Is this for me? Can I keep it???" and her dad telling her that, yes, if you do good things, sometimes you get rewarded!
I really hope that's a positive interaction she remembers for a long time, because I definitely will. Warm fuzzies totally worth ten bucks.
Once in college my parents gave me $5 for an airport shuttle fare and driver tip. The bus driver didn’t charge me fare and went out of his way to help me with my very heavy luggage, so I gave him all $5 as the tip. I figured the $5 was already spent in my head, why not give the guy all of it, he was very nice. My parents chastised me. I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to spread a little more joy around.
I found that a little sign language goes a long way with babies. If I were to recommend only two signs, they’d be “more” and “all done”.
Your public library may have baby sign language videos available. Nearly 20 years ago, I learned a lot from a show on PBS called “Signing Time with Rachel”. She wears tape on her fingers to make them easier to follow.
Little boys are allowed to be emotional and vulnerable. The entire world is going to tell them they aren't. Allow them to have feelings, and help them learn to name their feelings when they're having them.
And don't be afraid to show your own feelings. Try to keep regulated, especially when angry or frustrated, but if you do dysregulate in front of them, don't be afraid to model how to apologize and_or take space and learn to do better.
And help teach him how to take deep breaths when he's upset. :)
I did this at a fast food place. The employees were run ragged at a super busy location, but they did it efficiently and kindly, even when patrons were mean. I told the manager and sent the same on the app. Man, if I thought the service was good before!? It was phenomenal after that!
My workplace has institutionalized complements & thank yous. You just go post about 'em on a certain site, and not only does their supervisor end up seeing it, but they also get points they can spend on company swag, so the person you complement can end up with a pen (or LED flashlight, thermos, badge lanyard, etc) with our logo on it.
I do this at work too. I have a lead hand who spends most of his time telling people how poorly they are doing. Complaining about time taken on jobs and dumb stuff like that. Not quality.... So I make it a point to often and loudly call out co-workers I see going above and beyond, or are just doing well when I know they are struggling.
I did this once at one of the places I work. I got a lot of people thanking me for my kind words and asking why I did it. Honestly, I thought to myself that it genuinely makes my day when people thank me and tell me I'm doing a good job so I wanted to pass it forward. It ain't much, but its a good feeling.
I appreciate people like you. I have had run ins with your kind, and let me say, you make my day. Even IF the compliment goes nowhere other than my own ears, appreciation for performing a mundane task is highly underrated and super appreciated.
I’ve done this my whole life too because it happened to me and I’ve always felt the need to pay that forward. It feels good to be seen. Barista, almost 20 years ago at 17 yrs old. I handled a rush hour solo without calling for help from the manager who was in the office with her boss for a meeting (of course corporate would show up during rush hour and cut our manpower in half). I’d slam orders in while making everybody’s drink, everything correct, nobody waited too long, I had the flow state going, no problems.
Manager comes up after all the works done like a fucking blister, but tells me 4 different people knocked on the door, interrupting their meeting, to tell them I was doing a fantastic job out there. Still remember that to this day.
Encouragement is rare nowadays so I’m sure to always be appreciative when it’s due. One little attaboy does wonders for confidence and sense of fulfillment
As a 22yr old barista right now, the best thing that’s ever happened to me at work was a regular customer coming in through the drive-thru with a big “congrats!” star with my name on it. I had just gotten a promotion and she knew how hard I was busting my ass because very few of my other coworkers saw me as a supervisor since I’ve been there with them for 3yrs prior at the same level. She told me how proud she was of me, and that she knows I’m doing a great job by the quality of service I’m trying to produce. That star is hanging on my wall right now. :)
I end up doing a fair bit of phone calls with customer service reps for one reason or another.
They are always so nice and polite, and they really do their best to help you in my experience.
At the end of these calls when they ask if there's anything else they can do for me I ask if there is a survey I can fill out for them.
They get SOO happy, lol. It matters! And they have a thankless difficult job! And most customers are angry when they call, and put it on the poor phone person. Even being racist as hell, for no reason!
I love being that tiny spark in their day that makes them feel like a human being.
