Kroger employee goes viral after good deed

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local supermarket employee is getting recognized for going above and beyond.

On Sunday, a shopper at the Kroger Supermarket at 65th Street and Keystone Avenue snapped a picture of an employee helping a blind man shop.

“Truly, I do anything to help people,” said Colin Coleman, the employee in the photo. “They (visually impaired people) usually don’t particularly want people helping them, but I wanted to help him anyway.”

The interaction happened during Sunday’s snow storm.

Coleman has worked at the Kroger for a year. His job is to bag groceries, clean, push carts and stock. But yesterday even his boss says he went above beyond.

“It’s something that he does all the time, not just yesterday. But he’s always taking care of the customer,” said Andrew Fair, the store’s general manager.

“[It’s] real customer service, I think,” said Ashlee Fujawa, who witnessed Coleman’s kind act and posted the picture to Facebook. “Beyond that, it’s just person-to-person connection. You see someone in need and you can fill that need. How wonderful [it would be] if we all started to do that.”

Colin’s even plowed the parking lot yesterday, when all he was asked to do was retrieve carts, his manager said.

“Basically anything that has to be done, I do it,” Coleman said.

To acknowledge what Coleman did for the blind customer, Fair presented him with a customer service award Monday. The award is usually reserved for entire department. Coleman is the first individual to be presented with it.

“I wish I had 125 Colins doing the exact same thing because that’s what it’s all about; it’s all about the customer. We wouldn’t be here if weren’t for them,” Fair said.