“She Was Actual Google”: Folks Are in Awe of This '90s Mall-Directory Woman’s Job Skills

Nostalgia. Oxford Languages says that this emotional sentiment, which is a "wistful affection for the past," is oftentimes attributed to "a period or place with happy personal associations."

There are probably some who would say that this isn't necessarily always the case, as sometimes those associations, at the time, weren't necessarily happy.

Maybe what you were happy with were the reactions you had to whatever was going on in your life at the time? Maybe what you really liked about the past was a collective social understanding of phenomena? Maybe you like the idea of "keeping up with the Joneses," or the time when a presidential scandal involving an intern was considered a massive deal.

Now, the commander-in-chief's daughter can pen some disturbing confessions in their personal diary and it's lost in an endless sea of headlines.

There can be a lot of reasons as to why folks allow themselves to get into their nostalgic feelings: maybe they liked life better when they didn't have to work and their parents gave them a very easy childhood.

But coming into contact with footage from the past might transport us back to that time, leaving us feeling emotional and yearning for those days. That certainly seems to be the case with this video series uploaded by the TikTok account When It Was Then (@whenitwasthen).

One of their videos begins with a couple of mall patrons asking an employee if she could point them in the direction to John's Garage.

There have been others who've waxed on about John's Garage on the internet in nostalgic meanderings of their own, like this one Chicagoland blogger who discussed the "chaotic" nature of the restaurant and how folks raved about particular menu items that were popular with folks, like the "steak on a stick."

The establishment's full title was a "restaurant & filling station" and if you wanted to check out what the menus looked at this now-closed establishment, you can take a look at them here.

The woman in the video specifies that the locale serves up ribs and barbecue chicken, but that she isn't necessarily familiar with the business's moniker.

After the employee ends up helping out the one woman who was looking for John's Garage, there was another mall visitor who inquired about a different restaurant that might hit folks with a left hook of nostalgia too: Ruby Tuesday. After the visitor asks where it is, the worker happily tells him where he could find the place and he's on his merry way.

A pair of other women with a mound of teased hair so voluminous you can almost smell the hairspray through the video also asks the worker a question. She begins pointing off camera into another direction, helping them with their query.

Another man, who appears to be pushing a baby stroller, asks her where he can find Hickory Farms — a gift basket company that's still around today.

After assisting someone else with their query, the woman can be seen answering a phone call to assist someone else. Her proficiency at her job impressed numerous folks in the comments section of the initial video, with one person stating: "She was actual Google."

This appears to have prompted a stitched video response from the TikTok account, which uploaded even more archival footage of what the early '90s mall scene looked like when it was teeming with people.

The secondary video followed the same woman who went on assisting even more customers with all of their questions, and she did so in a professional, collected, and cordial manner.

One of the biggest recurring themes in the comment responses to the videos were from folks who were seemed to miss the days of human interaction, where creations like self-service simply didn't exist: "We went from this to bag your own items, scan your own items, don't ask for help," one person wrote.

Another said that the woman's attitude was simply a consequence of her living in an era where individuals were more considerate, so good customer service skills were basically a given: "This was when customer service was authentic and genuine, and didn’t need to be taught so much."

This has been a recurring conceit of numerous folks who've grown up in the pre-home-internet and always-connected age, stating that there seems to have been a gradual decline in common sense over the years, like this one Quora user who asked: "Where has common sense gone? Are people born with common sense to some degree or is it strictly taught by our parents or others?"

Their post prompted a wide variety of responses from various folks on the platform. There were some people who thought that common sense is very much alive and well but in just different contexts. However, there were also a lot of other folks who agreed with them entirely.

What do you think? Was life better back then because people were better?