Target Mike? He's The Real Deal

Posts on Facebook go viral everyday.

Whether it is a funny caption, weird videos and uplifting videos, they attract attention – good and bad.

So I wasn’t too surprised when I saw people commenting on a Facebook post about a Target employee. Some people were saying it was a fake story. Others said they saw a similar post on a Walmart Facebook page.

But when I was Black Friday shopping at Target for movie deals, I had a similar encounter with a man named Mike Noonan. He was my checker as I purchased several DVDs.

He scanned the first few Harry Potter movies. He said nothing.

But when he scanned my $6 copy of Bridesmaids, he couldn’t help it.

“You need to get a life,” Mike told me with a big smile on his face.

I started chuckling. It’s true. Bridesmaids isn’t a movie that screams “has a great choice in movies.”

But Mike did approve of my purchases of Snow White and the Huntsman and Eclipse.

It might seem a little bit silly, but knowing that it was THE Mike who was my checker, it made my day. In the bustle and hustle of shopping and cranky customers on Black Friday, Mike remained cheerful, upbeat and joked with customers.

Here’s the original post on Facebook from a woman named Kyra Malueg. The post has received nearly 300 comments and over 5,000 likes on Facebook:

I would like to share an experience I had this afternoon at your store on Sunset Drive in Waukesha WI. There is a young Down Syndrome man, Mike, who helped me with my transaction and I have got to say that I was really impressed with him. He made a few mistakes and I was touched as another few cashiers were very quick to help him with his question. Once we were back on track and he was ringing out my transaction he said "I have 33 minutes left until my lunch, I can't wait because all my new friends sit with me, I didn't have very many friends before." He was hands down the best cashier I have encountered at your store, and it's not because he has downs syndrome, it's because he was focused on helping me get what I needed and was asking me questions about how my day was going and really listened, he was very considerate and kind asking me if I wanted certain items together or separately. Little things like that make my shopping experience that much better. Before I left I made it a point to stop a manager walking by and tell him that, because of Mike on lane 8, I was leaving the happiest i've ever left that store!

The Facebook post has prompted other people to share their stories about Mike. John Boggio shared his comments here:

I live within walking distance of this target and only went there on occasion to get things as I was never happy with service. I happend to see Mike on a trip, I have an older brother who has downs, so I immediately went to his lane and was treated the best I have been treated as a customer since I was a young child. Mike is by far and away the best cahsier in the store because he gets the idea that his job is to provide customer service not to talk about his date last night with the other cashier or to just take up space. The manager who hired Mike, the person who trained mike and most importantly Mike parents should lauded as well! Mike Is awesome and even if his line is long I will oly go there and use his lane.

As for Mike? A woman who said she was his mother also chimed in. Shannon Noonan wrote this:

Thanks to all of you from Mike's number 1 fan---his Mom. All of your kindness is so greatly appreciated! The biggest thanks goes to Target. Hiring people with special needs is a big risk that they take in a world of business that doesn't leave a lot of room for risk. Please thank them with your patronage. And say to Mike for me when you see him!!! thank you thank you thank you!