Retail worker Mela Cayatineto smiled at customers, rang them up and answered their questions.
The store was packed.
But just after 5:30 p.m., something happened that brought tears to Cayatineto’s eyes.
Suddenly, everyone stopped what they were doing, and began to sing to Cayatineto.
About 35 people starting singing “Jingle Bells,” then “Joy to the World” and then “We Wish you a Merry Christmas.”
She started to cry.
“Wow, that was really awesome. That was so sweet,” she said.
And when they were done singing, they all rushed to hug Cayatineto.
“Mel is an amazing lady that works so hard for everyone else. We wanted to give back and spread some Christmas cheer,” said Natalie Hager, one of the organizers of the event.
The group of singers, mostly from the Lighthouse Baptist Church, even practiced for the big day, and kept in touch by personally messaging each other on Facebook and through text messaged, in order to keep the flash mob singing event a secret.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this,” Debbie McHenry said, referring to singing in a flash mob.
She said she knew it was the right thing to do and the best way to get a large group of people into the Christmas spirit, even shoppers and those that work in retail.
“Everyone who has ever worked retail during the holidays knows how stressful it can be. The hours, the complaints and the disgruntled customers,” McHenry said.
McHenry was hoping the flash mob would help lighten the mood for Cayatineto.
“It was so amazing,” Cayatineto said. “I was totally speechless.”
Being stressed out, McHenry said, shouldn’t be an option.
“Why should we get stressed? This is the best time of the year,” she said.
Cayatineto said she had no idea her friends and members of her church were planning the flash mob singing, but she did notice there were quite a few church members milling about the store, prior to the big sing in.
“It was so awesome. They went out of their way to do this for me. That just melted my heart,” she said.
In fact, many had a hard time containing their own tears when Cayatineto started to cry.
“I felt like the Grinch,” Cayatineto laughed. “My heart grew two sizes last night.”
Cayatineto said she has had difficult time recently, but her church members have always been there for her.
Here job hasn’t been a walk in the park either. Even though it has been busy, the computer system went down on the day after Thanksgiving, the busiest shopping day of the year.
“It’s been a struggle,” she said.
After a few more tears and some hugs, Cayatineto was back to work, ringing up customers. But she had a big smile on her face, a smile that spread to all her customers.