Paying for the person behind you in a drive-thru

[CookieandOatmeal]

It finally happened to me today...the car in front of me at Starbucks paid for my drink. When the barista told me, I was pleasantly surprised and offered to pay for the car behind me. He hesitated then said that it was a lot and was in the range of $14. I ended up not paying for the car behind me since I had planned on paying for my drink which would've cost me a little more than $5. I did feel bad that I didn't pay it forward but didn't feel comfortable almost tripling the amount I had anticipated paying. What would you have done?

 

[Heather07438]

Drink your free coffee and enjoy. That's what the person buying it wanted you to do. I'm sure they didn't want to make you uncomfortable picking up a bigger check

 

[prairie_girl]

I would have paid it. That’s the point of pay it forward. I’ve heard of chains going on for hours at a Timmies.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm not really a fan of that trend - people of comfortable enough means to be dining out patting themselves on the back for their generosity for picking up the tab for others who could also afford to be dining out - so on the one occasion it happened to me, I made a donation of the amount I'd have spent on my order to a local charity I support.

 

[Heather07438]

I dunno... I think turning it into hour long chains kinda breaks the spirit. Then everybody is paying and nobody is getting the 'perk'. Some days it feels good to be the one giving, other days it's great being the one getting. That's what makes paying it forward special.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

I would have done the same as you. I’m sure the guy ahead of you would have changed his mine if you had had a $14 order too.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I would have paid it. That’s the point of pay it forward. I’ve heard of chains going on for hours at a Timmies.

Me too! I once had someone pay it forward on my $35 Starbucks order. I was a bit flabbergasted but the barista said they were aware of my total before asking to take care of it. A very nice surprise and I always participate. I think it’s an especially nice gesture with what we have all dealt with…2020 & 2021.

 

[Pooh93]

Usually the barista will tell me if it's a really expensive order behind me and to pay it forward another day and to enjoy my drink.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I'm not really a fan of that trend - people of comfortable enough means to be dining out patting themselves on the back for their generosity for picking up the tab for others who could also afford to be dining out - so on the one occasion it happened to me, I made a donation of the amount I'd have spent on my order to a local charity I support.

I am a high school teacher and I have already started assembling welcome back kits for my advisory kids out of my own pocket. I would like to think that is my way of "paying it forward".

I dunno... I think turning it into hour long chains kinda breaks the spirit. Then everybody is paying and nobody is getting the 'perk'. Some days it feels good to be the one giving, other days it's great being the one getting. That's what makes paying it forward special.

I did feel guilty for not continuing the trend but didn't want to spend more than I would like.

Me too! I once had someone pay it forward on my $35 Starbucks order. I was a bit flabbergasted but the barista said they were aware of my total before asking to take care of it. A very nice surprise and I always participate. I think it’s an especially nice gesture with what we have all dealt with…2020 & 2021.

Wow that is super nice!

 

[RedAngie]

Nope nope nope. I’d stop an hour long chain dead in its tracks. No guilt about it.

I don’t want anyone paying for me either. I very rarely go to a drive-thru so it’s not a problem.

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

I like to step it up a notch so every time I go through the drive thru I offer to pay for the person in front of me, somehow my bill never seems to increase but I tried.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I don't like it. You can't help but feel compelled to continue the trend - that's not really doing anything "nice". It's akin to the old "forward this to 5 friends" e-mails. Please don't "pay it forward" at the drive thru. If you want to be charitable there are far better ways.

 

[Heather07438]

I think paying it forward works best when there are no strings attached. Here you go fellow human, this one's on me. The person giving gets to feel good and so does the person receiving. It's not the same if everybody is giving and getting at the same time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I might’ve paid it at that moment in time, or I might’ve paid it forward at another time, not sure.

I think the point is, to do something nice for someone else. And it sounds like you’re doing that.

Not breaking a chain wouldn’t really play into my decision.

I do believe, though, that “when you give, you get”. Like a type of karma. Good deeds beget good deeds, sort of thing. So I do like to give as much as I can. It may not necessarily be monetary. But holding a door for someone, a nice smile at the right time, helping someone across the street, or any number of things like that. It helps make our world a better place.

I thought this was a really nice example the other day:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...c-silver-medal-boys-heart-surgery/8176698002/

Btw, I am not surprised she is a cancer survivor. Oftentimes going through something like that helps you see what’s really important in life. And many others have given to you to help you get through it.

 

[Kittyblue]

I feel like pay it forward doesn’t have to be immediate or even the same exact thing. It’s a random act of kindness.

 

[anniemae]

I am not a fan of this trend. I am uncomfortable with someone paying for my order and I would not hesitate to break the chain. I would also not randomly pay for the person behind me. Those long chains seem kind of competitive to me, like a game to see how long it will keep going. For me, it kind of loses the meaning.

I would rather pay for someone in need. I read about how some places will allow you to pay for a cup of coffee for a person in need. They call them something like an "angel cup" of coffee. When placing your order, you can ask them to ring up an angel cup. They keep a tally of how many angel cups are available. Then a person in need can come in and ask if there are any "angel cups" available and if so, they can have a free cup of coffee.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I think it’s a nice gesture but I think the idea of the continuing chain actually goes against the whole point of a random act of kindness.

It’s no longer a random act if the everybody is just trying to keep the chain going. At that point it just turns into cost roulette and either you get your items for a bargain or you pay way more than you had planned.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

The idea of the pay it forward thing is lost on people.

It's not that someone pays for your coffee so you now have to pay for someone else's coffee.

It's that someone did Something nice and random for you. A random act of kindness. To pay it forward just means to, at some point, do something random and nice. Hold a door open. Let the guy behind you with one thing in his cart go in front of you. Let the freaking guy into traffic. Stuff like that.

The idea is those little acts add up to something big.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I probably would have payed it because the idea of chain would have intrigued me, but if was short on cash that day, I wouldn't have felt guilty being the recipient of is as a single good deed either. I agree that a chain is different than random acts of kindness.

For someone who is torn, maybe you could just offer the $5 (or whatever you were originally planning to spend) toward the next person's bill, so it's like they got a surprise coupon?

I really love this idea, though! -

I would rather pay for someone in need. I read about how some places will allow you to pay for a cup of coffee for a person in need. They call them something like an "angel cup" of coffee. When placing your order, you can ask them to ring up an angel cup. They keep a tally of how many angel cups are available. Then a person in need can come in and ask if there are any "angel cups" available and if so, they can have a free cup of coffee.

 

[monsterkitty]

I always break the chain. Instead of paying for the car behind me, I use the money I was going to pay for my drink and tip the barista with that instead. If I have the cash on hand I will double the amount for the tip. I usually only get a Venti Iced Tea so that's around $4.

I feel the barista's probably need the $4-8 dollars more than the person who is ordering their drink behind me needs whatever they're spending.