AGAWAM — Olive oil spray, chicken pie, lobster dip, Earl Grey tea — Joan O’Neil was wrapping up a visit to her local Stop and Shop in Feeding Hills on the evening of Jan. 5 when her card was declined.
But then, the Agawam resident received an unexpected helping hand from a fellow customer.
“I’ll pay it,” said a fellow customer, a middle-aged woman who said her name was Karen, according to O’Neil. She paid for the rest of O’Neil’s groceries with a credit card.
O’Neil, who expected to spend no more than $280, learned she was $133 over.
“I said it was nice for her to do that,” said O’Neil, who added she is financially distressed. “People don’t do that anymore.”
She said, “I could see if I was like $28 over or something like that, but at $130 — I was overwhelmed.”
The two talked for between 10 and 15 minutes before Karen left. While O’Neil offered to repay her, she said the woman refused.
“I was amazed because this is the second time that this has happened to me,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil said that at Geissler’s supermarket about three months ago, she received help for a bill that she was $80 over from a woman behind her.
Requests for comment from representatives at Stop and Shop and Geissler’s supermarkets were unsuccessful.
“I’m just amazed that there are still people out there that do this stuff,” she said.