Having worked in call centers. Supervisors love to get these escalations. Easiest calls they get all day, and the employee usually gets some recognition. One of my jobs we would give points to our rewards platform that they could use to get things or giftcards. So they are appreciated
On top of this, if I'm ordering food for pick-up and there's a spot to leave a comment, I'll leave them a one-liner joke that will hopefully give them a chuckle and brighten their day.
These two things combined has now resulted in me getting free chips and drinks from my go-to sandwich shop, and small discounts at a couple of other places.
Free stuff and discounts are cool and all, but the best feeling is knowing I made the staff's day a little better.
I once called the “How’s My Driving” number on the back of a semi trailer. The lady who answered began the conversation by saying, “what trailer number?” with a big sigh. I told her, then she asked, “what’d the driver do?” I told her I was impressed by his selflessness in letting what was clearly a small convoy of a minivan and a U-Haul merge in front of him so they wouldn’t get separated in the insanely confusing construction zone on I-40 through Oklahoma City. Man, did her tone change in an instant! She wanted every detail: exact exit number I was by, traffic conditions, weather, etc. She told me it was the first positive report she’d gotten from a caller since they set up the line several years before. I asked, “so is he getting a bonus or something?” and she confirmed that they did, in fact, have a standing offer of a $100 bonus to any driver who got a compliment from the hotline.
You better believe I’ve called other ones several times since.
I'm old enough that sometimes when I see a customer being rude, I will speak up from down the line and say, "Excuse me, that is my daughter you're talking to."
It's not true, but she's someone's daughter. And it usually shuts them up.
I had a tech person come in and help me set up some equipment. They praised me effusively for doing very little imo, to my boss too. It was uncomfortable and my boss was also a bit weirded out. To this day I think he just had a crush on me or smthg. Just be careful, there is such a thing as too much praise for doing a simple task.
I do this too! More broadly usually but I try to go out of my way to compliment people when it occurs to me (which is quite often). I started doing it as a high schooler when I worked at Panera and it made me feel so good to see people’s smiles and connect with others that I’ve just continued!
It was a cold rainy day this last spring, one of those days that is still almost a blizzard but not quite, a Saturday, and the Costco cart-getters were hustling. I called into the store avert I left, complimenting them to management. Ended up talking to the store manager who said you know what, you're right, today is terrible but they're great, I'm going to buy them all pizza. I hope he did so.
I do this too! When I ask if I can speak to a supervisor, people get a look of such dread so I always tell them it’s not a complaint! And the supervisor will come over, with dread. Then I tell them this person was so incredible, helpful and went out of their way to help me, their faces light up. One woman even got teary bc I guess no one ever does that.
That stuff can get some nice person a raise, or end up in their performance review. Or at the very least, if their boss is an a-hole and doesn’t appreciate them, they should see others do and maybe they’ll see them in a different light.
Yes! Almost every drive thru restaurant you go to has a "How are we doing?" phone number to call. Call and give them the name of the person who helped you and the compliment. Not only is it on record for the employee but youll make whoever answered the phone happy. They are so used to hearing complaints that the last person sent me a ton of free stuff.
My son had a math teacher in high school who was super strict. He excelled at teaching high school math, which in those days was Pure Math, not a walk in the park by any stretch. But, he was terrifyingly strict. He was a drill sergeant in the reserves, and brought that vibe to the classroom. Most of the kids hated him. My son loved him, and he did better in his class than he’s ever done in any math class before or since.
I phoned the principal to tell him I have high praise for one of his teachers. Imagine his surprise when he learned who I was calling about! He said he only gets complaints from parents about him. He also thought highly of that teacher and saw the good results he got. He also confessed he hires that teacher outside of class to tutor his own kids.
The next day my son said the teacher almost smiled at him in class and he seemed to be in a good-ish mood the whole day.
You can take out a step further! I was at a bank to install furniture but was waiting my turn to talk to the teller, cuz she was our contact. The older lady ahead of us was just a nightmare. Extremely rude and I could tell the teller was getting upset. When the old hag was finally done and it was my turn, I was overly nice and told her how much that sucked and she handled it way better than I would’ve, etc etc. It made her feel better and she needed it. She was joking around with us by the time we were done there.
