Acts of Kindness
Refugee can’t afford her purchase at checkout so cashier responds when he thinks no one’s watching
Little did he know another customer in line was watching him very closely.
Laura Shallcross
03.30.21

We’ve all had times where we’ve felt hard done by in life, but sometimes it takes a story like this to put things into perspective.

No matter how you’re currently dissatisfied with life, you’re more fortunate than the larger population if you can afford the basic necessities to survive.

The feeling of realizing you can’t even pay for a small grocery item must be awful.

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Unsplash

It happened to one customer at Harmons in Salt Lake City’s Brickyard neighborhood – but thankfully, she’d unknowingly come to the right place.

When she couldn’t afford to buy a big bag of Cheetos, the store’s most helpful member stepped in to make sure she could.

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The man behind the act of kindness was Brandon Wojciechowski, a cashier at Harmons for over 20 years.

Brandon was known by staff and customers alike for being one of the most popular faces in his Harmons store.

Never one to shy away from the opportunity to tell a good-natured joke or wish his customers a good day, Brandon is the sort of person you’d hope to come across while shopping for groceries.

Fox 13/ YouTube
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Fox 13/ YouTube

Brandon is so popular that people often needlessly queue just to speak to him.

Speaking in a Fox News interview, Ryan Morris, the Harmons store director, explained:

“We’ll have lines backed up. I’ll open up right next to him and try to pull customers over ’cause I’m thinking they’re in a hurry. No, they want to go through Brandon’s line.”

Fox 13/ YouTube
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Fox 13/ YouTube

It’s not just Brandon’s smiles, jokes and optimistic personality that win people over, though.

Underneath his happy-go-lucky exterior, Brandon also has an incredibly kind, giving heart.

We all know that cashier jobs at your average grocery store don’t pay good money.

Fox 13/ YouTube
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Fox 13/ YouTube

But despite the unlikeliness that Brandon is a secret millionaire, he still stepped in when he saw someone less financially fortunate than himself.

A photo of Brandon paying for the refugee’s Cheetos was posted on Instagram by Katie Graham.

It shows Brandon standing on one side of the checkout register, while a young woman faces him on the other side.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqqRH-QB5I8/

The caption reads:

“The young lady facing him speaks no English. She has come to the counter with one item, and doesn’t have enough money to pay for her item.”

Katie went on to explain that the woman hadn’t realized that she couldn’t afford her Cheetos – and instead of turning her away or embarrassing her with the truth, Brandon did something truly special.

He secretly took some spare change out of his own pocket and made up the difference.

After that, according to Katie, Brandon “kindly wishes her a happy day and both of them part with smiles”. But Katie was “moved to tears”, and thanked Brandon in her post for such a kind, caring act.

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Katie’s post quickly caught the attention of others on Instagram, with many people commenting to applaud Brandon for his kind-hearted quick thinking.

One person wrote:

“Brandon is the reason we shopped at this Harmon’s before we moved! He is kind and happy and made our day every time we came in!”

Someone else agreed, adding:

“I love Branden! He is seriously the best Harmons employee!!!! Thank you for sharing!”

Katie Graham/ Instagram
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Katie Graham/ Instagram

As for Brandon, he hadn’t even realized the photo had been taken – he’d just been doing his duty.

He said:

“Customers are like my family because I like to help them out.”

If only we all had a Brandon at our local supermarket! You can watch the inspiring video telling the full story below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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