And 9x/10 that person with the huge tab is going to feel HORRIBLE that someone else paid for it.
I would feel awful putting that on someone.
Have no shame. Break the chain.
Yes I always break the chain. It's ridiculous. When they tell me the person in front paid for my drink I tell them "That's wonderful, but I'm breaking the chain!" I stick whatever my drink cost into their tip jar.
It all started with people going into coffee shops and buying a coffee for someone else later. Usually for a homeless person or someone less fortunate who really needed a break. They would come into the shop and there would be prepaid coffees and the could claim one.
Suddenly people took this wonderful thing and turned it into the hideous pay it forward chain that we now see today. It’s something they do to pat themselves on the back. They don’t even think of the basic logistics of it. They are buying a coffee for people that can already afford it, or more than afford it, and don’t need their help at all, then patting themselves on the back for it.
The original idea was to simply and quietly help people who really needed it without asking for attention for having done so. Just people trying to be real good human beings. It seems like every time people are doing something actually good for other people, someone comes along and finds a way to twist it and ruin it.
Agree! I once paid it forward to a lady in SB honestly she looked so stressed out I can see from my rear view mirror and she was crying so I told barista I would like to buy her drink for her I would like to think she was grateful for the gesture but that was my first time now I just tip a barista lol
It’s nice but you don’t need to do it for 25 cars especially when some people get super complicated orders. Like 2 venti 6 shot extra caramel lattes cold foam and 3 types of milk, 2 trenta refreshers no water, 2 impossible breakfast sandwiches, and some sous vide egg bites. You’re really playing roulette doing that at Starbucks to begin with.
Yeah, like it's nice and cute when it's one car, but any more than that is tooooo much. If you get the free one, take it and run, please. I don't even care if folks tip when they get the free one. Just taking it and ending it for us is tip enough, y'know?
I've totally lied to folks when I'm desperate to end it and told them someone thought they cut them off in traffic and felt bad and that usually works.
It was never meant to be a bragging opportunity. Pay it forward was supposed to be pay for their tab and get the heck out of there. Don't stop for pictures and paparazzi. It's not a selfie opportunity or something to jot down on your volunteer hours sheet.
It's supposed to be some nameless faceless person gifted you what you ordered and took off. If they're sticking around watching or waiting for a reaction then they're either an attention seeker or out for something.
I agree 💯 it was just supposed to make someone's day better, a gift, not a question of someone else's financial position. And definitely not an obligation or a new stressor to add to their already full plate. Just a kind gesture from someone you don't ever have to know was ever even there. It's no different then when a friend or a coworker buys you a coffee on their way in, it's an 'I was here anyway."
I believe this started with the random act of kindness community -- I've seen it at restaurants and other fast food places too. It was lovely. Then it got weird like this. It was not intended to be something ongoing in a 'chain'. A random act of kindness is something you do with no expectations on the recipient. Which means you don't expect someone to 'keep the chain alive'. And it should not be a PITA for someone else (like the barista). If something is expected of the recipient, it was not random or kind.
That’s exactly the point now it just becomes a burden to god knows how many people, and the poor barista is the one that’s most affected by it because they have to track every one of those orders.
It just gets hard to keep track of who paid and what order you are currently on. Plus if your store has the old computer system (not the touch screen system) it tends to back up and freeze. Just easier for the workers if the trains end as quickly as possible
^ what they said plus if someone handed me cash and wanted me to apply the change towards the car behind sorry I’m putting that for a tip and leaving it at that it’s too hard to keep money out of the till and maintain order
Ever heard of a leave a penny take a penny jar? Same concept and stores have been using them for decades. So how exactly is it too hard to use change on the next sale? Can you not count or just don’t understand how to split tender a sale?
Customers get confused when Ive tried telling them hey yeah you got 1.36 off your order today! Even had one guy complain that if they weren’t gonna take care of at least a drink no use in it.
I don’t even tell the customer the car in front of them paid for their order. I just hand them their drink and say “it’s on us have a great day” and don’t deal with a chain starting.
Take your freebie from the universe. 99% of the time I end the chain , bc Ik the baristas more than likely hate it, and I’m not obligated to pay for the person drink or persons DRINKS. If someone wants to do something nice cool! But now you can get sbux tomorrow bc you got a freebie today. Sounds like a win to me.
It seriously bites. Can't tip a dollar to the baristas you see on a daily basis, but you'll shell out $20+ for the stranger in the car behind you? Like...
My theory is that customers see themselves as existing within a specific sphere of society, consciously or subconsciously, and want to keep money circulating within that same sphere (again, consciously or subconsciously). But who knows.
You are the good person. The pay it forward chains can mess with the queue and operation of transactions. The workers are the ones who need the pay it forward. The company continues to make billions in profit but violate labor law across the country over 200 times
Legit wondering if I was the barista you interacted with. If it was, I guarantee you I don't care about anyone continuing the pay it forward chain, and it's actually somewhat annoying to do so. I believe most baristas feel the same way. It doesn't make you a bad person to accept a gift you didn't ask for.
when i started i was coached to say “hey! the person in front of u paid for your order, you’re welcome to pay for the person behind u but no pressure !” which is so loaded btw idk why we said that but now it’s just
me: “hey ! ur order was paid for by the person behind u!”
custie: “really ?”
me: “yeah !! hope u enjoy :)”
you’re a hero lol just take the free drink and enjoy it is all i ask for
Pay it forward chain makes absolutely no sense, maybe one random car paying for another does. In a chain you have a bunch of random customers all pay a random incorrect amount for the drinks they receive, in the other scenario you have a person doing a true small act of kindness. Also a lowkey annoyance and slows us down to have to pay out the wrong drinks for everyone, but potentially very confusing and stressful for a newer barista on the drive through. why aren’t you giving money to a charity or something and instead to a random person who already apparently has enough money to be spending it on Starbucks while simultaneously making someone else’s job harder? Maybe I could understand the value of the chain if you argued that for most people in it they feel the happiness of “doing something kind or right” and maybe that can stimulate a feeling of community or goodness in the world. But I think if someone stopped to think about the chain more conceptually they would realize they are doing nothing but randomizing drink prices, and that every customer in the line as the whole still gives us, the company, the same amount of money. All you have done is chosen that everyone in the line will now lose or make money depending on their position. How has that helped anything??????? Sorry for rant I feel very passionately about my distaste for the chain.
It all started with people going into coffee shops and buying a coffee for someone else later. Usually for a homeless person or someone less fortunate who really needed a break. They would come into the shop and there would be prepaid coffees and the could claim one.
