There were so many good WOW stories posted in May – too many (which is always good). But this particular WOW story really hit a chord. Sheri Judy, on her own time, was dining with her husband and noticed one of her Palm Club residents eating with a friend. She said hello and asked how the resident’s day was going. Through talking with the resident she learned that she had had a long, tiring day. Sheri went back to her table and told her server that she was going to pay for her resident’s dinner. And her response to the resident when she learned of what Sheri had done was simply, “Just Pay it Forward.”
Pay it Forward. The act of doing something good for another and then passing that good onto someone else. It feels good to reciprocate when a person has done something nice for another, and the act of reciprocation itself, causes one to look for opportunities to make a difference for someone else. This is one of the many reasons why we WOW our customers and residents. Sheri just simply observed that her resident had had a rough day and hopefully changed the outcome of the resident’s day from hard to gratifying.
“My husband and I stopped by one of our favorite steakhouses for a glass of wine and an appetizer. We were chatting with Carl, our friendly bartender, when I noticed one of my residents, Claire, was sitting across the bar from us. Claire was with a colleague, dressed in scrubs after a long day working in the emergency room. I gave her a wave and asked her how she was doing. She told me that it had been a very tough day and that she was trying to unwind. I quietly asked the bartender if Claire and her friend had eaten dinner. He informed me that they had dinner, a few drinks, and dessert. I told him to let me pay their tab, but not to tell them. As soon as Carl told her the tab had been taken care of, Claire immediately figured out that I had paid it. She asked me four times, “Did you really just do that?!” I really had no idea why her day was so stressful–if she had lost a patient, been on her feet for a very long time, or any number of things that nurses go through on a daily basis. I was happy to end her day on a happy note and leave a lasting impression with her. I also hoped that I impressed her colleague, who will hopefully tell another friend or two that Palm Club is a pretty cool place to live. I told Claire that it was my pleasure to make her day a little better, and just asked her to pay it forward to someone else one day.”
Thank you Sheri for being aware of your residents, even on your own time, and for reminding us of why we should all Pay it Forward.