A few weeks ago, there was a family with six or seven kids who came into our store. While making my rounds to see if anyone needed help, I found one the children (who was maybe around 12 years old) standing in an aisle way, cupping something in his hands.
When I asked him if he needed help with something, he held up his hands to show me the mound of shattered glass. His eyes were huge, and he was profusely apologetic, offering to pay for the damage he had caused.
Concerned he had, or was going to, cut himself, I had him transfer the glass into my hands, and asked him to show me what happened. He had inadvertently knocked the lid off a candle - the rest of it was still intact, complete with its $1 price tag.
I told him it was still a very sell-able item. In fact, I thought it looked even better without a lid. But most importantly, he hadn't gotten hurt, and although I wish he wouldn't have handled the broken glass, he told me what happened, and offered to make it right with me. I thanked him for his honesty, and gave him a pass on having to pay for it.
As his family was leaving, the young boy turned to me and said, "Thank you once again, for your kindness." I thanked him and his family for their visit, truly glad for the opportunity to have met them.
Flash forward to this weekend ...
A 50 something year old man bumped into a table, causing a vase to fall and shatter directly in front of him and me. He offered no apology; I got a broom to sweep up the mess as he walked off and continued to shop. When he came to the counter we made small talk while I rang him up ... including the $10 vase he had broken.
He looked at me and asked, " What's that?"
"The vase you broke."
"What do you mean?"
"The vase. The one you knocked off the table."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're kidding."
Shrugs
What the heck is wrong with people?
Thank goodness for that boy. It's like he gave me an advance on the restoration of my faith in humanity. I'd like to think there's a lot more like him out there. I hope there are.
