One of the best feelings as a consumer is the, “Wow, you didn’t have to do that but I’m so glad you did” feeling. Like when a customer service rep rewards you with a coupon just for calling in with a question, or when the cashier slyly gives you a discount you didn’t earn. Or when a garbage crew worker sifts through the trash to rescue an unopened birthday card and return it to its rightful owner.

He didn’t have to do that, but one Medina, Ohio sanitation worker did it anyway, reports The Medina-Gazette. Inside the envelope was also $50 from a woman’s sister-in-law, wishing her well on her birthday.

“They found it in the trash and they took the time to come and give it back to me,” the woman said. “I feel like they just went above and beyond.”

The worker who found the letter went with his supervisor to the woman’s home to hand over the card and explain what happened.

“We went to dump the can; it was just stuck in there,” he said of the purple envelope. “It wasn’t open, and it looked important.”

After his route was over he decided to open the envelope to make sure it wasn’t something vitally important, and then set out to return it.

“In this day and age, $50 is a lot of money,” he explained. “It’s a tank of gas. We had to take it back to her.”

As for how the card ended up in the trash in the first place, it was tucked in a box of gifts for the woman’s son, who forgot to tell his mother he’d left the envelope inside the box. It then ended up in the trash.

“They don’t get a lot of thanks for the hard job they do,” the woman said, adding that she called the worker to thank him directly as well as contacting the paper. “I wanted to make sure they got recognized.”

Sanitation worker discovers, delivers belated birthday gift [The Medina-Gazette]

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