Hunter

I have plenty of food in the house.  At no point am I at risk for starving to death, and my weight shows it.  Still, since I live alone, I sometimes get weary of my own cooking, yet I refuse to go out to eat by myself.  Thus, I have occasion to go out in search of whatever treat the local fast food restaurants have to offer that sound satisfying at the moment.

Thursday of this week was one of those days.  I settled on Subway.  Just needed something to fill my belly that was different from what I had at home.

I went to the drive-thru.  A young man took my tuna sandwich order.  Do you want a cookie?  No, thank you.  Do you want chips or a drink?  No...just a sandwich.  Then I drove up to the window.  I complained to the young man who was working the window, "It's COLD out here!"  He grinned and said he was sorry.  I jokingly said, "It's all your fault!"  Then he gave me my sandwich, took my money, gave me my change, and told me to have a great day.  Nothing at all remarkable there.

I drove home.  Once inside, I took out the sandwich and ate it, leaving the wrappers on the counter. The next morning, I got busy in the kitchen and started to throw away the Subway wrappers when I noticed something solid still inside the bag.  Hmmm...what??   It was a cookie.  In my mind, I'm thinking that the silly kid at the drive-thru had made a mistake.  I hadn't ordered a cookie, and looking at my receipt, I saw that I hadn't paid for a cookie, either.  Then I saw a hand-written note on the cookie bag:  "Surprise!"  And there was a hand-drawn smiley face to go with it.  You (and he) can't possibly understand how much that brightened the entire rest of my day!

Many years ago, I learned a lesson from one of my Salvation Army friends.  (Thanks, Patrick!) One time, when we got extra-good service at a KFC in Remington, Indiana, he asked to talk to the clerk's supervisor.  She looked stricken...until he told the manager, in glowing terms, that the employee was doing her job over the top.  She glowed then.  I'm sure it made her day.  Since then, I have made it a point to alert the Powers That Be that some of their employees are doing things right.  (I was a teacher long enough to know that complaints are many, but compliments are few.)  I got on Subway's Facebook page and wrote out my commendation for whom my receipt names as Hunter.  They responded, asking me to reiterate my story on another input site, which I did.

I know from previous experience that these complimentary reports do trickle down to the intended person.  I'm sure that Hunter will not get a promotion or a raise because I don't think Subway offers those--but I don't know.  I was a little hesitant to give my report just in case Hunter wasn't authorized to be giving away free cookies, but the truth is that his caring and generosity made me a Subway fan for life...and it's all his "fault"!  At worst, maybe my positive input will make his day in the same way that he made mine.

I'm not easily impressed.  Expected service doesn't deserve unexpected results...but when someone goes an extra mile, that's when I get impressed!  Thank you, Hunter.  You did your job, and then some!