Ga. Woman Praises Publix Employee for Helping Elderly Man

TIFTON, Ga. - A woman is praising a Tifton, Georgia Publix employee for the kindness he showed toward an elderly customer last year. The woman's Facebook post has gone viral again. 

Jennifer Christopher Coker was shopping at the grocery store on January 16, 2015 when she said one of the most beautiful scenes unfolded right before her eyes. 

"A young man, by the name of Roger, was helping an elderly gentleman in a motorized wheelchair; he had the man's shopping list and was helping him find his desired items."

Coker said she stood there with another woman who also witnesses Roger's kindness. Tears came to Coker's eyes because she couldn't hide the immense gratitude she had for the young man. The other woman told Coker she saw the elderly man stop Roger.  

"She said she was coming in when the elderly gentleman stopped the young man, that was hard at work and asked, 'Are you busy?' And Roger smiled politely and replied, 'No sir, how can I help you?' The elderly man then asked him for his help because he knew it would take him all night to find what he needed and manage to get the items in his cart if he tried to do it alone. Roger, without hesitating, told him he would be happy to help. There was no agitation in his tone for being interrupted. There was no rush to his walk to make the man feel like he was a burden," Coker said. 

Coker said when Roger passed her in the store he greeted her with a smile and asked how her evening was going. Her proceeded to help the man. 

"It is so rare to see such a young person have such respect for his elders. I had tears knowing that the elderly gentleman was probably happy to have someone help him AND to listen to him. You don't get this kind of service at just any grocery store but Publix, specifically the Publix in Tifton, Ga."

Coker said Roger's act of kindness meant "so much" to her. 

"I am sure it meant to much to the gentleman he helped." 

Coker shared the story on Publix's Facebook page last January. Her post has more than 77,000 likes and 14,000 shares. Publix replied to Coker's post and said "Roger's above and beyond customer service is going to be recognized." 

"Thank you all so much for sharing your kind words not only about this associate, but about your local stores and associates, too. This post has certainly put a big smile on all our faces here at Publix," the grocery store said. 

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