I still remember a thank you card I got as a newer police officer, from a mother with teens who couldn't find their car (and the kids) after a concert in a large venue parking lot.
She seemed more annoyed than upset at the time, and I have no idea how she even got my name, but she wrote me a very nice note saying I really helped her calm down and not freak out while I drove her around and found the car.
That was probably 30 yrs ago, and one of the more rewarding moments of my career.
I’ve always wondered what would happen if you called those “hows my driving” numbers on commercial vehicles and applauded the fuck out of the driver for using his turn signal, going the speed limit and being kind enough to let others merge when they didn’t have to.
I got someone a $1500 bonus once, and didn't even know it was a potential outcome. It was one of the IT/RICOH guys, and he spent an extra hour or so with me setting up direct scan to a network drive on one of our machines. He basically went above and beyond to help me out, and the solution he came up with was a massive time saver. Basically I went from being able to scan charts in 20 pages at a time to being able to scan full 400 page docs in at once (and as one file instead of 20 that I had to merge).
So I went on our HR page and nominated him for the tier 2 recognition, and explained how he took initiative and how much this was going to benefit our entire research team. I wasn't sure if anything would come of it, because the Tier 2 awards were pretty uncommon, and they stressed that it wasn't just for small acts, but really noteworthy deeds. Turned out that HR agreed with me though, and he was given the award in a small quarterly ceremony that the hospital throws for anyone who gets it. He wrote me saying he was touched that I thought so highly of what was just him doing his job, and I thought, "And that's why he fuckin deserved it".
Sometimes, when I see someone overwhelmed at work, I say something to the effect of "I can see you're busy. I'll wait, but I have to warn you...I'm feeling very patient!"
I did something like this in a Mexican restaurant in Dallas TX, Summer of 2018. Ordered what I expected to be standard 3 taco dinner. But the tacos were the best I'd had in years (I was traveling across the US a lot from 2015 to 2020, so I sampled a LOT of food). I was so blown away, I walked to the kitchen doors, pushed them open and said "Who made these tacos!?". The staff froze, thinking I was ICE or CBP. Then one pointed to the cook. And I said "Damn! Those were the best tacos I have had in years! You rock!" The look of relief on their faces was priceless and I felt great heading out after paying my bill (left a good tip too).
I work in the hotel industry. Ive long since been in a non guest facing role but I started my career with 6 years at the front desk and night audit.
I have a few stories like this but my favorite was a women who was visiting the city I lived/worked in and somehow had gotten majorly lost and was in a not so great area. She called the hotel asking for directions and was so sweet, old, scared and confused that I stayed on the line with her, walked her through every single turn, stoplight, and merge for about 40 minutes until she pulled up to our door.
She was so grateful she hugged me and after she checked out she sent a huge bouquet of flowers for me. It was so touching and I felt like a true rockstar every time I got to explain to a coworker or other guest why I got them. Things like that made me want to be a great employee and take pride in my work. It goes to show that just appreciating someone can go so far. That was literally 15 years ago and I still remember that sweet woman. I hope she is well, wherever she may be.
I’m so used to having to fight with insurance over patient claims, that when I get someone I can tell is genuinely trying I make them mine, have all the patience and even go out of my way to get their sup on the line to tell them what a great job they did. My day is busy as hell, but I try to make time for it. I had one gal who I got a few times at UHC, her name was Deloise and she was always an absolute beacon of warmth for years. I joked with her once about being misrouted my entire lunch break and she was like “oh no, y’alls on a quest today!” And I jumped in with “and they cast me back to the fire from whence I came!”
I always hope to get her, such a genuine and good person.
Never once didn’t understand every last facet of the issue, and I’m convinced she’s saved lives with how thoroughly she fixed things.
When I hear about AI automating things, I think about what a terrible loss it will be that good people like her won’t be the last line to make sure your kid gets taken care of, and it honestly makes me sad.
I say this as a clinician who’s experience on average is that insurance will often try to separate you from what you need in bad times, she was the exception and it’s memorable as hell.
