Please let me in!

Everyone, please say "hello" to Oscar.

This is Oscar, he's a secruity guard at my local Trader Joes and here's what he did for me.

It's the holidays and it's busy. Here's everything I'm tried to do after 6 pm tonight: I'm trying to wrap everything up at work so I can have the most restful vacation possible. I'm not the best holiday shopper so I still have to purchase gifts and return a couple of extra gifts I bought in search of the best bargains. Plus, my wonderful friend Brandi hosted a get together at her place because so many camp friends are in town for the holidays. Quality time with these folks reminded me how lucky I am to continually be surrounded by such incredible individuals.

And being that I'm returning home to the islands I also had add a run to Trader Joes on my list to stock up on all the TJ goodies my family loves. This is where Oscar comes in.

I'm a firm believer that there's always time for the most important things in life. Tonight I really believed that Trader Joes had to be one of those things. Oscar helped me. After leaving the get together without rushing goodbyes, I jumped in my car, looked at the clock and knew I had exactly 9 minutes before TJs closed. Two miles away and according to my Garmin I'd arrive at 9:58...9:59. I didn't risk my life or anyone elses but I really did hope I'd make it.

Just as Garmin told me, I arrived to the Trader Joes parking lot at exactly 9:59 pm. I saw another couple running towards the door so I thought I'd join the crowd and do a quick jog myself. The lights were on, the door was open, and Oscar was standing right there. Right as I got to the door he joked by pretending to close the door, but quickly followed by welcoming me in with a smile. "You just made it!" he said. "Thank you!" I exclaimed. "I have a flight tomorrow and a list of things to bring home! You have no idea how much this means to me."

Because I was "one of those people," I did some quick damage in Trader Joes, then thanked every employee that helped me. As I exited, I thanked Oscar again.

Here's what I appreciate most about this situation and Trader Joes in general. Trader Joes employees are very friendly and seem to genuinely enjoy their job. Oscar, whether a direct employee of Trader Joes or not, not only let me in when he could have closed the door in front of me, but we welcomed me in with a smile. Every other employee I interacted with while shopping was equally as friendly. Not once did I feel that I was being scorned for being "that person" that walked in the door just as they were closing. And, I've noticed it before, Trader Joes doesn't make those announcements that say, "Attention shoppers, it is now 9:45 pm and Trader Joes will be closing in 15 minutes. Please bring your items to the register to make your final purchases..." Then "Attention shoppers, it is now 9:50 pm..."

During a busy holiday season where it would be very easy for any employee to close the doors exactly on the hour or scorn the late shopper, Oscar and the staff at Trader Joes on Sepulveda would have none of that. Thank you Oscar and fellow employees, 365 Days of Service appreciates your welcoming shoppers with a smile!