8
votes
How have you helped someone without them knowing?
It could be a deliberate anonymous act, or simply a knock-on effect from something you did.
Whatever it is, the person didn’t know that you did something to help them, but you absolutely did.
The help can be small or big, serious or funny, meaningful or inconsequential.
Tell us all about it.
Small petty things I'm sure we all do.
If I visit a food place with coupons and I'm unlikely to use the rest of them, I like giving them to whoever is next on line. If no one else is there, I leave the booklet on a table or at the drinks stations etc. I'd like to think over the years I've reduced corporate profits a tiny amount.
Tiny Hotel bottles of shampoo etc are always taken and then donated. Moving delivered packages left outside the apartment into the lobby. Moving expired community bulletin off to the side or behind more recent ones.
I also remove MLM adverts from community bulletin boards. This one probably a little more controversial. I don't mean your Mary Kay or Tupperware ones, I mean the World Financial Group or Primerica types if their ads are deceptive looking. Speaking of controversial...
I've recently tipped American products upsidedown at grocery stores. Don't want fellow Canadians inadvertently buying some without knowing. Similarly, one time the product sign says made in Canada when the product labels themselves on the fruit (?) says USA. I took a pen and crossed out the misinformation. You're welcome.
I also left a truthful poor reviews on Google for deceptive practices at a big chain grocery store: they don't change expired sale signs so you get charged more at the till unless you pay close attention, let them know, call another guy to verify price tag, and wait for their manager to saunter over for override correction. I wrote corporate first but they didn't care. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times plus letter to HQ ignored is enemy action.
A couple of months ago, I was boarding a short domestic flight. As I near my assigned seat, I noticed that sitting next to it was a dad taking care of two small child with the mom on the opposite row. It quickly dawned on me that my seat on the aisle would split them right in the middle. With that in mind, I walked past them to the stewardess at the back of the plane and explained the situation. It was a half empty flight so it was a non issue to move me a couple of rows back.
I like to think that this small act resulted in positive karma as I had to take a couple of long distance flights recently and luckily found empty seats next to me for all of them.