A mother named Emma went shopping at a Tesco grocery store in Norfolk, England, back in 2016
Emma spotted an aisle with no line, so she walked over with her groceries and started laying items on the conveyor belt.
"The guy on the till said hello and started scanning my items as I was still putting them on the belt the other end," she said. "You can imagine the pile of stuff that was waiting for me when I went to go pack."
Emma says the cashier, Rob, repeatedly counted out her shopping bags, squashed her loaf of bread and recounted her change multiple times.
Based on his behavior and her own knowledge, Emma could tell Rob had autism.
When Emma returned home, she took to Facebook and posted about her experience on Tesco's public profile. This way, everyone at Rob's company would know about it, including his boss.
More from LittleThings: Mom Thinks Giant Blister On Baby's Face Is Ringworm Until She Picks Up Pacifier In Crib
But trust me, this is not the negative type of rant many people expected to find.
Emma hopes this story will remind people to be patient with others and not be so quick to judge them.
[H/T: Facebook / Emma Shawcross]
In September 2016, a usual trip to the grocery store took an unexpected turn for a mother from the UK.
Emma went home and shared her experience on Facebook, where it quickly went viral.
I want to tell you about my experience at your Diss store today.
When I got to the till with my large trolley of shopping there was no queue, so I started putting my items straight onto the conveyer belt.
The guy on the till said hello and started scanning my items as I was still putting them on the belt the other end.
You can imagine the pile of stuff that was waiting for me when I went to go pack.
When I asked him for 5 bags he counted each one, then recounted them a further 2 times before handing them over to me.
Emma looked at the items as they slid across the conveyer belt and expected to see her loaf of bread kept in perfect condition.
The guy didn’t really talk to me, he squashed my bread when he scanned it but I waited patiently whilst he took his time, especially when trying to scan the awkward items.
By the time I went to pay I had already worked it out, so I counted out my money with him, which he obviously recounted and then counted my change out two times.
But you know every moment of that was just perfect.
I asked him how he was finding the job and he chatted a bit about his experience of Tesco and how they had given him an opportunity many other employers hadn't.
This is Emma's 12-year-old son, Ethan. Emma continued:
See this guy is Autistic. As a mother of a 12 year Autistic boy this makes my heart smile. Changing attitudes teamed with employers, like you, who really do offer equal opportunities are a changing people’s lives.
So thank you Tesco, it was a pleasure shopping with you today.
Emma spoke to LittleThings with a touching addition to the story: "I'm partially deaf too, so we love positive disability stories in this house. Jo is the manger of the store and said she employed him because of him great performance at the interview. He's a really popular member of the staff. It's a small town, so most people know him."
Emma hopes to show employers that disability should not be a barrier to employment.
Everyone has skills to offer. Please SHARE this with your friends on Facebook if you agree!
