Getting something for lunch is a problem where I work so I usually skip out on it. Contractors eat on the run, and only bad food comes at you fast. But a break in the action leads me to Publix, where I can get a salad to go in a few minutes.

But the woman in front of me is chatty with the cashier, and this might take a while. I stop and notice what the customer is saying. The cashier is wearing tiny diamonds as earrings, and the customer is fascinated. The cashier is glowing under the light that a customer is treating her well, and the two point five minutes this costs me will not go to waste, I think.

“She’s right. Those earrings are perfect. They look like stars,” I tell her.

The cashier is amazed. Two nice people in a row. She beams. This is the best day ever.

Now imagine what the world would be like if we only took the time to do this in every interaction with those people behind the counters.