As I was checking out at an Israeli supermarket chain, I discovered that my credit card had expired. Not having any cash on me, I packed up my groceries and went to the service desk.
There was a young Ethiopian woman working there, so I explained my predicament and asked if I could leave the bags there until later when I would return with the money. She looked at me and asked if she could just pay with her credit card.
As I was surprised by her answer I started to stutter out that “it's okay, I live nearby….” But before I could get the words out, she had already swiped her card, handed me the receipt, and went back to work. She quickly darted out that she does this all the time.
I stood there stunned…. She didn't ask for my name, my ID, my phone number and she's never seen me before. So I asked her for her name and hours when I could return the money and she said, “Just give it to any one of the girls, they will get it to me.”
The next day I went to return the money and she was not there. When I gave it to the woman working there I commented how nice it was for the other woman to do such a kind act especially since she didn't know me.
She answered that the other woman doesn't always do it, but she took one look at me, saw that I was honest and gave it no further thought.
Then she added, “We are all trying to do good here; just because a few people mess up doesn't mean that the world isn't a good place; we're all good.”
It was quite heartwarming for a supermarket chain.