Woman 'Apologized' to Mailman with Gift. His Reaction Went Viral — Then He Discovered She Posted It Online (Exclusive)
Tori Halford's mailman left a comment on her now-viral TikTok of the moment he saw the gift basket
Tori Halford surprised her mailman with a personalized basket of snacks and treats. She got to watch his real-time reaction to the gift through her Ring camera
Halford shared the recording on TikTok, where millions of viewers saw the wholesome clip, including the mailman himself, who left an appreciative comment
The social media creator tells PEOPLE that she and the postal worker have since connected in person as well
The best shows of gratitude warm hearts on both ends of the gesture.
Tori Halford went out of her way to make her mailman's day, and she felt an extra dose of appreciation after seeing his reaction through her Ring camera. The influencer shared the doorbell device's recording in a TikTok post with over 8.5 million views on the app.
In the clip, the delivery person, Daniel, can be seen dropping off packages before he spots a basket topped with a note. "Oh, you're so kind," he said before peering into the bundle of surprises. When he spotted the snacks and energy drinks Halford purchased for him, he seemed unable to contain his excitement, gasping, "No way."
"Thank you!" Daniel added with a laugh, speaking directly to the door camera. As he turned to leave with his new loot in hand, he added, "This is awesome."
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Halford tells PEOPLE she was immediately struck by the wholesome moment when she went to see what her Ring picked up.
"It meant so much to me, especially since it meant so much to him!" says the online creator. "I’m looking forward to the ongoing relationship I have with my mailman. He’s the best!"
Thanks to "the beauty of social media," as Halford describes it, she connected with Daniel again through the comments on her video. Identifying himself as her mailman, he shouted out Halford's thoughtful arrangement, which included Gatorade, a box of Gushers, Goldfish crackers and Doritos, among assorted treats inspired by her own tastes, as she said in another video.
"Thank you so much for the basket again. It made my entire week! Snack choices were spot on!" Daniel wrote in reply to the video showing his real-time reaction. "My new favorite customer! Thank you again."
Halford tells PEOPLE she hadn't interacted with her mailman at all before TikTok went viral with over 570,000 likes. She moved into her current home last November, and while they hadn't actually met, Halford initially compiled the gift basket as a way to say sorry for a buildup of deliveries.
"I had left on vacation for a couple weeks beforehand and our packages got very backed up," she explains. "I felt bad that I didn’t put my mail on hold and wanted to apologize."
But the gift went above and beyond to bridge the distance between Halford and Daniel. After he coincidentally stumbled upon her TikTok and left a comment, the former strangers finally met up at her mailbox.
"Through this experience, I’ve found how kind of a person he is and how he has a wife and family," she says, adding that she learned Daniel is currently expecting a daughter. "I’m so thankful that this whole experience brought us together."
Halford sees a greater message in the wholesome moment that captured hearts on TikTok and brought her and Daniel together.
"We as people move so fast in our daily lives and don't realize, appreciate and recognize all of the good that is happening around us," she reflects. "I've realized how much people don’t get recognized for the work they do. It is important to thank those you come in contact with, because you never know what it will mean to someone or how it will impact them."
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