Everyone has those days. Days where it feels like the world is against you and nothing seems to go your way.
One woman was going through one such day when she decided to buy a drink from ZUS Coffee, a Malaysian coffee chain.
Due to recent work struggles, she was trying hard to keep it together while placing her order.
To her surprise, she received a handwritten note of encouragement from the barista as she collected her coffee.
The unexpected message touched her and she could no longer hold back her tears.
In a post on Xiaohongshu, a woman named Rachel recounted a recent heartwarming exchange she had at a ZUS Coffee outlet.
Source: ZUS Coffee, for illustration purposes only
After completing a particularly difficult project for a client, she decided to get some coffee to reward herself.
As she was placing her order, she received the final straw in the form of a berating message from the client.
“As I put down my phone while waiting for my number to be called, my eyes had already welled up with tears,” Rachel recalled.
Her heightened emotions at the time were accumulated from months of hard work, where she had put in extra hours just to ensure the project could be completed on schedule.
Despite her best efforts, she felt that she still could not get the basic degree of respect from the client until the end.
In order to hold back her tears, Rachel kept reminding herself that it is inappropriate for an adult to cry in public.
However, the floodgates opened the moment she received an uplifting note on the napkin accompanying her order.
It read, “I’m sorry you have a bad day today. Please have a good sleep tonight. Bye!”
There was also the phrase “love yourself” and two hearts scribbled on the upper right corner.
Source: Xiaohongshu
While Rachel had not expected the staff to notice her emotional state, the simple gesture broke down her walls and warmed her heart deeply.
The carrier bag also contained a short but endearing message: “Have nice night with loved one (sic)!”
Source: Xiaohongshu
To end her caption, Rachel gave her top three picks from ZUS Coffee.
Rachel’s post struck a chord with netizens, many of whom were as inspired by the barista’s deed as they were empathetic towards her.
The post even caught the attention of the official ZUS Coffee page on Xiaohongshu.
Apart from giving her a virtual hug, it told her that there will always be sunshine after the rain.
Fellow users were pleasantly surprised to see ZUS Coffee in the comments, with one exclaiming that it was the official page itself.
Another reply said that they had only known ZUS Coffee for being tasty, but never for how kind they are.
Source: Xiaohongshu
Another user said they were very moved by Rachel’s post and decided to get ZUS Coffee next time.
Rachel responded by reiterating how grateful she was for the barista’s kind gesture.
ZUS Coffee, meanwhile, re-emerged with a coy comment that said, “Do you mean it when you said you’re buying it?”
On another note, a user gave extra words of comfort to Rachel, telling her to not expect respect from others in work and words.
“Don’t let cold words get to you… all we have to do is focus on solving the problem,” they said.
They added that work is just work and urged her not to let things that are outside of her control affect her emotions.
Lastly, they wished for Rachel to be happy every day and to keep up the good work.
Source: Xiaohongshu
Encounters like this remind us once again that a simple gesture can make such a big impact on others.
Although we don’t always need to go out of our way to be kind to strangers, we can emulate the ZUS Coffee barista’s actions by doing small deeds for the ones around us, be it a colleague, a friend, or a relative.
Chances are, it will mean more to them than you can ever imagine.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Xiaohongshu and ZUS Coffee, for illustration purposes only.
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