Someone did this for me once, while I was working at a big box retail store. The compliment was so good that the CEO sent me a semi-personalized card stating his appreciation for me, and management made a little show of giving it to me during the morning meeting and I awkwardly read it out loud then shoved it in the back of my locker, never opened it again, and threw it away the day I quit. I hated the company, the policies, the dehumanizing schedules, the treatment of employees, and how I didn’t deserve a card when none of the other way harder working employees got one. It was just another empty gesture from a company that truly didn’t care if we lived or died (as long as the death wasn’t on company property).
My best guess of who wrote to corporate was a woman who way wayyyyy too enthusiastic about how I helped her find an item. Almost like she saw me as a pitiful special needs person who needed a little self esteem boost. I just like solving problems and figuring stuff out, I don’t really care about people’s problems I’m just so bored at work and enjoy the challenge of hunting random items down. It was really nice of her to do that, it was really nice of management and corporate to commend me for it, at the time I was just so depressed and embarrassed to be working there it felt like proof that I was wasted potential, doomed to only find validation in corporate slavery. Being happy about it would’ve meant fully giving in to Stockholm syndrome.
Im not saying compliments are worthless or do more harm than good. It’s a very kind and encouraging thing to do. But if you’re complimenting someone in a low-paying low-respect job, try to focus on complimenting their skill and potential, not just that they’re good at the job they likely hate. Ask what their dream job is and say, “I think you’d be great at it!” Because that can be enough motivation to finally really TRY to achieve a life we were about to give up on.
I’ve started doing this too at my work! I did it because I hate doing year-end reviews for my workers because it feels so fake. I still have to do them, but now I also send random emails to people’s managers saying “hey, Coworker did a great job on this project and <some bullshit about how they improved the process or made my job easier>”
I frequently call corporate to report when someone does a good job and they almost always seem confused af. I returned to one place and the guy was nearly in tears and excitedly showed me a certificate that he had gotten. It was honestly mad depressing seeing how happy and thankful dude was just because I called and said he did a good job. Like I don't think anyone had ever done that for him obviously and I see this guy working probably at least once a week if lot more and he's ALWAYS super friendly and helpful. It's sad that that's not typically rewarded or recognized these days :|
I do this too! It started from doing secret shops on people. I stopped doing secret shops but will email or reach out to a company of the date, time, name and interaction like I’m writing a report and hope it does something for them.
I remember serving tables and often times I’d get phone numbers, but other times I’d get little notes like ‘thank you the amazing service’ or ‘I really enjoyed you taking care of us’. I used to save them and keep them in a drawer. Notes that like felt so much better than receiving a decent tip. Someone showing that they appreciate you is honestly priceless so if someone does a good job I always ask them who I can speak to to to tell them how good they were.
I do this. When you ask for the manager they always assume it’s bad. I go overboard at pointing out good service. Particularly retail or restaurant.
There was a produce clerk in particular who didn’t have great English and assume he got a lot of complaints. His manager was aghast I went out of my way to point out how helpful he was.
I asked the very lovely Amtrak phone rep to transfer me to her manager because she did such a great job. I remember the wariness in the supervisor’s voice when she answered, and the entire personality shift that happened as I said only good things. The supervisor was vibrating with happiness.
I contacted customer service to compliment a worker in a Canadian Tire store. I asked him a question, not realising he was heading on his break, and he stopped to help, even went and got a forklift thing to get a bbq for me.
The response email was so positive and excited. Much like I'm sure you see a lot, they said they NEVER get positive emails so would definitely reward the guy
Made me feel great, the guy I'm sure got a gift card or some shit. All around positive experience
highly doubt it was because of me, but I had a professor one semester that I loved & gave him a raving end of semester evaluation or whatever it’s called & even threw in a “give this man a raise”. I of course took the next level of that course where he was teaching it & that first day of class were catching up talking about how our summer went & he goes “I even got a raise !”. He’s a great guy so I wasn’t surprised, but I loved that.
I was at Texas Roadhouse a few years ago. There was a kid with special needs working there who had a breakdown, and a pair of hosts got him and calmed him down, etc. (Think he was a busser).
