7-Eleven

This review is mainly about an employee whose help I really appreciated.
I normally don’t visit this location because of the small the parking lot. Stores with small parking lots or difficult parking really turn me off, but tonight I stopped by this one because it was closest to the Taco Bell I wanted to go to. I went there at around 7:15 with a friend to pick up a few things. I drove my dad’s truck because I didn’t feel like backing my mom’s truck out of the driveway to get to my own, and I hate driving her truck because I feel like I’m on the magic school bus. I parked the truck but realized that I needed to find my phone. I looked for it and couldn’t find it, but then I noticed that the woman parked next to me was staring at me impatiently because she wanted to back out of her parking spot. I closed the door, stepped onto the sidewalk, let her pull out and went back to looking for my phone. I found it and went inside the store.
I grabbed what I needed (bread and chocolate milk), and headed to the register. Check-​out was about as quick and easy as it can get at a 7-​Eleven. I mentioned that I was hungry. The girl who checked me out mentioned some special they had going on with their hot dogs. I told her no thanks and that I was actually going to grab something to eat once I left there.
My friend and I went outside and I realized I didn’t have the key to the truck. I checked my key ring and it was gone. I looked inside the truck, at the area surrounding it, and saw nothing. I went back inside the store and retraced my steps. Nothing. I checked my coat pockets, my pants pockets, my wallet (I was desperate), but to no avail. I asked the girl who checked me out if I had left the key on the front counter. She said no.
I went back outside and looked in the truck again to see if by chance, the key fell off of my key ring and was still in the ignition. Nothing. I called my mom about 1,000 times because I was trying to avoid talking to my dad at all costs. She didn’t answer so I had no choice but to call him. Of course he said what I expected him to say: «I DON’T HAVE ANOTHER KEY.» My friend and I began searching the floors again, behind the seats, etc. We did this for about 20 minutes but found nothing. I went back into the store a couple of times to retrace my steps again. No luck.
We were searching so long that I ran into my cousin and she offered to help look. Even she couldn’t help us. I called my dad and told him that I couldn’t find it. I told him I knew he didn’t have another key and that I looked for it but to no avail. He said «Okay» before hanging up. Ha. That’s code for «I’m on my way.» He drove up to the 7-​Eleven and looked inside of the truck himself and at the surrounding area. He also went into the store to look. Nada.
I was about to give up when the girl who checked me out came outside and held the key up. She said it was inside of some candy basket or bin. I was so grateful. We were about to leave and then my friend said «That was really nice of her. I feel like we should go thank her and give her $ 1 or something.» We went inside and my friend handed $ 2 to the guy at the front counter and asked him to give it to the girl who helped us. He said something like «Aww, so nice,» and smiled. I saw the girl over by the ice cream. We went over there to thank her and she said it wasn’t a problem. She said she had looked over by the drinks and the bread where we were and couldn’t find it, and she took it upon herself check the front counter and the bins next to and under it. I’m sure she’s required to complete many tasks as an associate there, but «finding lost keys for customers» is not one of them, so I definitely appreciate her help. I forgot to get her name, but I’m going to write to the company, give them the store number, date, time, etc., and ask that they recognize her for what she has done.
Oh yeah, another funny tidbit of information: I offered to give my cousin a ride home and she said she’d be fine because we probably couldn’t fit in the truck together. My dad yelled «You can fit at least three people in that truck» before he proceeded to drive off in his empty mustang which can seat at least four people. Would anyone care to guess how my cousin got home? Not in that mustang.
Moral (s) of the story:
— Don’t be lazy
— Either drive your mom’s car or your own
— Don’t put keys on key chains that are loose
— Stop being cheap and buy spare keys
— Don’t expect your dad to offer anyone a ride home in his empty four passenger car
And most importantly:
— 7-​Eleven has amazing employees