For a young woman not quite eighteen, Britny Davis has exceptional customer service skills. 

When I stopped at Carl’s Jr on Yucaipa Boulevard, I wanted something quick, so I thought I’d try their lettuce-wrapped hamburger. It was around nine at night and I’d been running errands in the heat. I felt hungry, irritable and in no mood to be nice.

Britny greeted me with a smile and chatted with such pleasant courtesy that I couldn’t help but thaw. Store manager Aurelio Flores stresses customer service, and indeed, the night I stopped, the other employees—shift leader Oscar Banderas and cashier Robert Hernandez—were pleasant as well.

During my meal, Britny checked to see if I and the other seated customers needed anything further. I seldom see that consideration in a fast-food restaurant. 

“To me, she said, “good customer service means greeting people with a smile, making them feel at home, and doing whatever I can to see their needs are met.”

Britny told me that while she'd added to her skills during her year at Carl’s, Jr, she had learned most of her values at home from her mother, Tam-Marie, and grandmother, Brenda. They stressed the desire to be helpful to others, and that desire has extended to Britny’s career choice. 

Four days after graduating from Yucaipa High, she began the first of the prerequisite courses at Crafton Hills College she’ll need for a nursing profession. Once she attains her associates degree, she hopes to be accepted at San Bernardino Valley College, where, once past the two-year waiting list, she wants to specialize in neonatal care, to the first 28 days of life. Growing up in a blended family of six half-brothers and sisters, she became interested in newborn care after her younger sister was born prematurely and spent nine days in the neonatal intensive care. Britny watched the nurses care for her sister as she struggled to live and decided that was what she wanted to do.

I’m sure Britny will attain her goals. Her compassion and dedication are perfect qualities to bring to the nursing profession, and especially to a baby during its first days of life.