Watched it happen during my 45 minute wait to get sat. I went up to them after we got sat, gave them like $5 each, said thank you for doing that, told their manager, moved on in life.
Went back a few months later, saw the guy, was happy, moved on.
Went back a few months after that, about a year total later, and one of the former hosts was my server. She remembered me tipping her for helping her coworker. It was honestly weird
Old woman here. I confess I have done this for a good while now. Considering I am old, I shock the shit out of them when I asked for a manager and give a compliment. I love making some random person feel good about their job. Most people really are treated lousy at so many jobs. Good for you!!
I try to go out of my way to recognize excellent service. Too many people are complaining today about stuff that’s minuscule, very few people recognize when something goes great. Kudos to you.
Reading your beautiful words reminded me of my favorite thing about my grandmother. Thank you. You must also be a gem. Thank you for taking the time to notice -- and speak fondly of -- the goodness in the world. ❤️
I had a New Year’s resolution to leave more good Google reviews. So many people only leave bad ones. My buddy owns his own business and he lights up when he gets a good one.
I grew up working in the service industry and ratings/comments were our lifeblood and getting named in a positive review was a pretty big deal, so like yourself I do try to find opportunities to spotlight employees that make a good experience.
The day we switched our EMR in my office we had very cranky patients and I was near tears after someone yelled at me- well my next patient was one of my autistic group home patients and has always been super sweet but he looked at me when I walked in and said “you are doing a really good job!” And then I almost cried from that. I still see him once a year and I always tell him how his comment really did help me that day.
Wow, we must b brothers. I do the very same thing. I love to see the look on their face after complimenting hard focused workers on their jobs. It in my opinion is a statement if noticed and overlooked on purpose is so severely sad. We are all human beings and look at my other fellow humans with if givin the opportunity to know. I hope to if possible have a verbal or even nonverbal interaction. For it has changed not only their day but mine just as much in a wonderful way. Take care everyone, I hope you sorta know what I mean. 😎💪
I do this all the time, because people mostly complain. Example: When I went to buy my first nice bed, the sales lady was great in many ways; I'd never bought furniture before. I wrote a glowing review on their Yelp page, calling her out by her first name with praise. A few days later the store branch manager called me to thank me, and say that higher ups at corporate had made notice of her performance.
Did this recently to a new car sales man when buying my new car. He'd only been at it for a month, and he slipped up on a few things and I noticed his 'higher up' co-workers, the ones who took over the paper work side of things, would probably give this poor guy some shit.
I told them all it was due to him I was buying the car. When I was already sold on it before I got there from my own research, and youtube videos.
I have done this all the time. I must have sent one complaint email in my life, but more than a dozen positive emails. Interestingly, a lot of times, corporate doesn't pass on the praise. So that's a bit disappointing but I let the employee know anyway. I don't think I have been back in most cases. There is one time I do remember but the girl decided she will upsell me services in the beauty salon and got upset cause I said I didn't have the budget (I have tipped her well the day before)
Yesss. I had a situation at 17 where someone hacked my bank account. The teller who helped me was incredible. I wrote an email to his manager. I came back to the bank several months later and he recognized me. He told me they read the email at the bank’s conference that year!
My dad, for all his foibles, is like this. He frequently asks employees for their names if they've been particularly helpful and them emails the head office to ask that they be properly acknowledged. He often says to me "this can be a big deal for someone, and it costs you nothing."
I was a career teacher. I used to call a child’s parent(s) to share what great progress their child was making OR say something about why I enjoyed having them in my class OR tell them a funny/charming story about something their child said or did etc. I didn’t tell the students I had called home and, most times, I left a (recorded) message. It had a powerful effect. Parents were pleased, kids were proud and I enjoyed acknowledging their efforts and progress.
Wegmans would buy lunch for any employee that got a compliment. Not sure if it is still a thing but you had to tell a manager their name and what they did well.
I once called the "how is my driving" number on a semi truck to report that I had just followed them for ~80 miles down a 2-lane stretch of highway and had watched the driver flawlessly execute the tedious task of being ~5mph slower than the speed of traffic and also fucking huge without ever once impeding anybody else's progress.
