Random Act of Kindness at Rochester, New Hampshire Walmart Inspires Community
Were you at the Walmart in Rochester around 1pm yesterday?
Because if you were, there's a chance that you either saw this random act of kindness happening live in front of your face, or didn't even know you were feet away from it happening. But it definitely inspired not only the family that was on the receiving end, but also members of the Rochester community as well.
The whole situation started with an issue we've probably all had at stores before.
Most times, ideally, we just dig into our wallet/purse and pull out another card, complete the transaction and go about our merry way.
How many times have you gone to pay for something at a check out counter by card, only to have there be an issue with the chip in your credit card? It was just fine when you snagged gas at the pump not 15 minutes before, but now that you need it to work again, there's some sort of error or the message you're reading on the scanner is that the chip is malfunctioning. Most times, ideally, we just dig into our wallet/purse and pull out another card, complete the transaction and go about our merry way.
It wasn't that easy of a solution yesterday for Chris Dittmar, who found himself in a pickle at the checkout line with a conveyor belt full of groceries. While most of New England was at home watching Mac Jones and the boys put a shalacking on Cleveland, Chris decided to hit Walmart to feed his family. Unfortunately, his chip wasn't working at the checkout line, and he didn't have another card on him.
And that's when it happened. A complete stranger paid Chris' grocery tab so he didn't have to leave the store empty-handed.
There was a lot of love for the act of kindness on Facebook.
Chris' wife, Christine, took to her Facebook page in hopes that the anonymous helper would see the message, and posted a thank you note to the stranger.
Thank you to whoever paid for my husband’s groceries at Walmart in Rochester. His chip was not working and someone paid for him. Your kindness is appreciated and we will pay it forward
The post resonated with many in the community, based on the "likes" as well as the comments on the post calling the act "awesome" and "so nice!" Christine, on top of wanting to thank whoever it was, also mentioned that she and her daughters will often do that same thing for others when they're in need, "so it's nice to see others do it too!"
We saw and heard numerous stories about kind acts just like this one spread throughout the entire holiday season last year, and if yesterday's situation with Chris was any indication, it looks like we're picking up right where we left off last year.