On a relatively quiet Friday afternoon, our Smile Team ventured to the Massapequa 1800Flowers retail store to deliver smiles to our customers and passers-by. Since it happened to be June 21st, the first day of summer, the team created an old-fashioned Lemonade Stand in the parking lot, where they offered free cups of lemonade to anyone seeking a little refreshment.
Armed with a homemade sign and sandwich board, and with some junior Smile Team members on hand to help give out the lemonade, the team was ready to start serving. But there was a fun catch to this Lemonade Stand—anyone who came by for a drink (yes, the team actually gave out cups of lemonade) was also surprised with a truly original Make Lemonade™ bouquet!
Most people were shocked, not realizing they were getting a gorgeous bouquet for free! Especially with the kids lending a hand, almost everyone thought it was a charity event. But instead it was simply 1800Flowers delivering sweet smiles!
Smile Team member and 1800Flowers.com employee Chandra Savage recalls her favorite encounter of the day: “I told the customer ‘This is for you just because 1800Flowers wants to share a smile.’ She couldn’t believe it, until finally I told her ‘No, this is just for you!’ She then asked me to take a picture with her so we could smile together.”
Fellow Smile Team member Craig Aquino adds, “The shock on people’s faces when we pulled the arrangements out from under the lemonade stand was priceless. People were genuinely surprised to receive a free gift just for stopping by which created many impromptu smiles. These were contagious, as I couldn’t stop grinning myself.”
Even the real stars of the day, the kids who were an invaluable part of drawing people to the stand, were touched by the day’s events. “It made me feel happy,” said Cassie Tura, daughter of Smile Team member Joe Tura, “to sell lemonade, then give people flowers instead and watch them smile.”
All in all, it was a rewarding afternoon for our Smile Team. Whether it was giving out lemonade to a tired bicyclist, or handing an arrangement to a busy mother of two, “it felt good to catch everyone off guard,” said Team Leader Michael Yi. “We were sort of refreshing them in two ways.”
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