A woman by the name of Emma was recently shopping at a grocery store in the town of Norfolk in the UK. She had been to that particular Tesco many times, and when it came time to check out, she found a checkout counter with no line. She approached the counter and started placing her items on the conveyer belt. The cashier said hello as he started scanning her items while she was placing them on the belt. Emma had quite a large pile of items to pack when she got done unloading her groceries.
Emma noticed some unusual things about the cashier’s behavior. His name tag said his name was Rob, and he would constantly count everything at least two or three times, and he squashed her bread while moving the items around to recount them. He also counted out the money she gave him several times, and counted out the change he returned to her at least twice. Emma had a feeling that Rob was autistic.
The first thing Emma did when she got home was to log on to Facebook to share what had happened to her. She chose to share her opinion on the public page of the Tesco, which would allow Rob and everyone else at the grocery store to see it. Fortunately, the post wasn’t the type Rob should be ashamed to read about himself.
She wrote about her experience in the hopes it would inspire others to be more patient with those they meet in their daily lives, regardless of their situation. Some may be going through things much more significant than what you might think. She broke down her experience in detail, explaining how Rob had been exceptionally thorough when counting out bags for her, as well as the money for the transaction itself.
She said that even though Rob didn’t speak much to her, she didn’t mind his quietness. She waited patiently while he did his work even though it took a bit longer than it might take someone else. She didn’t even mind that her bread had been squashed. She was simply happy that Rob was able to have a place where he could be needed and valued. She described his service as ‘perfect’.
When she finally managed to get Rob to speak, they chatted about how he had gotten his job at the grocery store, and how thankful he was to his bosses for allowing him such a great opportunity, especially when so many others had turned him away. Emma, a mother of an autistic 12-year-old herself, understood Rob’s situation much better than others he probably checked out at the grocery store. Emma hoped her post would touch someone into realizing that being able to function as a cashier is something that makes people like Rob feel fulfilled and happy. They don’t need to be criticized for their shortcomings.
Emma went on to say she was proud of Tesco for showing they were a company that offered true equal opportunity to its employees. As a mother of a child with autism, she knows how important that is. She finished off her post by thanking them for their service and telling them what a pleasure it was shopping in their fine store.
Emma is a strong advocate of those with disabilities, not only because her son has autism but because she is partially deaf. She knows the manager of the store and found out that Rob was hired for his great performance in the interview. The manager also explained that Rob was one of the most popular employees at the store, and all the customers loved him.