My mom and I decided to eat at Jollibee - One Mercedes Avenue after a grueling hour at the local market today. I was really starving and couldn’t care less if I had to stand in line. I usually don’t listen and just order away but this service crew caught my attention. Her name is Jhaz Bormate. She greeted me with an eager smile and her exceptionally SMILING EYES – a sincere gesture I don’t really see in people who should be working in the line of customer service. After paying for my order, I did not even bother to count my change and went straight to the table where my mom was sitting. After a minute, I got up and washed my hands. While I was doing so, I was surprised to see Miss Bormate standing behind me holding a P100 bill. She handed me the money and with all apologies, she said “kulang po ng P100 yung change nyo kanina.” There were more than 50 people in the store and seeing how I mindlessly put the change in my pocket, she could’ve just kept the money. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, she left her post at the counter and looked for me in the crowd just so she can give back what she owed.

Once in a while, you come across strangers who prove to be worthy of a commendation and this young lady is one of them. Trustworthiness is rare these days. Let’s face it, most people would think twice before they do a random act of kindness such as this one. It’s only a small amount but voluntarily giving it back helped her earn so much of my RESPECT.

No matter how crooked the world may seem to be, there’s still a handful of GOOD people out there. And I take my hat off to people like Miss Bormate who value honesty and exemplify INTEGRITY.

Raise the roof, Jhaz. I hope someday, you’ll be able to spread your wings and fly higher. You deserve it.