At a busy market in Enugu, there was a woman named Mama Ifunanya who sold tomatoes. Her stall was not the biggest. Her prices were not the cheapest. Yet she always seemed to have more customers than everyone around her. Other traders couldn't understand why. One morning, a young trader decided to observe her closely. He noticed something unusual. Every customer who approached her stall received a warm greeting. She smiled. She listened patiently. She treated every buyer with respect, whether they purchased one tomato or ten baskets. One afternoon, the young trader finally asked her secret. "Mama, why do customers keep returning to you?" She smiled and replied: "People may forget what they bought, but they rarely forget how you made them feel." The young trader thought about those words for days. He realized he had been focusing only on making sales while ignoring relationships. Inspired by Mama Ifunanya, he changed his approach. He became friendlier. More patient. More attentive. Gradually, his business began to grow. Years later, he owned one of the largest stalls in the market. Whenever people asked how he succeeded, he remembered the lesson he learned from Mama Ifunanya. Business is not only about products. It is also about people. In life, whether you are selling goods, offering services, or building friendships, how you treat people matters. Kindness costs nothing, but its rewards can last a lifetime. Many opportunities come not because of what we know, but because of how we make others feel. Have you ever returned to a business simply because of the way someone treated you?