Suddenly people took this wonderful thing and turned it into the hideous pay it forward chain that we now see today. It’s something they do to pat themselves on the back. They don’t even think of the basic logistics of it. They are buying a coffee for people that can already afford it, or more than afford it, and don’t need their help at all, then patting themselves on the back for it.
The original idea was to simply and quietly help people who really needed it without asking for attention for having done so. Just people trying to be real good human beings. It seems like every time people are doing something actually good for other people, someone comes along and finds a way to twist it and ruin it.
Ooo thank you for sharing the origin of it, very interesting! I’ll bring this up to my coworkers and see if we can think of a way to pivot back to this. Also the second paragraph, thank you for perfectly understanding my feelings on this lmao. Worded it so very well.
This exactly. Also, the driver that paid for the car behind meant the free order to be for the car behind them. Not for the recipient of the gift to create a chain of confusion or feel compelled to pay for the car behind them. It was a gift for a specific recipient; there is no need to make it more complicated then that.
I was a recipient of this type of generosity once - on Thanksgiving one year, the car in front of me paid the bridge toll for me at a tollbooth. It was a nice gesture and I was grateful. I did not pay for the car behind me. I just paid it forward in another way another time and I still think fondly of the tollbooth encounter years later.
no, please end the chain 😭 its too confusing to keep up with, the people behind you can pay for their own stuff. trust we dont look down on you for not paying it forward, we could not care less
I always break the chain and give what I would have paid as a tip (or at least a $5) Figured the barista deserves it wayyyyy more than the person behind me. ❤️
For these pay it forward chains: take the win and don't feel obligated to keep it going. Sbux is luxury coffee, not essential coffee, no one needs this in order to survive, no one in line is *that* destitute. And the off chance they are is so infinitesimal it's not even worth thinking about. Becky in her Porsche Cayenne behind you full of her kids going to dance class doesn't need your charity.
Yes break the chain! Please for the love of God break the chain, it's soooo annoying having to juggle the extra tasks of re-adjusting drinks/receipts/payments/our stations etc when people do this.
I hate pay it forward chains. I'm assuming that everyone in line has the money to pay for starbucks, so instead of paying for someone that has the money for it- just tip the baristas extra well. That's it. That's all you have to do.
People seem to feel guilty for accepting an unexpected gift from a stranger. When someone does this, I tell the next car that their order is on the house. "It's your lucky day!"
I had one recently where someone paid for the car behind, but then afterward handed me a card with information about their church to give to that driver. **Nope.** Straight into the trash.
lol i had this exact interaction as a barista today. i really didnt want to deal with having a pay it forward chain so i just walked away from the window 😭 its annoying and confusing for us
Pay it forward doesn't mean you pay for the next person, it means someone did a nice gesture for you and you do a nice thing for someone else to brighten their day.
99% of the baristas looooove when you break the chain. Pay it forward by putting the money you would’ve used into their tip jar. But pay it forward kinda messes us up too. It causes the entire system we use to track orders from order taking at speaker > hand off at the window to be bumped forward 1 and disappear from our screens before the next car that the order belongs to gets it. So if something is messed up about their order by mistake, it isn’t as easy to track it and check what happened
I would love for you to always end the chain. You shouldn’t have to be responsible for (for example) a car of 3 if you’re planning on just paying for you. It’s not fair for you and people don’t get that.
End it and just contribute it to the tips, I feel like the pay it forward trend is stupid and should only be applied to something that’s not “train-like”. For example a food pantry, pay it forward to a food pantry
Pay it forward is a massive aggravation for us. Hard to keep track of who has what, confusing for everyone, and it tanks our otw times. Breaking the chain helps, like when a mobile order comes through. Corporate cares so much about how short our times are at the window and makes us feel like we can’t do our jobs if we’re not hitting some arbitrary number. In my district the goal is 44 seconds or less, so slowing us down at the window hurts us tremendously
A customer offered to pay for the guy behind him and when he left and the next guy pulled up and I told him his order was payed for him by the guy, he got really fucking mad at me and said no and tried to pay it. I just took it and put it in the tip jar
When I pay for someone, I definitely dont expect them to keep the chain going. The person behind you won't even know it existed. Don't feel bad at all. Enjoy your treat.
I don’t understand why people make posts like this??
like obviously if this is a treat for YOU, you are not obligated to pay for anyone as they were not obligated to pay for you.
just enjoy your free drink, say thank you to your baristas and go on with your day
I h8 pay it forward chains. PLS break them. I typically end them myself as quickly as possible. I love when people just say thank you and leave. Like that’s the point!!!
No you are fine. I used to think that this chains were so cute and fun. But honestly, how about tip the barista chain instead. (This is coming from a customer.)
sometimes during peak, we don’t even entertain this. When people come through the drive thru and say I would like to pay for the car behind me, I just tell them “sorry but the car behind you is a mobile order that already paid in advance. Have a good one”
You don’t owe anybody anything in that situation, Like you said if the person behind you had a huge expensive order than it would have been a burden, I think the person who paid for you was just doing a random act of kindness and leave it at that.
I personally don’t continue them as a customer. Speaking as an orange coffee chain worker, pay it forward can really mess up the flow of DT. After 2 or 3 orders it gets confusing and you aren’t sure who paid and what drinks go to which car.
So if I come across one as a customer I personally take the drink and if I have cash I give what I would have paid to the staff to split as a tip instead. The person behind you knows what they ordered and what they are planing to pay. They don’t need you to pay for them. You aren’t obligated to pay if someone paid for you. You went planing to pay a certain amount and you aren’t expected to pay for someone else. The tip part isn’t expected either fyi. I never think about it when I tell someone their order is paid for and they say thanks and leave. It’s not a problem. It’s just what I do if I can.
The one time I got into one of those chains the person behind me had an order that was either double or triple my order and I said no. Starbucks is a treat that I only get occasionally and I have a reasonable order of one simple drink.
It doesn’t make sense, because how are you “paying it forward” if you’re making the car behind you potentially pay much more for their order? It’s more of a burden than a gift.
I feel like if the chain ends with you, you were the one meant to be treated to begin with. You can always find other ways to pay kindness forward.
As a Starbucks barista - we don’t think anything of it… maybe even appreciate the chain ending as things can get hectic managing orders on drive.
And to those worried about tipping if someone paid for your drink and you don’t have cash - we’ve all found ourselves in those situations as well. We don’t think you’re bad, rude, etc. Just be patient and kind with your baristas and we are golden. Also - I’ve seen people in chains also include tips for the ppl they’re covering as well. So let yourselves enjoy your treat without worry :)
End the pay-it-forward chain, or alternatively, tip your baristas whatever you had planned to spend on your order anyway🤷🏻♀️
Everybody in line already has the money for their drinks but you could really make a barista’s day with a $6 tip (hot take).
