Somebody doesn't need to know how much food I ordered..... it's not paranoia. I am not worried if someone knows. Just like I am not worried if my dentist goes blaming about my last dental exam to other patients. Doesn't mean he should or that I want him to.
Its not so much the idea you didn't "Pay it forward" by buying the next person's meal. If you don't have the $ or its more than you can afford or even if you don't believe in the concept...then...ok. No big deal. Enjoy your free meal. But someone did a kindness for you. Be happy about that. And stop complaining about it. SMH.
I enjoy doing this when the opportunity arises. One of my favorite instances was at the Banzai Sushi & Grill in Austin (on Lamar) behind a lady and her two young girls. Her girls were curious about the bubble tea but their mom said she couldn't afford buying a drink that they might not like. When I ordered, I had the cashier (anonymously) take over a bubble tea for each of them (variety of flavors). The joy on their faces when they got the drinks made my day. I watched them scanning the place for the good samaritan and just smiled. When an opportunity like this comes about, take it. You'll feel great.
Agreed. One time at Freebirds, I bought lunch for 3 servicemen in line behind me. No big deal. Just my way of saying thanks. They were very grateful. Before leaving, they ended up giving me a cool looking army baseball cap which I wear occasionally to this day.
I didnt feel i deserved the kindness so that is why I passed the kindness on to the next car. If that makes me a bad person, then fine. Just fodder for conversation. I don't believe in the pay-it-forward concept being used in a fast food drive-thru scenario regardless. I do acts of random kindness. I'm not a d_ck. lol. I've done three on this board alone for various posters' benefit.
Rashmon and TheresTheDagger have it right and I would ALWAYS do it, no matter what. What, are you all that poor in money AND in kindness towards your neighbor?? :grin: SERIOUSLY? You're comparing a simple meal... of maybe a fast food joint... with a dentist's work?!?!? LOL! That's hilarious!
But that family obviously didn't have the money. At the drive-thru it doesn't make sense. I once gave a homeless guy $20. He kept looking down at it, then looking at me like he couldn't believe it. That guy needed it. At the drive-thru, they probably could afford it, since they ordered it already.
You see, sir, in a drive thru, that's the beauty of it... you don't know what the next person will do, and your kindness will be rewarded. It's the art of giving without knowing who receives... unlike your threesomes...
The idea behind it at the drive thru is simply to encourage that person to do a random act of kindness. Like I said, if all that comes from of it is a bunch of people paying for someone else's fast food meal, nothing came from it at all.
Why does it necasarily be a random act of kindness, even if it I'd imposed it can still serve as a good reminder to kindness. Nothing wrong with that
It doesn't necessarily be.To me this just seems... excessive, considering the end result. I must admit I hadn't heard of it happening en masse like this, until this thread. If the appeal is the "happening" of it, then that almost makes more sense... all under the impetus of a small random kind act. Still I could see where it might be uncomfortable for some as told in the example.
First world dilemmas. Personally that would suck for me. I usually don't spend more than $3-4 on drive-thru. What if the person in front of me ordered like 5 combos?
Lol, your reasoning is hilarious. Your act of kindness is almost born out of spite haha. A random act of kindness shouldn't be based on obligation, so I think you may have missed the point. That being said, this "trend" does seem pretty pointless if people only do it because they feel like they have to ala tipping.