Tue, October 06, 2009 - 7:52:50

NICE is Infectious

With cold and flu season upon us, “infectious” isn’t exactly the kind of word most people want to hear right now, but there’s one way in which it’s still good to be contagious: by passing along a smile and a kind word.  By setting a friendly example through small gestures like holding the door, saying please and thank-you, and smiling at one another, we believe we can all help spread the NICE bug from person to person until we’ve created a nicer universe.

Don’t believe us?  Well, Today Show correspondent Mike Leonard didn’t have to look far to prove us right.  In fact, all he had to do was walk across the street:

At Grand Food Center, Leonard’s neighborhood supermarket, kindness isn’t a company mandate, but it’s something that has helped to distinguish the store from its local competitors.  With friendly staffers who greet every visitor by name and treat each other with respect, customers often remark that completing their weekly shopping chore actually brightens their day.  And customers have just one person to thank: the man who first planted the seeds of positivity at Grand Food Center over two decades ago.

Ed Embers’ friendly way with customers has kept them coming back to his deli counter at Grand Foods year after year.  But his polite demeanor hasn’t just helped the store stay in business during tough economic times; it’s actually played an integral role in fostering the market’s purveying atmosphere of congeniality.  Little by little, other employees have learned by his example and followed his lead.  And now, the diverse assortment of individuals who make up Grand Food Center are showing just how easy it is for people from all walks of life to be civil with one another.

As Embers aptly explains to his customer and NBC correspondent Mike Leonard, the simple act of being nice has universal benefits. “No matter who you are, if you can make another person’s day better, it makes you feel better.” Or, in the words of his coworker, “When you give out love, it comes back.”

Posted by Linda and Robin