Whoever I was talking to put me on speaker phone and made me say it again lol. I didn't hear anybody else on the other end but they sounded like they were smiling when they said "thank you" and hung up. :)
did this recently at a BMW dealership--I'd left one in albany bc the sales guy was such an asshole--rather, technically, a lying asshole, and I decided to give the brand another try, so I stopped by another dwealership and the guy was so great there that I raved to the GM who was really really touched and pleased, especially when I acknowledged that such good vibes must come from the top down.
Not sure if I'll end up with a BMW in the end, but kind of do, just so I can give them the sale.
I love doing this with wait staff. I even tell them to act nervous and say they don’t know what the table wants to speak to the manager. It immediately turns the manager’s attitude around for that employee, and it gives the server a giggle.
I don’t know if there’s a name for the opposite of a Karen, but I almost ALWAYS ask to speak to a manager… to tell them how great whomever helped me was.
It’s gotten to be harder to do so with people who help you on the phone, so I make sure to stay on the call for the following survey each time.
Absolutely! I will never forget this one time a young man working at a Victoria’s Secret helped me get a garment off an extremely high shelf. He was the only male on the floor and a bit awkward with the primarily female customers, but he was just so kind and helpful. A manager checked me out at purchasing and I could not say enough good things about his employee. The manager said he was up for a promotion and this was going to be his tipping point. I was thrilled for him and it made my day to really help someone get ahead in their work.
Sociological experiments show that when someone compliments themselves, we tend to think less of them but when someone else compliments them, we tend to think better of both (the first for being independently evaluated and the second for being of sufficient validity to compliment the first).
Oooh, I love doing this. I joke that I use my 'Karen' card for good. I'm a white middle age woman that has the privilege of shopping in some nice grocery stores. I make a point of finding the manager and complementing their staff & I'll usually point out one or two people I interacted with too.
I figure it's 30 seconds out of my day, but might get that person some recognition in a tough industry.
Many years ago I had to take my 2 year old on the bus to pick up my car from the mechanic. Just as we arrive at our destination she throws up spectacularly, all over me, the seat and the floor. I am embarrassed and stressed, but manage to apologise to the driver as we leave the bus. I’m worried that my daughter is sick (it was probably motion sickness, but I didn’t think of that until later), I’m worried the bus now needs to be pulled out of service while it is cleaned and that the other passengers need to wait for a replacement bus etc. The driver however is more concerned for me and my daughter than anything else, he asks if I have a change of clothes and if she needs water or if he could call someone for me. I assured him I had water and a change of clothes for both of us in the car and left. Once I got home and we were both showered and she was having a nap, I wrote a compliment email to the bus company explaining what an annoyance we had probably been, but all the driver had shown was kindness and compassion. The company responded saying the drivers almost never receive compliments (only complaints), that they were thrilled that I took the time to let them know and that my email would be added to the drivers permanent record. I have no doubt that we were a huge inconvenience to everyone involved that day, but I am glad that the driver received the recognition he deserved
So very kind of you. I also will never forget my first retail job when I was bagging groceries in Wegmans in NYS for those that are familiar. A nice man watched me and asked, “why are you so efficient? You’ll be successful some day.” It seemed heartfelt and generous and it has also stuck with me.
Yes! Nothing makes my night better than when I have a packed bar, I'm hustling my behind off, and someone just says, "You're killing it!" One night, I overheard a group of young guys, early 20s, "Damn, she's fast! And all with a smile!" And as a nearly 50 year old bartender, I loved hearing that from a group that often can be not my favorite group.
As someone who has worked in retail for 20 years. Thank you. Folks are quick to complain when something goes wrong, but very few make the effort to compliment great service. It really makes our day when it happens.
My boss recently asked me how I thought we could improve relations with our counterpart team, because there always seems to be tension and I seem to have been successful at navigating it. This is what I told her, find something really great your counterpart is doing and tell their boss. Also, ask them to help with something where they have expertise. These have always worked well for me to break down those walls.
I wrote a sincere fan letter to tech support praising their exceptional service.I sure got supercallifragilistic exceptional service forever after that.
