"At my current store, we have a repeat customer who never fails to cause some kind of problem, some of which take hours to disentangle. He came in the other day when just my manager and I were on the floor, and my manager clearly wanted an 'out' from interacting with the customer -- so I took the initiative and told my manager I had it covered. As we've come to expect, the customer had a problem that took a couple of hours to resolve to his satisfaction, but my manager's relief and appreciation made the headache worth it."

"A few months ago, a customer from out of town came into our store because she needed an outfit for a funeral -- she was in town visiting family when unexpected tragedy struck. The customer was obviously distraught and needed special attention. I went to the neighboring coffee shop and bought the customer a tea, took her to a comfortable area of the store, and, with her consent, went through the store and grabbed a few items that I thought would be appropriate for her needs. She was so grateful to not have to shop or try on several items to find the right thing -- I was able to find her a dress that worked well for the ceremony, and she gave me her credit card so that I could complete her transaction while she remained in the fitting room area to be alone and gather herself. It was a hard day, but it was a really rewarding experience."