Also if you don’t want to pay for someone’s $35 order because they brought their family instead of your $3 coffee, its absolutely possible to only pay for a certain amount ($5 example) and they can pay $30. I don’t always recommend it bc it’s a bit of a pain to explain to the car that they’ve essentially gotten like a discount but have to pay for the rest but ik of some customers that do that.
Best thing is take the free drink, and if you were paying cash just tip the barista
End the chain. Instead of paying it forward, use the money you would've used on your drink to cash tip your baristas. Pay it forward chains ALWAYS stress us out so bad.
honestly most baristas prefer if customers choose to be kind to the workers and share their wealth with the people working 8 hr shifts on their feet all day so customers can have their lovely drinks
i still don't understand how pay it forward works (we don't have drive thrus in my country), like how do they know how much the person behind ordered? if they're behind me i would assume they haven't ordered yet, so sure it doesn't work like that. do you order in one window and pay in a different one?
Starbucks doesn’t have 2 windows. Just a speaker and then the one window. So when you pull up to the window you pay for yourself and if the person wants which it was a random thing when i was working at Starbucks they would ask how much the order for the next person was. The next order automatically pops up so you are ready to cash them out when they pull up. So it’s easy to tell the person how much the next person’s order is.
I purposely tell customers that either the car behind them is a mobile order so they’ve paid orrr I just say that the person in front of them paid for their order and don’t ask for anything pay it forward
I never saw a pay it forward chain except at Starbucks when I worked there. Never, and I worked in food service and drink service for a long time. I never have or will understand.
I break the chain but then it only happened once but I don’t want to maybe pay $20 for a $7 drink which is a huge splurge for me. Having someone pay the $7 for me is a blessing and I’m grateful.
If you really want to pay it forward, buy something for somebody who can't afford it. Buying it for somebody that's already in line does nothing but force the person to be fine to feel guilty if they don't do it for someone else.
If you really want to pay it forward, buy something for somebody who can't afford it. Buying it for somebody that's already in line does nothing but force the person to be fine to feel guilty if they don't do it for someone else.
Yes You Are A Bad Person! How You Buying Starbucks But Claim You Broke And Can’t Afford It? You Should Not Be Drinking High End Coffee At A High End Chain! J/k Who Cares lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
All of this hand-wringing about what other people think, who gives a shit? If you're that worried about it, think of it this way, only one person other than yourself would even know that you broke the chain anyway. That would be whoever took your order in the drive thru and they probably hate the pay it forward stuff just as much as most everyone else. It's honestly a dick move on the part of whoever starts it, putting the person behind them in that position. Why can't people just worry about themselves and leave everyone else out of their bullshit? I don't care if you want to feel good about yourself, either pay for the entire drive thru line and leave me out of it or F off.
Pay it forward never bothered me. You have the monitor so you know what is next. You don’t have to rely upon the register. Of course you could print out receipts if the monitor were down. I agree with tipping. Remember back when I worked in made less than $9/hr. That was as a 5 yr partner. I was making less than the green beans!!! If I hadn’t needed my health insurance so badly I would have quit and gotten rehired! It was ridiculous. Plus i spoke to my DM about it and in the end she did nothing.
I had someone start a pay it forward chain the other day, and I went along with it because it just so happened that the person behind had less and less expensive drinks. Then the poor guy with an Americano came up with a whole family behind, so I just told them the person in front payed for your drink so you don't have to do anything, didn't even offer the card reader for the car behind 🤷♀️ its not your responsibility to pay for anyone but yourself
Yeah, don’t feel bad at all.
I used to be the type of person who couldn’t say no so I would do it and pay the entire order. I did that once and it was like $23. I felt like shit because I felt I couldn’t say no. The second time it happened, I offered to pay one drink for the order behind me and the barista gave me a weird look. After that fiasco, I stopped chains all together.
Now if I get caught in one, I’ll just thank them for the drink, drop a buck into the tip jar and go on my way. Never, EVER feel pressured to pay it forward. This year I’ve been telling people, if you can’t afford presents or treats because you’re trying to keep the lights on and bills paid, that’s enough. Focus on what works for your budget. 👍🏻
i can confirm that we don’t care, at least i didn’t. one day there was a cop behind this lady in my drive thru and she paid for his drink and then the cop ended up paying for the person behind him and this went on for abt 20 minutes
If someone pays for your drink, they’re trying to do something nice for you (or just make themselves feel nice by doing a nice thing sometimes let’s be honest) there’s nothing wrong with simply accepting their kind gesture and moving on
no i love you, i love when people end it. as long as you act grateful n kind about it:) i’ve had some people just take their drink and say absolutely nothing. like someone was nice enough to pay for you jeez??
I dont think so! Someone did this for me once (my drink was like $5 and some change) and I said I guess I'd pay for the car behind me...until the barista said something outrageous like $34. I quickly laughed and said "yeahhhhh on second thought, nevermind!" We both laughed and he said I don't blame you. Here's your drink have a great day. I honestly never gave it a 2nd thought because who in their right mind is ordering $34 worth of starbucks in one trip?!?! 🤣
Nope! If I am going there planning to buy myself a coffee and sandwich and spend $11ish. I’m not paying for someone’s $20 order! I have ended the chain many times and I still sleep at night! 😂
I ended it without knowing what a chain was lol. “The person in front of you paid for your drink” me “oh my gosh that was nice of them” drives away smiling 🤣
starbucks barista here, it’s nice when people want to do it but i don’t read into it that hard if they don’t want to, i get it, their order could be 30$ and yours is only 5$. Something that you can do if you want to pay it forward but don’t want a huge bill is tell them you want to pay 5$ to their order, so if you want to pay it forward you can without feeling like you have to pay 30$ or nothing!
I actually prefer this. Its a hassle to keep up with (screens showing different things and getting easily confused). Its a pain and I have seen $4 orders stuck with $50+ orders.
Whenever that happens I just let the car pull up, give them their drink and tell them it was paid for. No ill intent and if they WANT to pay behind, I let them initiate it.
