’Tis the season when we’re happy to hear stories of big-hearted folks out there among all the Grinches, people who take it upon themselves to make a stranger’s holiday merry and bright. Like the Best Buy employees in New York who bought a Wii U for a teenager who visited almost every day to play Smash Bros. at the store. [More]
above and beyond
UPS Driver Helps Save Woman Held Captive After Spotting Note On A Package
By 12.9.16
A woman who was allegedly being abused and kept captive in her home by her husband was rescued this week when an observant UPS driver noticed the plea for help she’d scrawled on a package waiting to be picked up. [More]
Southwest Airlines Passenger Thanks “Selfless” Flight Attendant For Comforting Her Daughter
By 7.11.16
Thanks to the prevalence of social media, news spreads farther than it used to. Some of what’s going on out there is awful and sad, but there are also bright spots to be found. Like the story of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant who went above and beyond to comfort a young passenger who was scared to fly. [More]
Delta Executives Are Open To Ideas From 8-Year-Olds, Send Cool Airline Swag
By 11.19.15
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson doesn’t want to hear customers’ suggestions, referring customer mail containing actual suggestions to his legal team. That’s fair, we suppose: he wouldn’t want a customer to sue later on if a suggestion became a multimillion-dollar idea. Maybe the secret to getting a nice response to your suggestions from a CEO is simple: you need to be 8 years old. [More]
Waitress Donates Kidney To 72-Year-Old Patron, Both Feeling “Excellent” After Surgery
By 6.1.15
We all love hearing stories of big tippers at restaurants, those generous folks who leave behind piles of money in appreciation. But the generosity trend can swing both ways, as a waitress near Atlanta proved after giving a 72-year-old patron one of her kidneys. The transplant was successful and both are now doing well. [More]
IKEA Helps Out Senior Center After Robbers Steal All The Furniture
By 5.7.15
In February, residents of a recently opened senior center in Cincinnati found that their home hadn’t just been burgled — the thieves had made off with every piece of furniture and artwork in the lobby. While neither the purloined furnishings nor the ambitious burglars have been found, the folks at IKEA have decided to help out with some free stuff. [More]
Home Depot Employees Build Custom Wagon For Cancer-Stricken Dog
By 3.6.15
The owner of an elderly cancer-stricken canine says she was just hoping for some wagon-building advice from Home Depot employees but she ended up with something much more — a custom-built cart for her ill furry friend. [More]
Warby Parker Is Sorry About Your Stolen Car, Buys You A Beer
By 2.25.15
When you have a bad day and make a comment about to someone at the store, you probably don’t expect anyone to do anything other than nod their head and feign sympathy. But one Warby Parker customer says her visit to the eyewear store resulted in a little more than a “there there.” [More]
Burger King “Franchisee Of The Year” Cashes In Prize Corvette To Pay Bonuses To Workers
By 2.20.15
When the Arizona-based owners of two dozen Burger Kings was given the “Franchisee of the Year” award from the folks at BK HQ for his restaurants’ high marks on service and cleanliness, they could have just kept the new Corvette and Rolex watch they received for the honor. Instead, the owners turned those prizes into cash that they then paid out to more than 100 employees. [More]
Target Workers Caught On Camera… Helping Teen Job Interviewee Tie His Tie
By 2.6.15
Most of the time when we hear about a retail employee being photographed doing something other than their jobs, it’s bad news, if not downright creepy. But here’s a pleasant change of pace. [More]
Home Depot Employees Replace Stolen Xmas Gifts For Family Of Regular Customer
By 1.12.15
When employees at a South Carolina Home Depot heard that a regular customer of theirs had been the victim of a theft that left his family without Christmas gifts, they pitched in to do something they didn’t have to, replacing those stolen gifts and giving this family a belated but happy holiday. [More]
Alaska Airlines Employee Volunteers To Return Lost Cat To Owner 2,300 Miles Away
By 8.15.14
Imagine losing your cat on the very day that you are planning to move thousands of miles away. And then, miraculously, someone finds your feline friend a few weeks later. But by that point, you’re so far away that you can’t afford to fly or drive back to bring him back. [More]
Griffin Replaces Tiny Plastic Clips In Display Of International Greatness
By 8.11.14
Sam writes to us from across the Atlantic, where he received the delightful gift of a cooling notebook computer stand from a friend. Well, more of a cast-off, but Sam appreciated it all the same. It was missing a few parts, so he contacted the manufacturer, Griffin, to find out whether he could buy just those parts for a reasonable price. Fortunately, they wouldn’t let him do that. [More]
Pilot Knows How To Handle Stranded Passengers: Buy Them Pizza
By 7.9.14
The most we’ve ever received from an airline for being stuck on the tarmac for hours was some water and repeated assurances that we’d be moving shortly. But not so for passengers on one diverted Frontier Airlines flight where the pilot treated everyone on board to free pizza. [More]
Walmart Employee Saves Kidnapping Victim After She Slips Her A Note
By 6.19.14
Imagine you’re just working at a Walmart in the retailer’s Arkansas hometown when a customer hands you a note that she’s been kidnapped by two National Guard members. Your day suddenly got a lot more interesting. [More]
California Pizza Kitchen Manager Starts Chain Of Kindness That Extends To Corporate
By 4.24.14
When a family with four kids stopped off to eat at California Pizza Kitchen, disaster was looming. Their 13-year-old son, who has autism, was upset and on the verge of a meltdown in the middle of a crowded restaurant on Valentine’s Day. As the mother dreaded what would happen next, the manager came to her rescue, treating the family as if nothing were out of the ordinary. [More]
Amazon Issues Surprise Refund For Poor Video Playback
By 3.25.14
Keiko’s husband used Amazon’s streaming services to rent a movie that she wasn’t interested in seeing, and watched it on his iPad. He had no complaints about the experience, maybe because he was watching it on a relatively small screen. Yet Amazon went ahead and issued the couple a full refund anyway, just in case he might have had a problem with it. Keiko is impressed.
Conductor Leaves 500 Copies Of Apology Letter For Passengers Who Waited In Vain For A Train
By 2.25.14
Waiting for a train that never, ever pulls into the station is a frustrating experience for many a commuter. Especially when a train conductor instructs passengers to wait, as one Metro-North conductor advised riders last week. When the train ended up being canceled, the conductor took matters into his own hands and apologized with a slew of apology notes left on train seats. [More]
