StopBuyingCrap featured a letter from a satisfied Trader Joe's customer entitled "Trader Joe's did something awesome" (originally posted on Reddit), and I was so inspired by it that I thought to add another true story about how far kind gestures go in a world where too many idiots do nothing but sit on their arses and whine and complain and b*tch-b*tch-b*tch:



                                            


My uncle Lou visited Trader Joe's for the first time in Edgewater, NJ after Chris and I recommended a trip.  It was a nice store, he said, yet he found that it wasn't as vast as the one in Paramus (Route 17).  Now, I've never been to the Paramus TJ's myself and can't confirm his observation.  But I trust his judgment and if Paramus makes my uncle happy, then so be it. 


                               Nuts Online



In addition to an endless variety of grilled meats and wines, Uncle Lou is sort of obsessed with dried fruits and nuts, so when he saw that Trader Joe's sold dried peaches, he was overcome with glee.  Not because he could share them with guests but because he could eat them all himself while watching Futbol.  Dried peaches are his favorite and, according to my aunt, he determinedly and painstakingly crouched and scooped up all available packages of dried peaches from a low shelf.  You see, my 80-something uncle feels about dried peaches the same emotion that women experience around jeans that fit properly, and he can't quite stop himself from buying an entire store supply of something he enjoys. 

The scooping and shooting dried peaches into a shopping cart party stopped somewhere around bag three.  Then my uncle took his own measures and began digging into pillows of packages of other nearby dried fruits in search of even more dried peaches.  (Because three bags just weren't enough for this Taurus.) 

It was at that moment that a young stock person caught sight of my trembling, aching uncle.  She rushed over to help him, simultaneously excusing and introducing herself and then diving into the very piles of packages my uncle invaded.  She swam in waves of plastic for about a couple of minutes before resurfacing from the depths of sweet-smelling products with terrible news. 

There were no more dried peaches on that shelf.


                                                  TPEGI



No matter.  The young lady promised to excavate the loaded stockroom in the back in search of more dried peaches, a gesture unexpected by my proud, stubborn uncle who's battled just about every challenge on his own for most of his life, including three bouts of Cancer and, for the last 12 years or so, Parkinson's disease.   At the sight of my uncle and his willingness to do whatever he wants in this life, one would never assume that he spends time suffering in silence and partaking in tear fests in his shed.  Yes, he hands over mushrooms and tomatoes and onions for me to slice whenever we make a salad together because these food items-- and big knives-- are sometimes slippery and difficult for him to handle.  But the guy he presents to the rest of the world?  That guy is a strong, independent spirit who spends less time whining and more time enjoying the world's offerings.  I wholeheartedly believe that this is the way he prefers to be remembered on Earth, and it is this page from his book that I keep in my pocket all the time.  I always felt lucky in being able to see life through a kid's eyes.  Every step, every challenge I take on is thrilling for me.  But I feel even luckier having an unbreakable model in my life like my uncle who is kind and generous but also respects himself enough to not take crap from anyone. 


                                                       U.P. Web Maestro



Now, this young woman, this Trader Joe's stock person, could have avoided the kind of work ordinarily regarded as a hassle by lazily telling uncle Lou that they were simply out of dried peaches.  But, no.  She went the extra mile to find more of what he loves, instead, maintaining a standard of excellent, personable customer service.  And because of that, uncle Lou has made frequent trips to Trader Joe's since.