Business & Tech

Update: Plesser's Illustrates the Giving of the Season

Babylon Village electronics store offers a goodwill gesture after a scrooge steals a Florida woman's holiday gifts.

A Babylon Village store owner is already making the holiday a heart-warming one and proving that a random act of kindness can ignite ripples of goodwill in long distance fashion.

Alan Howard, owner of Plesser's Electronics & Appliance  store on Main Street, responded immediately to the plight of a Florida woman who returned to her car after shopping on Black Friday to find all her gifts stolen from her vehicle.

"It was one of those random acts of kindness that you always want to do but somehow don't get to, and when I read the story of what happened to her I said I'm just going to call and try to help out," Howard told Patch.

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The theft had been reported by Florida's local media and picked up by CNN.com, from which  Howard learned  of the woman's  predicament. He reached out and offered a $1,000 to help replace the stolen items and sent her the check the next day.

News of the goodwill action hit home fast, and was noted on AroundBabylon, a popular Facebook page run by local resident and Patch columnist Aaron Stein.

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Valerie Hildebrant Basile wrote: "Just came across a heartwarming story about a business man who reimbursed a total stranger whose holiday presents had been stolen out of her car...turns out, it was Alan Howard-- the owner of Plessers... helping a woman in West Palm Beach. :) "

In response, Facebook member Lorraine Coyle Gallagher wrote, "what a wonderful story Val and even a better man!" and her thoughts were echoed by Stein and Walter Levins, who runs Coastal Island Treasures.

"Alan is a great guy and Plesser's is an asset to the Village," wrote Stein.

Since the kindess act hit the media, Howard's been juggling calls between Cyber Monday business, a busy day for the longtime village business.

"It [helping out] didn't start out as anything but a way to help someone and I've been catching calls all morning," said Howard, whose voice sounded a little weary. "I just wanted to do something good for her."


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