On Monday, Raleigh, N.C., teen Yasir Moore ran into his local Target in a rush. He had an upcoming job interview at a Chick-fil-A restaurant, and he needed a tie. He was already dressed in his suit, and since he didn’t know how to tie a regular tie, he asked Target employees Cathy Scott and Dennis Roberts for a clip-on one, according to ABC 11.
Scott and Roberts asked why he needed it. Moore told them about his interview, and they jumped at the chance to help. They not only gave Moore a tie but also went over interview questions with him while they tied his tie. They showed him how to tuck it in his pants when he buttoned his suit jacket, and even helped him practice how to deliver a firm handshake. As Moore was leaving the store, the Target employees cheered and clapped for him.
"I could see that they were down on their knees, helping him," Burnita Matthews, who witnessed their kindness, told WILX. "They were telling him, 'You can do this, you can get this job. You just do what we told you, and you look sharp.' They told him he looked sharp, and he did. It really touched my heart."
Another shopper, Audrey Mark, who witnessed the exchange, snapped a photo and described the scene, and her social media post went viral. "I got so emotional. I got teary," Mark told the news station.
Moore said he was shocked to learn that a photo of the event had gone viral, and on Tuesday the teen returned to the Target store with his mom to give hugs and thanks to all those who offered him encouragement.
"You usually see friends or family help you do that kind of stuff, not just strangers you've never met before," the teen told ABC 11. He added that the kind gestures gave him his "confidence back."
"They could have just sold my son a tie," Najirah Parrish, Moore's mom, told ABC. "But they took the time, helped him tie the tie and talked to him. They treated my son with dignity, respect."
The news station noted that an excited Moore added that he had made it to a second round of interviews with Chick-fil-A.