Receptionist Receives Surprising Gift from Client as a Thank You

Internet user Maria Esther Rabelo works at a government agency. Some time ago, a coworker helped an elderly lady resolve a problem. What they didn’t expect was that, days later, the same woman would return. However, this time she didn’t come to ask for help with another problem, but to express her gratitude. Her thank you came in the form of a surprising gift.Finding the gift amazing, Maria recorded the bird—delivered in a bucket—and shared the video on her TikTok profile on May 26 with the caption: “The most unexpected gift of my life.” The post garnered over 3 million views.

In an interview with Amo Meu Pet (our Brazilian website about pet news), Maria shared that she works at the front desk of the Civil Court in the Comarca of Goiás, Brazil. One day, a woman with no legal knowledge showed up, unsure of what to do.

This woman needed help with a legal case, and Luciene, Maria's colleague and friend, provided her with all the support she needed.

“Luciene showed her how to proceed and referred her to the Public Defender’s Office so she could receive better support. That was the help my friend offered,” said Maria.

Following Luciene’s guidance, the woman went to the office and finally resolved her problem.

Two weeks later, she returned to the Civil Court—this time, carrying a bucket.

She asked one of the security guards to call Luciene to the entrance. However, due to the constant flow of people being assisted, her colleagues didn’t even remember the case.

“So my friend went outside, and the woman handed her the bucket. She said it was a very simple gift, but it came from the heart,” Maria explained.

After delivering the gift, the woman left, and Luciene returned to work with the bucket. When she saw the gift, Maria was both surprised and delighted.

That’s why she recorded it. When she got home after work, she made a simple edit of the video and posted it online, not expecting it to get so much attention.

“I never imagined it would go viral. We posted it just for fun. I thought, ‘Only my friends will see it,’” she said. “So I went to sleep, and when I woke up, there were so many likes.”

In the video, the women are laughing, and many internet users criticized them, claiming they were making fun of the gift.

However, that wasn’t the case, as Maria explained: “It was completely unexpected. Nothing like that had ever happened before—we had never received a gift like that.”

“That’s because we assist people and don’t expect anything in return,” she said. “It’s our job—to provide quality customer service.”

Luciene didn’t just receive a hen—she also got a bantam rooster. And since she takes the bus to work, she didn’t know how she would bring the gift home—leading to even more laughs from her coworkers.

But do you think that stopped Luciene from taking the unusual gift home? Not at all! She did—and now the birds are living their best lives in her uncle’s backyard.

How sweet: even though Maria’s friend no longer works at the Civil Court, she still brings gifts for the rest of the staff—like oranges, tangerines, and limes.

“To this day, she keeps thanking her—even though it was actually my friend who helped her,” she said. “But she says she’s grateful to all of us.”

In addition to millions of views, the post has received over 318,000 reactions and thousands of comments.

“You can be sure that what she gave you is worth so much more,” commented one user.

“Just imagine that woman’s humility—you don’t see that much these days. God bless her,” wrote another.

Watch the video:

So beautiful to see. When we do good, good comes back to us.