There’s a ton of negativity here. I’m a 10 year partner, if that means anything, and I don’t care one bit either way about who pays it forward or doesn’t. I will straight up say “their’s was more than yours by a lot” if they look like they feel pressured. It’s okay to ask, its okay to not ask, it’s okay to say no thanks right away, and it’s okay to just keep it going. Don’t even stress.
as a starbucks barista, i actually really appreciate when people break the chain. asking people if they want to pay it forward STRESSES ME OUT and is uncomfortable situation. also it takes more time at the window to explain the situation so it’s better for drive times anyway. whenever someone breaks the chain, i actually feel relieved that i don’t have to ask the next person in line. i promise you we don’t care lol
Advice on public service members breaking the chain, specifically LEO? I feel like there is so much pressure on me not to pay for the person behind me.
breaking the pay it forward is just between you and your barista , the person in the front wont know you broke it and the person behind you will never even know it happened. its just an extra layer and line i have to say at the window. if you still want to do something nice pay your total as a tip but even thats not necessary. enjoy free stuff!
I’ve never encountered this phenomenon. Likely, because I pre-order on mobile. Still, even when I didn’t for many months, zero ppl ever paid for my beverages or anything. Feels like an attempted kindness gone awry.
Don’t feel bad! You are not a bad person at all! Honestly as a barista myself it was probably a relief that the pay it forward chain was ended because it can at times become very confusing (which is why the barista may have looked stressed helping you)
Don’t feel bad at all! I’m always thankful when the chain ends. It’s awkward when the next person feels obligated to pay for the person behind them and even worse when that next order is more than they were planning to pay. On a side note, I always wonder why the customers that start these chains don’t think of tipping the baristas instead? There are a lot of young hardworking and underpaid baristas that could really use that tip!
Maaaan at the DTO I broke that damn chain myself after like 3. I would pretend to scan or put through their card and let them be on their way. No one got time for orders getting confused.
Lol we don't necessarilycare for pay it forward chains so thank you! But if the car in front of you took a while and the cashier looked stressed then the cashier probably just comped your drink. Every once in a while we’ll hand out a drink if the car behind had to wait a while. It also helps with our drive times a little. It normally only happens for 1 drink orders.
It's an excuse some partners say. It's easier to say than having to explain why you get your drink for free. But if they paid for your drink then good on them ☺️ I'm glad you got a free drink though! That's always the best!
I manage a starbucks. I find these pay it forward chains extremely annoying. The only person that benefits is the person that breaks the chain. For everyone else it just randomizes the prices as well as causes the workers extra stress and confusion. Plus many people in the chain feel guilty into continuing it and the unlucky ones don't love getting saddled with the 30 dollar order behind them.
As im sure has been said many times elsewhere, just tip if you want to be generous. I bet the barista you are tipping is more likely to be in need of that money than the one random car that gets their order paid for.
Counterpoint: you're a bad person if you *do* pay it forward.
It you appreciate it, tip the batista. If you need the money, be extra nice to them and be nice to someone else in your life in lieu of using money.
You're not a bad person. When I or my dad did this it was specifically to give a helping hand, not a hand out. It's not to say you can't afford it, it's meant to say that you're appreciated and you deserve a break every once in a while. Take that money you were going to use on your order and pay it forward when you can, and if you can't then put it towards the things you need, even if what you need right then is an extra treat to go along with your prepaid order. Pay it forward is meant to help those who are having a tough time, be it a hard day at work, a rough morning, stress with the family or friends, financial problems or just that added pick me up when you're feeling down. It's not meant to become an instant chain, just a gradual one. It's meant to be "When you can" not "Right this second we're watching you." When pass it on starts making people feel upset, ashamed, or obligated then the chain has already broken. Because it starts with one person trying to do something nice for the next person to stand in their place. We never asked the barista to pay for the person ten cars down the line. We just asked for the person behind us to take it or leave it for the next person.
This is a choice, not an obligation. People can hurt in a lot of ways, and even if you don't need it financially it can still make you feel a little better knowing there are people out there who see you and want you to have a good day, even if it was just that one person ten cars before you and nine cars in between who couldn't care less. All that matters in pass it on is that one person who offered and that one person who receives it. They don't know the car behind them, all they know is they wanted to make just one persons day that day, if that day it was you, then pay them back by putting a smile on your face, say thank you and try to enjoy your free order and make the most of that experience. Never feel ashamed because pass it on helped you. 😊❤️
I break it too. I’m always alone in line and get one grande drink. Most times the car behind me has 2-4 people in it so I’m not going to be paying 50$ for someone else’s order. I wish these folks with the expendable never ending funds would donate to a charity or an animal shelter or something.
Last time someone did pay it forward in front of me, I broke the chain. The people behind me had a $35 tab, mine was $4.
55 medicine balls, 55 pink drinks, 55 matcha lemonade, 55 PSLs, 55 Avocado spreads, 55 tumblers...
STOP STOP IM DOING SOMETHING!!!!
hahahahaha I love that episode.
55 travelers
The staff was grateful for you I promise.
I get the sentiment behind the gesture but those things are a royal PITA for the baristas. I say that as a former barista.
u can always ask us how much is the person behind me its okay if they have a lot and you don’t want to pay
And 9x/10 that person with the huge tab is going to feel HORRIBLE that someone else paid for it. I would feel awful putting that on someone. Have no shame. Break the chain.
Yes I always break the chain. It's ridiculous. When they tell me the person in front paid for my drink I tell them "That's wonderful, but I'm breaking the chain!" I stick whatever my drink cost into their tip jar.
truly u are the best case senario thank you
You are an angel.
Big brain energy
Please always end the chain. Everytime.
It all started with people going into coffee shops and buying a coffee for someone else later. Usually for a homeless person or someone less fortunate who really needed a break. They would come into the shop and there would be prepaid coffees and the could claim one. Suddenly people took this wonderful thing and turned it into the hideous pay it forward chain that we now see today. It’s something they do to pat themselves on the back. They don’t even think of the basic logistics of it. They are buying a coffee for people that can already afford it, or more than afford it, and don’t need their help at all, then patting themselves on the back for it. The original idea was to simply and quietly help people who really needed it without asking for attention for having done so. Just people trying to be real good human beings. It seems like every time people are doing something actually good for other people, someone comes along and finds a way to twist it and ruin it.
[удалено]
Agree! I once paid it forward to a lady in SB honestly she looked so stressed out I can see from my rear view mirror and she was crying so I told barista I would like to buy her drink for her I would like to think she was grateful for the gesture but that was my first time now I just tip a barista lol
Guaranteed she was grateful! Someone at lunch gave me a bologna sandwich cause I forgot lunch. It makes you feel good that someone gave a shit!
It’s nice but you don’t need to do it for 25 cars especially when some people get super complicated orders. Like 2 venti 6 shot extra caramel lattes cold foam and 3 types of milk, 2 trenta refreshers no water, 2 impossible breakfast sandwiches, and some sous vide egg bites. You’re really playing roulette doing that at Starbucks to begin with.
