Call handler sends flowers to 'sweet' customer

Alan Wright, 73, said he was shocked by the gesture

A man was left "highly emotional" after he got a bouquet of flowers in the post from a call handler he spoke to about his energy bill.

Alan Wright, from Eccleshall, Staffordshire, called Octopus Energy on Thursday with concerns that he had been charged too much for his energy usage.

The 73-year-old had a polite conversation with an energy specialist called Marnie, who helped him to sort out the bill before the pair said their goodbyes.

On Sunday, Mr Wright returned home from a day out to find a "huge" parcel addressed to him, which contained a large bouquet of flowers and a message from Marnie.

The note thanked him for being "such a sweet and kind customer" who had made a big difference to her day.

Mr Wright told BBC Radio Stoke that he was still in shock at the gesture, adding: "It was highly emotional.

"I was just being me, just being myself. I wasn't doing anything special but obviously it seems I touched the heart of this particular operator."

He said he contacted the firm after he was sent two bills, which he thought said he owed about £500, but it was discovered that his account was actually in credit.

'She was wonderful'

In a statement sent by her employer, Marnie, who has not given out her surname, said it was heartwarming to hear how much of an impression the flowers left on Mr Wright.

"Alan needed a little time and care to talk him through his account but I felt like a small gesture might make a difference," she said.

In response, Mr Wright said he could not thank her enough and that it was "unprecedented" for a call handler to do something like this.

"It's so nice and she was just absolutely wonderful. She was so good and so patient," he added.