Two years ago, a fire alarm drill that happened in Sainsbury’s sent a young girl into a panic attack that completely made her frightful from coming back to the store again. The young girl and her mom, Helen Martin, lives in Cannock, north of Birmingham.
Martin said that her daughter gets easily triggered and traumatized by loud noises and alarms, especially when she’s vast and people-laden environments such as grocery stores and airports.
Martin would sometimes bring her daughter to Sainsbury’s, a popular supermarket in Britain, although they always had to proceed with caution. Nobody really knows what can happen in supermarkets. Anything can happen.
So, last Sunday, Martin and her daughter went to Sainbury’s to shop, obviously. Nobody goes to a grocery and just “hang out.” Anyway, while they were at the checkout and the cashier was going through the items that they had bought, the lights suddenly started to dim.
The store was about to close. The dimming of the lights is one of the main insinuators or signals that the store is preparing for closing and customers need to hurry up.
Martin’s daughter, however, took it as something terrible and ominous. She started having panic attack and crying. That’s when the cashier person offered the young girl to help her out in scanning the items that they bought.
The cashier, according to Martin, was attempting to distract the young girl from her anxiety by making her do something and keeping her busy.
The mother, on the other hand, was busy drying not only her daughter’s tears from the fear and anxiety she had just experienced, but also her own tears from the “gratitude and emotion” that the cashier person exemplified.
Martin was so glad and grateful that she wanted to share the heartwarming story on Facebook. Martin’s post to the Facebook wall of Sainsbury’s reads:
“Every [sic] since my daughter was little she has suffered with anxiety/panic attacks triggered by alarms/loud noises or in large environments where she is not comfortable like airports and supermarkets.
“A few years ago she was in Sainsburys when they did a fire alarm test and it completely traumatised her. It took 2 years to get her to go back into sainsburys and even now we have to ask if there are any schedule alarms before she will venture around the store.
“Today we went and did a bit of last minute shopping and as we were at the checkout they dimmed the lights to indicate the store was closing soon. Immediately she started panicking as she thought an alarm was about to go off she wanted to run and got extremely upset.
“The lady working at the checkout could see something was wrong as I was trying to comfort her to allow me enough time to pay for the shopping. I explained the problem and how the lights dimming had caused her to panic and she was just so lovely.
“She came around the checkout and asked my daughter to help her scan the shopping, coaxed her into her seat whilst we dried her tears and completely distracted her by letting her scan all the food. I cannot tell you how much this meant to me and my daughter.
“I was overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion that she managed to turn such a negative experience into such a lovely one. My Daughter actually left smiling and was so proud of herself.
I was in such a tizz I never even asked the lady's name. I thanked her but I will be going back tomorrow to ensure she gets the recognition and thanks she deserves. To me she is a Star.”
Sainsbury’s responded to Martin’s post: “Hi Helen, that's amazing feedback, I've forwarded this to management in store so the colleague can be recognized. Thanks for taking the time to pass on the praise. Faiza.”
The cashier person wasn’t properly identified. Although Martin accompanied the post with a photo to further prove and realize the story. Martin later said that she will come back to the same Sainbury’s store and ask for the person’s name next time. The woman’s name is Tina.
The person’s act of kindness should be imitated by everyone and inspire others to be more compassionate, understanding, and empathic. Hopefully, Martin’s post would go viral enough to at least do a small part or influence.
