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Carmel Kroger employee makes every grocery trip memorable

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — The Kroger on Range Line Road in Carmel can get busy around lunch time. But even so, it’s good to stop and recognize those who go out of their way to make their customers smile.

Justin Graves, who has been working at the Kroger bagging groceries for 11 years, is just “Justin” to his loyal customers.

“I don’t even know what his last name is, it’s Justin,” said Hughie Cooper. “I wait in line to get to where he’s at.”

And Justin repays them by knowing their name.

“He hollers at me just as soon as he sees me and calls me by name,” Cooper said.

Or at least their job title.

“I’m doing just fine, fireman. Nice to see you,” he said to a group of Carmel firefighters as they walked through the grocery store.

“He’s a hoot,” Terese Mason said.

She should know. She works on the same lane as Justin every day.

“You’ll say, ‘Good morning, Justin’ and he’ll go, ‘Come here, come here’ and he’ll have to hug you,” Mason said.

“You usually hug all the women,” said one customer.

“I do, occasionally,” Just admitted.

It’s a kind of love he shows to everyone.

“Janine is my favorite cashier,” he said.

“He always says ‘You’re my favorite. No, you’re my favorite, everybody’s his favorite, which is great he’s not prejudice against people. And that’s what’s good about it, he’s real; he’s the real thing,” Mason said.

“My family would be proud of me now,” Just said.

How could they not be? Everyone who he encounters leaves with a smile.

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