I have no trouble expressing complaints to people and companies when I have a bad experience, so i make sure to do the same when things go really well. I was at Ikea last week and wanted to drop my kids off in the play area while I shopped. There was only one employee in there so they could only take 6 kids and were already at capacity. Another employee in the lobby heard that, and got permission to go in and work the play area so they could take my 4 kids. It made a HUGE difference in my ability to get my shopping done, so I made sure to let the Ikea manager know that.

I was in Macy's one time, looking for a skirt for Daughter #2. It had to be black, and it had to fit her - three salespeople totally ignored me, and then there was the one who was picking up clothing off the floor, putting it back on hangers and she asked if I needed help. I told her what I was looking for, and what size, and she walked with me over to the kids' section and we found 3 skirts, all which would have done well, but she saw one had a tear and the other was missing a button. I took the one that remained, she rang me up, was totally pleasent the whole time. So I asked to see her manager. A look of panic came over her face, and I told her "you did nothing wrong and were so helpful, I wanted to thank your manager for hiring you." The look on her face was priceless, as was the one on the manager's face. She told me it was so "rare to hear compliments" about the salespeople. I told her there were 2 others I could have complained about who ignored me, but I felt it would serve a better purpose to compliment the one who did.

I have always believed in the praise in public and curse in private. If I have a problem with an employee -- I generally take it to them. If I like their service, I'll let their boss know.

Not done by me, but done to me, day before yesterday: We had just taken our seats at youngest daughter's orchestra concert late Saturday afternoon, when a lady walked on stage with a microphone. She said that such and such car with such and such license plate had a flat tire. You know that feeling of relief you get when the car described isn't yours? We didn't have that feeling. Sure enough, the tire was flat. The problem was fixed within half an hour through a phone call to our insurance company, and while I missed the first set waiting outside, I got to hear the rest of the show.

Getting in the car after the concert, the owner of the car next to ours told me he was the one who'd reported our flat. I thanked him -- he didn't have to say anything, but he did, and that allowed us to take care of the problem while it was still light, and we wound up having enough time later to go to Pep Boys and have the tire fixed that evening.

About a week ago I left a note on a colleague's desk. It just said "you are amazing". I know it's cornier than my grandma's feet, but I'm not always the greatest communicator. She has experienced some pretty significant life-changes lately, and I felt terrible listening to her cry in her office several times per week and having no idea what I could do for her, and whether I should even offer.

Last night, something happened that made me realize I'm the biggest fuck-tard that's ever walked the face of the earth. Came into work this morning and she had left a really nice note for me. It lifted my spirits and gave me hope that even though I did something incredibly, incredibly, stupid that resulted in so much pain, I'm not necessarily a lost cause.

Anyway, these just reminded me that simple little gestures can really make a world of difference in a person's outlook.