It was cold and dark on the early September night that we found ourselves craving hot chocolate and baked goods. So we steered into a Dunkin Donuts for something good to enjoy on our last night of vacation.

As the door swung closed behind us, the young man behind the counter asked if we had come for the Dunkin’s.

They were closed.

Evidently people didn’t show up for their evening shift and the place had closed hours earlier. But it was our lucky day. The young man, Cody, had a box full of donuts we could choose from for free and he could make coffee.

We were each overjoyed to pick out a donut as he told us that we should never believe anyone that says you have to pay for good customer service or that you don’t deserve it at all. He made coffee, made sure I knew the Diet Coke I was buying was cheaper if j purchased two and even fetched napkins for us from across the room.

Turns out, our new friend Cody has the soul of a philosopher and the wisdom of someone twice his age. He should be an inspirational speaker or a corporate trainer.

He was so serious when he asked if we had ever heard of the CITE Virus. “There’s a terrible virus in the world of retail. It’s called the CITE Virus: the Customer Is The Enemy,” he said. “You come in and you’re having a bad day so you ruin my day. I don’t even know you but you’ve ruined my day. Then I ruin some other stranger’s day. Instead of teaching us how to cope with negative people, they encourage us to just move everyone through as quickly as possible. Never mind if we do it well or badly,” he said.

“I’m paid to stand here whether I’m doing anything or not. Why wouldn’t I want to spend that time helping people?”

It was the most refreshing thing I had heard in a long time.

He also talked about why you shouldn’t judge others for what they don’t know. “Not everyone is on the same journey you’re on. You can’t judge them for not knowing what they don’t know. All you can do is try to bring them along in all the ways you can.”

I believe this is when I began thinking of him as a philosopher.

I would have stayed and chatted with Cody for hours because he was fascinating. He was also proud of his town and glad to share tips for things to do.

Here’s a final thought from Cody. “We wake up each day knowing the world is full of idiots and yet we’re surprised when we encounter one. Don’t let them ruin your day. Just let them roll off you like water.”

The world is full of idiots. Let them roll off like water. Indeed.

The world needs more people like Cody and we certainly need more people like him in the workforce. It was all I could to not ask if he wanted to be a banker in southern Ohio!