A compliment like that likely made the people feel, at least for a short time, like they were 10 feet tall and lots of smiles all around. I can see them giving him a tour of the place, introducing him to the children and teachers, offering him to stay with them for a few meals, and a bed should he need it, and treating him, from then on, like an old friend. Since he did, in his own way, start the order by showing kindness to a desperate man trying to save his family.