I live in the United States, and the subway is a common mode of transportation here. It was Friday, and sometime around 3 pm, I got a call from my colleague saying I needed to be at the office for a quick thing, and it had to get out of the way that very same day. Like any person, I felt a bit despondent because it was already pretty late in the day and going to the office meant that I had to get out of my cosy space at home.
I reached the train station and bought the tickets at the vending machine. Now the place where I stay has a lot of shopping malls and outlet stores so I’d see people carrying a lot of shopping bags all the time. I saw a Mexican lady with her daughter, carrying plenty of shopping bags and struggling to buy tickets. I thought it was probably her first time, and maybe she needed some assistance. I was getting late already, and the next train was 15 mins later, but I felt that helping her at that moment was more important than catching the train that was to leave in a couple of minutes
I went up to her and offered to help, which she readily accepted. I took her card to do the transaction and showed her how it worked. When the machine asked for the pin, she entered it quickly because that was the only step she had missed and had been trying to do for a very long time. When the amount owed came up, she quickly clicked the confirmation screen and was finally relieved!
The lady spoke to me and thanked me for my help; apparently, even though other people had seen her struggling, they had walked by, and she didn’t have the guts to ask for help.
This was probably the best thing that happened to me on a Friday, and I’m glad I could help.
Takeaway
Understand their discomfort and help those who have a tough time asking for help.
~ Satyam