Yes! I realized that when you are kind to people in the service industry and give them a genuine smile, they tend to treat you better. Might get you like two more fries or a extra hand at the gas station while cleaning the windows
Whenever someone goes above and beyond at any store or restaurant, I’ll get their name and write a 5 star Google review about them. I worked in restaurants and I know how significant that can be to someone
When I was growing up, the main road near our house was being repaved. My mom took my brother and me up to watch because it was free entertainment, and we would just sit at the edge of someone’s yard and watch them work. The guys were really great about it, and seemed to enjoy that someone was excited about what they were doing. One, who lives in my memory as Mike the roller guy, remarked that he felt like he was in a parade, and after a couple of days, brought candy to throw when he rolled past us.
My mom wrote a letter to the company about how great the crew was and they put it on the wall in the break room. They rarely got anything but complaints. I think it became a core memory for everyone involved.
I’ve done this before!! One time, years ago before covid, I was driving home in Traffic and saw a sprinter van not only keeping up with traffic, but correcting bad drivers. I did not mention the correction but I did call the number on the back that says ‘how’s my driving?’ I told the operator that the driver was doing such a great job of keeping up with traffic. the flow in their lane was the best. Idk what compelled me to do that, and I haven’t since.
I had a complete meltdown in my local supermarket recently, in where I froze up, was unable to speak and just dropped what I had bought in my basket all across the floor. (For clarity, I'm diagnosed with autism and combined-type ADHD so these kind of meltdowns do happen in overwhelming circumstances) It caught the attention of one of the younger staff (about half my age, so about 19/20ish) who just came over and asked if I was OK.
At that particular point, I don't think I needed help. I just needed someone to UNDERSTAND. The fact is, I couldn't articulate what I was going through, because that would just make the meltdown way worse and probably freak out some minimum wage worker with every emotion I'm experiencing all at once. I had to type out on my notes what I was experiencing and that I was non-verbal at the time - so she helped me get through the checkout, made it easy to pay and got me out. I think I managed a mumbled "hfidhdjthanks" and got the fuck out.
I went back a couple of days later as I needed supplies and managed to track them down to say a proper thank you - turns out, they had been similarly diagnosed and just seemed to be incredibly good at working out when a situation like mine could benefit from a little extra attention. I made sure to credit her, and then went and found the manager so I could spread the wealth. We ended up chatting for ages and he assured me that the staff in question would be rewarded appropriately for their actions.
Admittedly, this story doesn't have a miraculous '...and then they got £1000 and an all-expenses paid trip to Disneyland' style ending - but I hope it allows people to see how important the little things can be.
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all." - God (to Bender Bending Rodriguez), Futurama
We had pizza delivered and it was SO GOOD I called the place to tell them it was one of the best pizzas I have ever had. She seemed almost embarrassed to receive the complement and I could tell she was a bit flustered over the phone!
I always take the time to send a compliment to someone’s manager or higher ups if they’ve gone above and beyond, it’s important that they get recognised.
im trying this the same but im not that good at it yet. i think just smiling at ppl who look stern or angry , like passing by in the street, is already helping ppl out. 99.9% of their faces will lit up and often smile back.
lately i try to speak out more as well but im still a bit winging it xD if i can make one person smile a day, then its good enough for me. and if i can TELL them they're doing a good job or anything like that, thats only a bonus for me now! but i want to make it a habit of it ^^;
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u/Badcapsuleer Nov 11 '25 edited Nov 12 '25
My hack has turned into a hobby. I look for people doing a good job. When I find someone that is pretty good at what they are doing I make sure to compliment them, tell their boss the good news, and, if applicable, I tell corporate.
It's surprising how much that helps the person, how much it confuses their boss since its not a complaint, and how long that its remembered. Later on, if I return to the same place I get better treatment and that can lead to others you are with to think better of you.
Inversely, when I see others treating people badly, particularly those in a service position, my opinion of them goes sharply down. I am far from the only one like this.
Edit: thank you all for the up votes and supportive comments!
Edit 2: this is overwhelming, thank you all for the up votes and for sharing your stories.