CANTON, Ohio -- Ally Da Noriea already knows which newspapers four elderly customers want when they come into the BellStores gas station where she works every morning.
“One always wants a copy of The Massillon Independent,” Da Noriea said. “Two of them want The Plain Dealer and the (Canton) Repository, and then one just wants the Repository.”
Da Noriea, 31, has worked at BellStores for a year and a half, and as an essential worker, made her mark by helping make shopping as easy as possible amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From having extra masks on hand if customers need them to helping grab items for the elderly, Da Noriea has used her sociable and kind nature to create easygoing experiences.
“Ally is an amazing employee,” said Millicent Gaugi, Da Noriea’s boss.
Today, cleveland.com recognizes Da Noriea as December’s Homegrown Hero. The series began in August and has featured people nominated by readers for having an impact on their communities. Today’s installment is the last.
Recently, BellStores received a mask dispenser so Da Noriea doesn’t have to bring masks as much for customers. Earlier in the pandemic, when masks were in limited supply and not mandated, she had masks available that she bought on eBay.
Along with providing masks, Da Noriea is committed to helping customers, especially the elderly, avoid COVID-19 exposure. She said several older customers need to buy supplies for their daily routines, but are worried about becoming infected.
For one customer who uses a walker, Da Noriea assists by taking items to the woman’s car. For two other older customers, she uses the night window, a cage-like barrier for transactions done on late-night shifts. With the window, the customers don’t have to come into the store.
“I said, ‘Hey, whenever you pull in just let me know. Call the store and let us know what you need,’” Da Noriea said. “And I’ll just act like it’s night shift, and I’ll run and grab all of it and then grab your card and we could ring it up at the register. Just to help them out, so that way they don’t have to go in and risk anything, or worse, actually catch something.”
Da Noriea’s hard work and kindness have not gone unnoticed, either. James Doty, one of her coworkers, has seen how she assists people and admires her friendliness.
“She does a lot of great work,” Doty said. “Knows where everything is to be able to get things, and if people ask questions on where something would happen to be, she can point it out to them or take them directly to it.”
Her work also comes with challenges. Da Noriea is a transgender woman, and she has received nasty comments at times.
She said some of the customers are in a “fight or flight mode,” particularly at night, and she said she doesn’t believe the comments stem from hatred.
“Because it normally seems to happen after 1 a.m., which is the store cutoff for alcohol sales,” Da Noriea said. “And I think that it’s mostly them sort of trying to channel any frustration that they have especially with nothing being open. I personally believe that all alcohol sales should have probably been cut off at 10.”
Doty has sometimes been in the store when customers make rude remarks, and he has stood up for Da Noriea.
“I will tell them, ‘Look, no, you’re not going to talk to her like that,’” Doty said. “‘That’s not the way we handle things. Whether you agree with it or not, because I know there’s people out there that don’t agree with it and whatnot, but if you don’t agree with it, keep it to yourself.’”
Despite customers’ comments, Gaugi has worked to create an accepting environment. When Da Noriea told Gaugi of her new name and that her gender would be changed on her driver’s license, Gaugi began changing Da Noriea’s previous name on paperwork.
She also provides Da Noriea with makeup tips and gives her hugs if Da Noriea is feeling discouraged. Da Noriea is thankful for the environment Gaugi has created, knowing not all places would be as accepting of her.
As the pandemic continues, though, Da Noriea wants people to realize that even with vaccines present, COVID-19 is still going to be here.
“But try to keep positive about it and just keep going forward,” Da Noriea said. “Because I think that if you go into something negative, you’re going to come out negative. But if you just keep trying to be positive and put it out there and (go) forward, outlooks could change.”
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January 03, 2021 at 06:05PM
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Gas station associate Ally Da Noriea exudes kind, caring nature to her customers: Homegrown Heroes 2020 - cleveland.com
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