Above and Beyond the Flowers

Above & Beyond Flowers

by JOEY MARCADES

All across The United Family, team members work to meet the needs of guests each day. Sometimes, meeting those needs is easy. Other times, it takes a commitment to going above and beyond.

No matter how difficult it is, each time a team member goes out of their way to help a guest, it creates guests for life. And, more importantly, it creates a sense of community.

Earlier this year, Cody Dunson, store director for #520 in Graham, went out of his way to help a guest honor her friend at a funeral with some flowers.

“I do remember that day, a woman from out-of-town called and was desperate for some help with some last-minute flowers for a friend’s funeral,” Dunson said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a floral department at our store here in Graham, but we did have couple of items. And, as soon as I looked at my floral table, I knew deep down that my selection was limited, especially for a funeral bouquet.”

After sending the guest some photos, it turned out the plants Dunson had in store weren’t exactly what she was looking for. Even though Dunson didn’t have the right kind of flowers in his store, he said he didn’t want to let this guest down — he could tell how much this meant to her.

“So, I made some calls around town and nowhere was really open — I even called the local hospital giftshop,” Dunson said. “Eventually, I offered to made a quick run over to another retailer that had some selection. I sent photos of what they had to the guest.”

Sure enough, he said the guest was able to pick out something she liked. Dunson bought the flowers and went to work fixing them up. When he was finished, he sent her a photo of the finished product and she was blown away. After helping her get a card to go along with the flower arrangement, Dunson delivered the flowers to the funeral home in time for the visitation — all at no cost. The guest said she felt like it was a “God thing.”

Sidney Hopper, president of The United Family, said the guest was so thankful she eventually got to his phone to brag on Dunson.

“When she was talking to me, she was almost in tears,” Hopper said. “She said in this day and age, that doesn’t hardly ever happen where someone will go out of their way to help. The thing about it that was even more impressive is this call was the first time I heard about it. Cody didn’t tell anyone about this — he just did it because it was the right thing to do.”

At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Doing the right thing for those in the community whether it’s a guest or a fellow team member.

“I went out of my way because, to me, that is what United’s culture is all about,” Dunson said. “It’s about impacting someone’s life in a positive way, especially with what this particular guest was going through that day. I was so glad this guest felt like I went above and beyond but really, at the end of the day, I was just doing my job.”