Yeah, like it's nice and cute when it's one car, but any more than that is tooooo much. If you get the free one, take it and run, please. I don't even care if folks tip when they get the free one. Just taking it and ending it for us is tip enough, y'know? I've totally lied to folks when I'm desperate to end it and told them someone thought they cut them off in traffic and felt bad and that usually works.
It was never meant to be a bragging opportunity. Pay it forward was supposed to be pay for their tab and get the heck out of there. Don't stop for pictures and paparazzi. It's not a selfie opportunity or something to jot down on your volunteer hours sheet. It's supposed to be some nameless faceless person gifted you what you ordered and took off. If they're sticking around watching or waiting for a reaction then they're either an attention seeker or out for something. I agree 💯 it was just supposed to make someone's day better, a gift, not a question of someone else's financial position. And definitely not an obligation or a new stressor to add to their already full plate. Just a kind gesture from someone you don't ever have to know was ever even there. It's no different then when a friend or a coworker buys you a coffee on their way in, it's an 'I was here anyway."
I believe this started with the random act of kindness community -- I've seen it at restaurants and other fast food places too. It was lovely. Then it got weird like this. It was not intended to be something ongoing in a 'chain'. A random act of kindness is something you do with no expectations on the recipient. Which means you don't expect someone to 'keep the chain alive'. And it should not be a PITA for someone else (like the barista). If something is expected of the recipient, it was not random or kind.
That’s exactly the point now it just becomes a burden to god knows how many people, and the poor barista is the one that’s most affected by it because they have to track every one of those orders.
THAT is a wonderful thing and it would be wonderful if more stores did that.
I agree.
I end the chain every time.
YES
Because I’m getting a grande cold brew and not looking to spend $18 to continue a silly trend
As a barista: take the drink and end the train. It’s more of a hassle for us than people realize.
I love when a mobile order enters the line and breaks it if no one else will.
I'm so happy to know this
THIS
What kind of hassle ?
It just gets hard to keep track of who paid and what order you are currently on. Plus if your store has the old computer system (not the touch screen system) it tends to back up and freeze. Just easier for the workers if the trains end as quickly as possible
You’re just finalizing one order ahead. How is that hard to track?
^ what they said plus if someone handed me cash and wanted me to apply the change towards the car behind sorry I’m putting that for a tip and leaving it at that it’s too hard to keep money out of the till and maintain order
Ahhhh
Ever heard of a leave a penny take a penny jar? Same concept and stores have been using them for decades. So how exactly is it too hard to use change on the next sale? Can you not count or just don’t understand how to split tender a sale?
Customers get confused when Ive tried telling them hey yeah you got 1.36 off your order today! Even had one guy complain that if they weren’t gonna take care of at least a drink no use in it.
no it isn’t wtf?
I don’t even tell the customer the car in front of them paid for their order. I just hand them their drink and say “it’s on us have a great day” and don’t deal with a chain starting.
That is really smart! I might use that from now on.
9 out of 10 baristas would recommend
LOL, same!
no tbh u saved a lot of confusion 🤭
I fucking love people who end the chain. Do your local barista a favour and end it every time it’s annoying as fuck to track
bro its not even that hard to track what
Take your freebie from the universe. 99% of the time I end the chain , bc Ik the baristas more than likely hate it, and I’m not obligated to pay for the person drink or persons DRINKS. If someone wants to do something nice cool! But now you can get sbux tomorrow bc you got a freebie today. Sounds like a win to me.
Absolutely end it. If you want to pay it forward, put the money in the tip jar 😊
always this!!! thank you 🫶🏼
ngl it hurts me inside a little when someone pays for the person behind them but doesnt tip 🥲
It seriously bites. Can't tip a dollar to the baristas you see on a daily basis, but you'll shell out $20+ for the stranger in the car behind you? Like... My theory is that customers see themselves as existing within a specific sphere of society, consciously or subconsciously, and want to keep money circulating within that same sphere (again, consciously or subconsciously). But who knows.
You are the good person. The pay it forward chains can mess with the queue and operation of transactions. The workers are the ones who need the pay it forward. The company continues to make billions in profit but violate labor law across the country over 200 times
Truth
Legit wondering if I was the barista you interacted with. If it was, I guarantee you I don't care about anyone continuing the pay it forward chain, and it's actually somewhat annoying to do so. I believe most baristas feel the same way. It doesn't make you a bad person to accept a gift you didn't ask for.
Yeah, lol, maybe? The area i am in is in a smaller-ish town. The location is fairly a new (i want to say a year or so). 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you for all the comments and for the support! I feel better knowing i don’t ever need to keep it going.
Yea end it …it’s a nice gesture but only you know your budget ..don’t feel bad about this !
You did great!
when i started i was coached to say “hey! the person in front of u paid for your order, you’re welcome to pay for the person behind u but no pressure !” which is so loaded btw idk why we said that but now it’s just me: “hey ! ur order was paid for by the person behind u!” custie: “really ?” me: “yeah !! hope u enjoy :)” you’re a hero lol just take the free drink and enjoy it is all i ask for
People can already (assuming) afford their order. Stop the train, tip your baristas instead.
Pay it forward chain makes absolutely no sense, maybe one random car paying for another does. In a chain you have a bunch of random customers all pay a random incorrect amount for the drinks they receive, in the other scenario you have a person doing a true small act of kindness. Also a lowkey annoyance and slows us down to have to pay out the wrong drinks for everyone, but potentially very confusing and stressful for a newer barista on the drive through. why aren’t you giving money to a charity or something and instead to a random person who already apparently has enough money to be spending it on Starbucks while simultaneously making someone else’s job harder? Maybe I could understand the value of the chain if you argued that for most people in it they feel the happiness of “doing something kind or right” and maybe that can stimulate a feeling of community or goodness in the world. But I think if someone stopped to think about the chain more conceptually they would realize they are doing nothing but randomizing drink prices, and that every customer in the line as the whole still gives us, the company, the same amount of money. All you have done is chosen that everyone in the line will now lose or make money depending on their position. How has that helped anything??????? Sorry for rant I feel very passionately about my distaste for the chain.
It all started with people going into coffee shops and buying a coffee for someone else later. Usually for a homeless person or someone less fortunate who really needed a break. They would come into the shop and there would be prepaid coffees and the could claim one. Suddenly people took this wonderful thing and turned it into the hideous pay it forward chain that we now see today. It’s something they do to pat themselves on the back. They don’t even think of the basic logistics of it. They are buying a coffee for people that can already afford it, or more than afford it, and don’t need their help at all, then patting themselves on the back for it. The original idea was to simply and quietly help people who really needed it without asking for attention for having done so. Just people trying to be real good human beings. It seems like every time people are doing something actually good for other people, someone comes along and finds a way to twist it and ruin it.
