I witnessed a christmas act of kindness

OrkneyStar

January20 wrote: »

Well, congratulations to the cynics and doubters! You have ruined a perfectly good thread with your bad feelings! I hope you are happy and can now spend the rest of the year merrily wallowing in your self-pity because you weren't the one getting the 10% discount (which of course you would have refused because it was theft!).

I think some of the posters on this thread should go and live in a cave somewhere where the rest of us can't bother them with our lose morals and false ideas about generosity.

And yes, this sarcasm is necessary. It's my revenge as I started reading this thread thinking it was going to be a positive one, only to discover it has been spoiled by you lot!

Why can't some people just be happy for others? Or just happy?

Why can't some folk accept not everyone has the same opinion ?
Nothing is 'spoiled', if you see it as you see it, then who cares if others don't?

warehouse

January20 wrote: »

Well, congratulations to the cynics and doubters! You have ruined a perfectly good thread with your bad feelings! I hope you are happy and can now spend the rest of the year merrily wallowing in your self-pity because you weren't the one getting the 10% discount (which of course you would have refused because it was theft!).

I think some of the posters on this thread should go and live in a cave somewhere where the rest of us can't bother them with our lose morals and false ideas about generosity.

And yes, this sarcasm is necessary. It's my revenge as I started reading this thread thinking it was going to be a positive one, only to discover it has been spoiled by you lot!

Why can't some people just be happy for others? Or just happy?

Or we could all post thanks to the OP and leave it at that. Like the last poster says, we all have an opinion and it makes for an interesting read IMHO.

How would you feel if the person in front of you got 10% off their shopping bill and you got nothing?

LEJC

OrkneyStar wrote: »

Why can't some folk accept not everyone has the same opinion ?
Nothing is 'spoiled', if you see it as you see it, then who cares if others don't?

That is a very good comment....but I think that even I have been genuinely staggered by the level of some of the comments I have read as a result of my original post....

I totally accept that not everyone will see the events I described as an act of kindness but the level that some people have demonstrated a dissatisfaction over my account has been in my opinion a little extreme.....

To ask that I name the supermarket involved in order that people boycott it...and then when I politely decline to be accusesd of potentially fabricating the story was not a reaction that I thought I would get.....overnight I was aware that some posters were less than polite to others and I can see that those posts have now been removed.

If ive taken anything away from this it is that yes you cant please all all of the people all of the time and of course it takes all sorts to make a community....but it also takes only a small amount of time/money/effort etc to put a smile on someones face....and it has made me more aware that there are people out there who are genuinely cheered by an act of kindness

In the past ive never been a particularly charitable person preferring to think that "what difference could i do with a small amount of money etc"...but having seen the look on the faces of the couple on saturday who had a small amount deducted from their bill it has given be the positivness that an act of kindness can be appreciated however small it is...

I certainly intend to find the courage to offer something to someone...although quite how I decide a fair recipient is another challenge...

OrkneyStar

LEJC wrote: »

That is a very good comment....but I think that even I have been genuinely staggered by the level of some of the comments I have read as a result of my original post....

I totally accept that not everyone will see the events I described as an act of kindness but the level that some people have demonstrated a dissatisfaction over my account has been in my opinion a little extreme.....

To ask that I name the supermarket involved in order that people boycott it...and then when I politely decline to be accusesd of potentially fabricating the story was not a reaction that I thought I would get.....overnight I was aware that some posters were less than polite to others and I can see that those posts have now been removed.

If ive taken anything away from this it is that yes you cant please all all of the people all of the time and of course it takes all sorts to make a community....but it also takes only a small amount of time/money/effort etc to put a smile on someones face....and it has made me more aware that there are people out there who are genuinely cheered by an act of kindness

In the past ive never been a particularly charitable person preferring to think that "what difference could i do with a small amount of money etc"...but having seen the look on the faces of the couple on saturday who had a small amount deducted from their bill it has given be the positivness that an act of kindness can be appreciated however small it is...

I certainly intend to find the courage to offer something to someone...

Please take from it what you originally took, and if that spurs you to do something nice, be it financial or other then do it! Some folk might feel really stretched at this time of year but you can still make a gesture that is possible for you, eg offer someone you know a lift, offer to help someone carry their shopping, even just hold a door open and smile!
I still stand by my scepticism of the potential mechanics of the whole staff discount thing (sadly my own experience of how staff discount works has shaped this!), but I do think being kind and giving where you can should be encouraged.
As for the OTT comments, well, enough said really. We all know who we'd rather be around!

stir_crazy

warehouse wrote: »

How would you feel if the person in front of you got 10% off their shopping bill and you got nothing?

