#PayItForward A Growing Trend In The Line For Coffee
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's not a new phenomenon, but "paying it forward" sure has become more noticed thanks to social media, and it's happening many times in a place many people are familiar with: the coffee shop.
At the Starbucks in Geneva, it happens most often at the drive-up window, according to manager Tom Appling -- one customer offers to pick up the tab for the next person in line, and then the next person does likewise.
"I think the longest one we've had at this store is probably about 50 cars, and sometimes it lasts for just a minute or two, and sometimes it gets a little deeper," Appling said. "Maybe somebody ... only ordered a tall coffee, and the person in front paid for that tall coffee, but then the car behind them had four frappuccinos and they still, 'Oh, I got them. You know. Let's keep it going. It's fun.'"
Southwest Side resident Pam Ahern says she has paid it forward more than once at Starbucks.
"It just makes you feel so wonderful inside to know that maybe somebody's having a rough day, or whatever's going on, and you just want to say, 'Hey, somebody's thinking about you. Have a good one," she said.
Podcast
Veronica Cervantes said she gave a Dunkin' Donuts cashier an extra $5, and had the money used to pay for the order of the next person who walked up.
"It's nice to treat yourself, so it's obviously even better to treat someone else," she said.
Pam Ahern loves paying it forward in the coffee shop line.
"When you just feel like you really want to bless someone, or just have somebody have an amazing day, go for it, do it," she said.
On Twitter, under the #payitforward hashtag, people are ecstatic over giving and receiving in the "pay it forward" chains.