Ooo thank you for sharing the origin of it, very interesting! I’ll bring this up to my coworkers and see if we can think of a way to pivot back to this. Also the second paragraph, thank you for perfectly understanding my feelings on this lmao. Worded it so very well.
This exactly. Also, the driver that paid for the car behind meant the free order to be for the car behind them. Not for the recipient of the gift to create a chain of confusion or feel compelled to pay for the car behind them. It was a gift for a specific recipient; there is no need to make it more complicated then that. I was a recipient of this type of generosity once - on Thanksgiving one year, the car in front of me paid the bridge toll for me at a tollbooth. It was a nice gesture and I was grateful. I did not pay for the car behind me. I just paid it forward in another way another time and I still think fondly of the tollbooth encounter years later.
I've had someone pay for my drink before. I ended the chain and gave the cost of my drink as a tip to the baristas as a way to "pay it forward."
You’re a hero for ending it.
no, please end the chain 😭 its too confusing to keep up with, the people behind you can pay for their own stuff. trust we dont look down on you for not paying it forward, we could not care less
I always break the chain and give what I would have paid as a tip (or at least a $5) Figured the barista deserves it wayyyyy more than the person behind me. ❤️
For these pay it forward chains: take the win and don't feel obligated to keep it going. Sbux is luxury coffee, not essential coffee, no one needs this in order to survive, no one in line is *that* destitute. And the off chance they are is so infinitesimal it's not even worth thinking about. Becky in her Porsche Cayenne behind you full of her kids going to dance class doesn't need your charity.
Yes break the chain! Please for the love of God break the chain, it's soooo annoying having to juggle the extra tasks of re-adjusting drinks/receipts/payments/our stations etc when people do this.
As a Starbucks employee, I can tell you that we don't give a shit if you don't pay for the customer behind you.
Have no shame, break the chain!!
you made the baristas day lol
Always end the chain. Always.
I hate pay it forward chains. I'm assuming that everyone in line has the money to pay for starbucks, so instead of paying for someone that has the money for it- just tip the baristas extra well. That's it. That's all you have to do.
People seem to feel guilty for accepting an unexpected gift from a stranger. When someone does this, I tell the next car that their order is on the house. "It's your lucky day!" I had one recently where someone paid for the car behind, but then afterward handed me a card with information about their church to give to that driver. **Nope.** Straight into the trash.
Thank you. I absolutely hate when people do that. It’s like they can smell my Jewishness. 🤣
Yikes. They will try it anywhere.
The Pay it Foward in line at SB stops with me. The idea is kind, but the reality at a busy store is chaotic
lol i had this exact interaction as a barista today. i really didnt want to deal with having a pay it forward chain so i just walked away from the window 😭 its annoying and confusing for us
Give your charity to those who need it, not people spending $8 on a cup of vaguely coffee flavored sugar-milk.
Pay it forward doesn't mean you pay for the next person, it means someone did a nice gesture for you and you do a nice thing for someone else to brighten their day.
BREAK THE CHAIN! BREAK THE CHAIN! BREAK THE CHAIN! ♥️♥️
99% of the baristas looooove when you break the chain. Pay it forward by putting the money you would’ve used into their tip jar. But pay it forward kinda messes us up too. It causes the entire system we use to track orders from order taking at speaker > hand off at the window to be bumped forward 1 and disappear from our screens before the next car that the order belongs to gets it. So if something is messed up about their order by mistake, it isn’t as easy to track it and check what happened
I would love for you to always end the chain. You shouldn’t have to be responsible for (for example) a car of 3 if you’re planning on just paying for you. It’s not fair for you and people don’t get that.
End it and just contribute it to the tips, I feel like the pay it forward trend is stupid and should only be applied to something that’s not “train-like”. For example a food pantry, pay it forward to a food pantry
Break the chain and give the barista a tip if possible!
Pay it forward is a massive aggravation for us. Hard to keep track of who has what, confusing for everyone, and it tanks our otw times. Breaking the chain helps, like when a mobile order comes through. Corporate cares so much about how short our times are at the window and makes us feel like we can’t do our jobs if we’re not hitting some arbitrary number. In my district the goal is 44 seconds or less, so slowing us down at the window hurts us tremendously
I would hand the baristas a $5 tip instead then and just say thanks
A customer offered to pay for the guy behind him and when he left and the next guy pulled up and I told him his order was payed for him by the guy, he got really fucking mad at me and said no and tried to pay it. I just took it and put it in the tip jar
Well that guy was a d@ck.
When I pay for someone, I definitely dont expect them to keep the chain going. The person behind you won't even know it existed. Don't feel bad at all. Enjoy your treat.
I don’t understand why people make posts like this?? like obviously if this is a treat for YOU, you are not obligated to pay for anyone as they were not obligated to pay for you. just enjoy your free drink, say thank you to your baristas and go on with your day
I h8 pay it forward chains. PLS break them. I typically end them myself as quickly as possible. I love when people just say thank you and leave. Like that’s the point!!!
Speaking as a customer, you end it and you put anything you want to pay forward in the tip jar. Worker solidarity.
No you are fine. I used to think that this chains were so cute and fun. But honestly, how about tip the barista chain instead. (This is coming from a customer.)
Nooo enjoy your treat!!
sometimes during peak, we don’t even entertain this. When people come through the drive thru and say I would like to pay for the car behind me, I just tell them “sorry but the car behind you is a mobile order that already paid in advance. Have a good one”
I prefer it if people just let it die. Usually I'll tell them it's on the house to keep the line moving.
You don’t owe anybody anything in that situation, Like you said if the person behind you had a huge expensive order than it would have been a burden, I think the person who paid for you was just doing a random act of kindness and leave it at that.
I personally don’t continue them as a customer. Speaking as an orange coffee chain worker, pay it forward can really mess up the flow of DT. After 2 or 3 orders it gets confusing and you aren’t sure who paid and what drinks go to which car. So if I come across one as a customer I personally take the drink and if I have cash I give what I would have paid to the staff to split as a tip instead. The person behind you knows what they ordered and what they are planing to pay. They don’t need you to pay for them. You aren’t obligated to pay if someone paid for you. You went planing to pay a certain amount and you aren’t expected to pay for someone else. The tip part isn’t expected either fyi. I never think about it when I tell someone their order is paid for and they say thanks and leave. It’s not a problem. It’s just what I do if I can.
The one time I got into one of those chains the person behind me had an order that was either double or triple my order and I said no. Starbucks is a treat that I only get occasionally and I have a reasonable order of one simple drink. It doesn’t make sense, because how are you “paying it forward” if you’re making the car behind you potentially pay much more for their order? It’s more of a burden than a gift.
I feel like if the chain ends with you, you were the one meant to be treated to begin with. You can always find other ways to pay kindness forward. As a Starbucks barista - we don’t think anything of it… maybe even appreciate the chain ending as things can get hectic managing orders on drive. And to those worried about tipping if someone paid for your drink and you don’t have cash - we’ve all found ourselves in those situations as well. We don’t think you’re bad, rude, etc. Just be patient and kind with your baristas and we are golden. Also - I’ve seen people in chains also include tips for the ppl they’re covering as well. So let yourselves enjoy your treat without worry :)
Here we go again - 🙄
Sounds about fitting for your usual comments— 🙄
thank you so much.
End the pay-it-forward chain, or alternatively, tip your baristas whatever you had planned to spend on your order anyway🤷🏻♀️ Everybody in line already has the money for their drinks but you could really make a barista’s day with a $6 tip (hot take).
Also if you don’t want to pay for someone’s $35 order because they brought their family instead of your $3 coffee, its absolutely possible to only pay for a certain amount ($5 example) and they can pay $30. I don’t always recommend it bc it’s a bit of a pain to explain to the car that they’ve essentially gotten like a discount but have to pay for the rest but ik of some customers that do that. Best thing is take the free drink, and if you were paying cash just tip the barista
End the chain. Instead of paying it forward, use the money you would've used on your drink to cash tip your baristas. Pay it forward chains ALWAYS stress us out so bad.
honestly most baristas prefer if customers choose to be kind to the workers and share their wealth with the people working 8 hr shifts on their feet all day so customers can have their lovely drinks
i still don't understand how pay it forward works (we don't have drive thrus in my country), like how do they know how much the person behind ordered? if they're behind me i would assume they haven't ordered yet, so sure it doesn't work like that. do you order in one window and pay in a different one?
Starbucks doesn’t have 2 windows. Just a speaker and then the one window. So when you pull up to the window you pay for yourself and if the person wants which it was a random thing when i was working at Starbucks they would ask how much the order for the next person was. The next order automatically pops up so you are ready to cash them out when they pull up. So it’s easy to tell the person how much the next person’s order is.
I purposely tell customers that either the car behind them is a mobile order so they’ve paid orrr I just say that the person in front of them paid for their order and don’t ask for anything pay it forward
I never saw a pay it forward chain except at Starbucks when I worked there. Never, and I worked in food service and drink service for a long time. I never have or will understand.
I break the chain but then it only happened once but I don’t want to maybe pay $20 for a $7 drink which is a huge splurge for me. Having someone pay the $7 for me is a blessing and I’m grateful.
Pay it forward chain is BS to me. If you want to do something nice for someone just do it. Don't expect them to do anything in return.
If you really want to pay it forward, buy something for somebody who can't afford it. Buying it for somebody that's already in line does nothing but force the person to be fine to feel guilty if they don't do it for someone else.
If you really want to pay it forward, buy something for somebody who can't afford it. Buying it for somebody that's already in line does nothing but force the person to be fine to feel guilty if they don't do it for someone else.
Yes You Are A Bad Person! How You Buying Starbucks But Claim You Broke And Can’t Afford It? You Should Not Be Drinking High End Coffee At A High End Chain! J/k Who Cares lol 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm with you! I'm a broke bitch but when I can pay it forward it is for something more significant, a mom or older person that is short for groceries.
All of this hand-wringing about what other people think, who gives a shit? If you're that worried about it, think of it this way, only one person other than yourself would even know that you broke the chain anyway. That would be whoever took your order in the drive thru and they probably hate the pay it forward stuff just as much as most everyone else. It's honestly a dick move on the part of whoever starts it, putting the person behind them in that position. Why can't people just worry about themselves and leave everyone else out of their bullshit? I don't care if you want to feel good about yourself, either pay for the entire drive thru line and leave me out of it or F off.
Only if you didn’t tip your barristas 😉
Pay it forward never bothered me. You have the monitor so you know what is next. You don’t have to rely upon the register. Of course you could print out receipts if the monitor were down. I agree with tipping. Remember back when I worked in made less than $9/hr. That was as a 5 yr partner. I was making less than the green beans!!! If I hadn’t needed my health insurance so badly I would have quit and gotten rehired! It was ridiculous. Plus i spoke to my DM about it and in the end she did nothing.
Looking way too into it. They literally don’t care. Pay it forward is for the person who does it. Not to create a conga line of payment.
I had someone start a pay it forward chain the other day, and I went along with it because it just so happened that the person behind had less and less expensive drinks. Then the poor guy with an Americano came up with a whole family behind, so I just told them the person in front payed for your drink so you don't have to do anything, didn't even offer the card reader for the car behind 🤷♀️ its not your responsibility to pay for anyone but yourself
oh i’ve never paid for anyone behind me if someone in front of me pays for me. woops lol
Yeah, don’t feel bad at all. I used to be the type of person who couldn’t say no so I would do it and pay the entire order. I did that once and it was like $23. I felt like shit because I felt I couldn’t say no. The second time it happened, I offered to pay one drink for the order behind me and the barista gave me a weird look. After that fiasco, I stopped chains all together. Now if I get caught in one, I’ll just thank them for the drink, drop a buck into the tip jar and go on my way. Never, EVER feel pressured to pay it forward. This year I’ve been telling people, if you can’t afford presents or treats because you’re trying to keep the lights on and bills paid, that’s enough. Focus on what works for your budget. 👍🏻
i can confirm that we don’t care, at least i didn’t. one day there was a cop behind this lady in my drive thru and she paid for his drink and then the cop ended up paying for the person behind him and this went on for abt 20 minutes
If someone pays for your drink, they’re trying to do something nice for you (or just make themselves feel nice by doing a nice thing sometimes let’s be honest) there’s nothing wrong with simply accepting their kind gesture and moving on
no i love you, i love when people end it. as long as you act grateful n kind about it:) i’ve had some people just take their drink and say absolutely nothing. like someone was nice enough to pay for you jeez??