Slightly disappointed that it wasn't me. But in the main quite pleased that someone somewhere got some benefit at what undoubtedly is an expensive time of the year.

I would think that if the cashiers are giving out discounts to some customers its obviously been authorised at some level so its not stealing from the company. As other people have pointed out, its very easy to get the sack for misuse of staff discounts.

motherofstudents

It sounds like it was done officially if only at local level as I can't imagine people risking getting into trouble. I have found the A supermarket very helpful with charity fundraising. We had a garden party once and they donated loads of food. Obviously they do it with the hope of drumming up more custom rather than altruism but the end result is the same.

Thanks for posting about it op, I've also been surprised at the level of negative comments. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but I think some people just like to stir up a debate. It's made me think about doing something too, not sure what yet but it's sewn a seed.
Merry Christmas to all.

aileth

I have to say, I think it must have been authorised. Who would really want to risk losing their job this close to Xmas over something like that? Ofc maybe she had just handed in her notice and decided to hand out some festive chair

I used to work in retail, and if I had done this I would've been hung, drawn and quartered. My sister works for a well-known outdoors company and she is ONLY allowed to buy things for herself and a Manager has to authorise the discount. If it's suspected it might not be for herself, she'd get hauled up (For example if she was buying size 13 male boots!)

catkins

LEJC wrote: »

That is a very good comment....but I think that even I have been genuinely staggered by the level of some of the comments I have read as a result of my original post....

I totally accept that not everyone will see the events I described as an act of kindness but the level that some people have demonstrated a dissatisfaction over my account has been in my opinion a little extreme.....

To ask that I name the supermarket involved in order that people boycott it...and then when I politely decline to be accusesd of potentially fabricating the story was not a reaction that I thought I would get.....overnight I was aware that some posters were less than polite to others and I can see that those posts have now been removed.

If ive taken anything away from this it is that yes you cant please all all of the people all of the time and of course it takes all sorts to make a community....but it also takes only a small amount of time/money/effort etc to put a smile on someones face....and it has made me more aware that there are people out there who are genuinely cheered by an act of kindness

In the past ive never been a particularly charitable person preferring to think that "what difference could i do with a small amount of money etc"...but having seen the look on the faces of the couple on saturday who had a small amount deducted from their bill it has given be the positivness that an act of kindness can be appreciated however small it is...

I certainly intend to find the courage to offer something to someone...although quite how I decide a fair recipient is another challenge...

I thought it was a lovely gesture and am disappointed by the negative posts on here although sadly not surprised.

If you want to offer something to someone whatabout, as another poster has mentioned, buying a hot drink and something to eat for a homeless person? Or you could take some items to a homeless hostel if there is one near you, or a few presents for children to a hospital.

When I worked in London I used to pass a young homeless girl every morning. I always spoke to her and most mornings bought her a drink. About once a week I would buy her something to eat. She had a dog with her and at Christmas I gave her a small amount of money, some gloves and a scarf and some tinned dog food and dog treats.

I usually take some childrens' gifts to the local hospital but this year money is very very tight for me and I could not really afford this. I was lucky enough to win a few items in an animal charity raffle last week and a large cake which I correctly guessed the weight of. I was originally going to split the cake between me and OH, my parents, brother and my neighbour but then decided to take it to the homeless hostel along with the smellies I had won and some clothes I no longer wear. The guy at the hostel was really happy as he said they don't actually get that many donations which I think is very sad. I will certainly be giving them more items in the future. I think, for whatever reason, a lot of people do not have sympathy for the homeless but sadly it is something that could happen to any one of us

OrkneyStar

I used to volunteer at a homeless drop in, and would love to donate old clothes etc to them, but up here we don't really have the same homeless problems (remote island) so things go to charity shop, freegle or passed down to someone who can use them.

threemuttleys

hmmm, although its a lovely thing to do, as someone who works in Retail, the cashier needs to be very careful

The powers that be can (and do) track transactions. Plus, for most of the supermarkets (and the company that I work for) employees are NOT allowed to have their discount card with them whilst working on a checkout (nor are they recommended to have any cash on their person)

Whether or not it was a nice thing to do, unless the cashier has been told s/he is allowed to do it, its gross misconduct