Ready for a good old-fashioned reminder that wonderful people are still out there? Good, so are we.
Meet Dave. He owns a store called Sunrise Health Foods in California. Dave is not what we would call social media nor technologically savvy. He doesn’t own a mobile phone. In fact, the store’s website is just about as barebones as they come. And that’s okay because he’s had a successful store for 35 years. From Essential Oils to tea to healthy snacks like organic microgreens — tiny edible vegetables prematurely harvested — and everything in between, Dave’s store is the go-to for a range of specific health niches.
A few weeks ago was the 35-year anniversary of his store. That’s no meager milestone, so in the spirit of celebration, he got cupcakes, drinks, and snacks for guests and customers to enjoy while they shopped. Pretty nice gesture, right? You’d think with the 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream Americans eat every year, among other goodies, that cupcakes might get some foot traffic. So did he.
No one showed up. No one, that is, except Kayla.
Kayla frequents Dave’s store and noticed that he was pretty bummed out that no one was around.
“He was just sitting there, he had this sad look on his face and he kept repeating to us, ‘it’s our anniversary, it’s our 35th anniversary today. It’s really slow; it’s one of our slowest days,'” she reported.
So she did what any 23-year-old might do and took to Twitter. She took a picture of Dave and tweeted:
“This is Dave. He owns Sunrise Health in Fresno, Ca. Today is his store’s 35th anniversary and he was expecting people to come in. He bought cupcakes, soda, and decorations and NO ONE showed up. I just got here and he brought everything out to celebrate. Can we get him some recognition?”
For more than half of adults over 18, coffee is a daily essential. That number is even higher for daily smartphone and social media use, so the tweet really worked. Within a few hours, the tweet went viral and Dave’s store became a revolving door for the remainder of the day. He was swamped with visitors. Kayla stuck around and hung out, tweeting and taking pictures as Dave was busy with customers. He was even getting calls from all over the country from people who just wanted to say hello and congratulate him.
It made his day. One can only assume all of the cupcakes were eaten.
Formerly a social media skeptic, he’s since admitted that he might have to give it a try. Kayla even offered to help him get on his feet in the social media world, if that’s what he wants. Still not entirely sure about the whole social media thing, when asked if he understands Twitter, he wasn’t sure.
“I will have to look on the internet and see what it means.”
That’s probably a good idea, Dave. In the meantime, he’s thankful for Kayla’s tweet and the massive outpouring of support he received from it. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes, kindness, and some thoughtful words. Human beings are pretty good at shining in moments like that and Kayla really made someone’s day brighter.
Be like Kayla.