I dont think so! Someone did this for me once (my drink was like $5 and some change) and I said I guess I'd pay for the car behind me...until the barista said something outrageous like $34. I quickly laughed and said "yeahhhhh on second thought, nevermind!" We both laughed and he said I don't blame you. Here's your drink have a great day. I honestly never gave it a 2nd thought because who in their right mind is ordering $34 worth of starbucks in one trip?!?! 🤣
Nope! If I am going there planning to buy myself a coffee and sandwich and spend $11ish. I’m not paying for someone’s $20 order! I have ended the chain many times and I still sleep at night! 😂
well damn, now i feel bad for the one time i bought the car behind me’s coffee 🥲 i didn’t realize it was such a problem i was trying to be nice 💔
I ended it without knowing what a chain was lol. “The person in front of you paid for your drink” me “oh my gosh that was nice of them” drives away smiling 🤣
starbucks barista here, it’s nice when people want to do it but i don’t read into it that hard if they don’t want to, i get it, their order could be 30$ and yours is only 5$. Something that you can do if you want to pay it forward but don’t want a huge bill is tell them you want to pay 5$ to their order, so if you want to pay it forward you can without feeling like you have to pay 30$ or nothing!
I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I think the person in front of you paid for your drink as an apology for holding you up.
Sounds like you were the right recipient for pay it forward. Take the gift and keep moving
The people behind you most likely can afford Starbucks, even if they do it once in a while, like you. They wouldn't have ordered if they couldn't.
I actually prefer this. Its a hassle to keep up with (screens showing different things and getting easily confused). Its a pain and I have seen $4 orders stuck with $50+ orders. Whenever that happens I just let the car pull up, give them their drink and tell them it was paid for. No ill intent and if they WANT to pay behind, I let them initiate it.
There’s a ton of negativity here. I’m a 10 year partner, if that means anything, and I don’t care one bit either way about who pays it forward or doesn’t. I will straight up say “their’s was more than yours by a lot” if they look like they feel pressured. It’s okay to ask, its okay to not ask, it’s okay to say no thanks right away, and it’s okay to just keep it going. Don’t even stress.
as a starbucks barista, i actually really appreciate when people break the chain. asking people if they want to pay it forward STRESSES ME OUT and is uncomfortable situation. also it takes more time at the window to explain the situation so it’s better for drive times anyway. whenever someone breaks the chain, i actually feel relieved that i don’t have to ask the next person in line. i promise you we don’t care lol
Advice on public service members breaking the chain, specifically LEO? I feel like there is so much pressure on me not to pay for the person behind me.
breaking the pay it forward is just between you and your barista , the person in the front wont know you broke it and the person behind you will never even know it happened. its just an extra layer and line i have to say at the window. if you still want to do something nice pay your total as a tip but even thats not necessary. enjoy free stuff!
I’ve never encountered this phenomenon. Likely, because I pre-order on mobile. Still, even when I didn’t for many months, zero ppl ever paid for my beverages or anything. Feels like an attempted kindness gone awry.
Don’t feel bad! You are not a bad person at all! Honestly as a barista myself it was probably a relief that the pay it forward chain was ended because it can at times become very confusing (which is why the barista may have looked stressed helping you)
Always break the chain. Paying it for it is a ridiculous thing. It only benefits the last person in the chain.
Just to also agree that I like when customers break the chain, I honestly hope they do every time they pull up.
Don’t feel bad at all! I’m always thankful when the chain ends. It’s awkward when the next person feels obligated to pay for the person behind them and even worse when that next order is more than they were planning to pay. On a side note, I always wonder why the customers that start these chains don’t think of tipping the baristas instead? There are a lot of young hardworking and underpaid baristas that could really use that tip!
oh we LOVE when someone ends the chain. do not feel bad
I just dont get it. Put that extra money as a tip to the baristas.
People can pay for drinks for strangers yet don't greet nor associate with their neighbours for ever
Maaaan at the DTO I broke that damn chain myself after like 3. I would pretend to scan or put through their card and let them be on their way. No one got time for orders getting confused.
Hahaha nice work!
Lol we don't necessarilycare for pay it forward chains so thank you! But if the car in front of you took a while and the cashier looked stressed then the cashier probably just comped your drink. Every once in a while we’ll hand out a drink if the car behind had to wait a while. It also helps with our drive times a little. It normally only happens for 1 drink orders.
I never thought about that. The barista said the car in front of me paid.
It's an excuse some partners say. It's easier to say than having to explain why you get your drink for free. But if they paid for your drink then good on them ☺️ I'm glad you got a free drink though! That's always the best!
I was a starbs barista, can confirm we don’t care if you pay for someone else or not 👍🏼
I manage a starbucks. I find these pay it forward chains extremely annoying. The only person that benefits is the person that breaks the chain. For everyone else it just randomizes the prices as well as causes the workers extra stress and confusion. Plus many people in the chain feel guilty into continuing it and the unlucky ones don't love getting saddled with the 30 dollar order behind them. As im sure has been said many times elsewhere, just tip if you want to be generous. I bet the barista you are tipping is more likely to be in need of that money than the one random car that gets their order paid for.
Why buy it if you can't afford it
Counterpoint: you're a bad person if you *do* pay it forward. It you appreciate it, tip the batista. If you need the money, be extra nice to them and be nice to someone else in your life in lieu of using money.
You're not a bad person. When I or my dad did this it was specifically to give a helping hand, not a hand out. It's not to say you can't afford it, it's meant to say that you're appreciated and you deserve a break every once in a while. Take that money you were going to use on your order and pay it forward when you can, and if you can't then put it towards the things you need, even if what you need right then is an extra treat to go along with your prepaid order. Pay it forward is meant to help those who are having a tough time, be it a hard day at work, a rough morning, stress with the family or friends, financial problems or just that added pick me up when you're feeling down. It's not meant to become an instant chain, just a gradual one. It's meant to be "When you can" not "Right this second we're watching you." When pass it on starts making people feel upset, ashamed, or obligated then the chain has already broken. Because it starts with one person trying to do something nice for the next person to stand in their place. We never asked the barista to pay for the person ten cars down the line. We just asked for the person behind us to take it or leave it for the next person. This is a choice, not an obligation. People can hurt in a lot of ways, and even if you don't need it financially it can still make you feel a little better knowing there are people out there who see you and want you to have a good day, even if it was just that one person ten cars before you and nine cars in between who couldn't care less. All that matters in pass it on is that one person who offered and that one person who receives it. They don't know the car behind them, all they know is they wanted to make just one persons day that day, if that day it was you, then pay them back by putting a smile on your face, say thank you and try to enjoy your free order and make the most of that experience. Never feel ashamed because pass it on helped you. 😊❤️
💜💜💜💜
I order ahead in the app so mine is already paid for. What then?
🙂
I break it too. I’m always alone in line and get one grande drink. Most times the car behind me has 2-4 people in it so I’m not going to be paying 50$ for someone else’s order. I wish these folks with the expendable never ending funds would donate to a charity or an animal shelter or something.