INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Jan. 14, 2016)– An Indianapolis woman’s Facebook post is getting thousands of shares after she told a touching story Wednesday of an experience she had with a cashier at Target.
Today was the first day Sarah Bigler and the Target cashier, Ishmael Gilbert, have seen each other since the photo went viral.
“My Facebook page doesn’t do it justice, had I known it was going to go viral I would have tried to give it more justice,” said Bigler. But days later, the post has been shared thousands of times, proving the power of a photo.
On Tuesday, Bigler says she and her two young children went to the Target in Glendale. She says she was harried, and only popped into the store for a few things. Thinking she would be in-and-out quickly, she got in what she thought would be a short line.
“I realized that the woman in front of me was taking a quite awhile, and I realized she was paying with change,” said Bigler. “I was at first frustrated and irritated thinking of my long day and this unnecessary timeline to get home, and get the kids bathed…and then I stopped for a moment.”
Bigler said she noticed how the employee was interacting with the woman: coin by coin.
“I paused in that moment, and I’m so glad I did because I started seeing Ishmael and his treatment of this woman,” said Bigler.
Counting quarters, nickels and dimes, Target employee Ishmael Gilbert helped this woman sort out her payment without judgement.
“She kept telling me she’s sorry and I kept telling her ‘you’re fine,'” said Gilbert.
Bigler watched the interaction, but then saw her three year old daughter watching. Her frustration instantly lifted.
“I thought, this stranger, [Gilbert] is teaching something I could never teach her,” said Bigler.
She snapped a photo, posted it to Facebook, and then the image began to ripple through social media over the next few days.
“I was at home on the couch asleep, and my girlfriend called me: ‘Check Facebook, Check Facebook!'” said Gilbert, who says he immediately logged onto the social media platform where he started receiving messages from people all over the Country. “It came from having at least 200 shares, and I’ve seen 500 shares and next thing you know, it’s a thousand…thousand and thousands of shares. It’s been amazing.”
Bigler says she too has received kind messages from people as far as California and Mexico.
“It’s crazy to think how quickly it spread, but it’s good and it’s making a positive impact,” said Bigler.
While the fame is exciting, Gilbert says his treatment of that elderly woman is what he gives to all customers.
“I treat everyone with the same respect,” said Gilbert. “And I get it back in return.”
Target representatives say they typically recognize employees that have gone above and beyond. Gilbert will likely receive some kind of token of appreciation in the next week.
Read the full post here:
