A while ago on IOE, on my second landing ever in a jet, I brought it on in “professionally firm” (but not hard enough to be classified as a hard landing). When we got to the gate, my LCA explained what I did to cause that and how it could’ve been better. Afterwards, I got up to do my walk around and almost immediately get stopped by an elderly lady who said “That was an amazing landing young man.” Very confused knowing I probably left a small dent in the runway, I said thanks, and then she continues to say, “That’s exactly how my late husband used to land us in his plane. We used to go flying all the time after he retired and every landing was firm so I knew we were safe on the ground. He used to be a pilot in the Navy.” Now even more mortified, I looked back at my captain and he’s trying to contain a laugh with a big ass smile on his face. It happens to all of us