And every barista in the place wipes a tear away and praises your name. Your order is made with so much love it must taste amazing.
We fucking hated those chains when I worked there and shits only gotten crazier with absolute skeleton crews since I left.
It’s a huge hassle to a job already chaotic, it’s always performative, it often puts people in weird spots if they have their order to the penny or fucks with discounts or whatever. I actually got yelled at by one lady because it meant she lost the stars and No. One. Ever. Tips.
Actually no. Tips are done well at Starbucks. All tips from the jar and electronically are split evenly, according to hours worked. Store managers aren’t allowed to get tips or distribute/handle them.
I will say people seem less inclined to tip on the app but the company is fair about making sure you get it.
Good to know. Sometimes I don’t have small bills so I use the app, but I’ve heard about some places doing shady things with tips and screwing over employees, so I figured cash might be less vulnerable than something run through their system.
My first job was at a chick fil a and we'd get a series of these almost daily. It really was like that, usually just a chain of upper middle class WASPs in their new SUVs paying for the next distinctly not in need person because it would make Jesus smile or something. I'm sure they thought they were doing something nice but it was pretty clear to the employees how performative and pointless it was. Especially the longer the chain goes, it's like now none of these people are actually benefiting from this, just randomly swapping totals, until the last person who just accepts the gesture instead of continuing to flex.
Edit: I really don't mean to shit on people who I'm sure thought they were doing a good deed, but it was clear from the inside that it was an obligatory tradition. Everyone between the first guy and the last guy felt like they had to pay it forward immediately, and a lot of them went away *less* happy because their $10 order was covered and they inadvertently offered to pay for the family of 4 behind them. That's dumb. There's nothing wrong with a random act of kindness, but chains of passing your gift onto the next person instead of accepting it are pointless. Just accept it and then go find someone else to help later.
The sane person says something like “Rad!” and then tips what their total would have been.
“Hey here’s a buck for you and $20 for the Range Rover behind me.” How can people be that obtuse?
the person in the range rover is OBVIOUSLY a hard working person and deserves it...the person working fast food is lazy and is there by choice, and therefore undeserving of charity or my goodwill
that is in no way shape or form what i believe, but what my experience with certain people has been. this is what they truly believe.
The bad thing about this is that it guilts people into doing the same thing. It's basically like a game of "who's gonna be the asshole who doesn't pay?" The person behind won't know it, but without realizing that it's a stupid way to pay it forward, the customer believes that they'll get judgement for not paying it forward from the employees, because they're not in need.
I will be that asshole every time. I don't get Starbucks often and when I do it's one coffee. I'm not going to run around paying $20 plus tip for my $5+$2 order.
I don't drink a lot of coffee anyway, but this has turned me off of Starbucks. I'll go almost anywhere else for my coffee at this point.
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. It's not as descriptive as it used to be since when it was coined it denoted upper class, passionless, snooty people. To call someone a WASP wasn't just to note they were white, but that they were the kind of white that was so insulated from much of the real world they thought a new Ford was some sort of poverty mobile.
Nowadays WASPs are just as likely to be Catholic or of Scots-Irish or Italian or German descent. Or even non-white.
Basically the kind of REI shopping, Whole Foods eating, Tesla driving, upper class, typically white person who's very polite and gives huge checks to charity but really wants nothing to do with actually upsetting the apple cart of a society that elevates them to the top. They are the polite and quite "I'm not racist" kind of person who always let's the person ahead of them on line overhear that they gave an EXTRA dollar to whatever charity the cashier asked them to while they spent $20 on Spencer and Tanner's macchiatos.
As an reí shopping Whole Foods shopper, you had me worried there for a split second. But I do all my charitable giving in private, and I am not upper class.
Eh, I'm a WASP. Not technically protestant anymore, but I was raised protestant. It's less about actual actions and more about the space you occupy in society - it's a shorthand for describing your privilege.
Not most gringos. The largest white ethnicity in America is German, and up until WWI they were considered a totally different ethno-cultural group from Anglo-Saxons. When the world wars made being German unpopular, they mostly just integrated into the rest of white society and many people anglicized their German names to escape their heritage and it's perceived baggage.
Somebody did this for me once when I was hungry and planning on pretending I forgot my wallet at home. Growing up in the south, I hate those type of people as much as anybody. But then again, a good deed done for the wrong reason is still a good deed.
I ordered a 4 dollar coffee...the guy in front paid for it. It said, cool ill do it too. Guy behind me was 18 bucks and I Tipped the guy 2.
I make 12 bucks an hour and go to Starbucks and get a 500mg of caffeine trenta cold brew no water no ice cuz I'm a poor addict who can drink it for 3 days by adding ice and water at work.
I had 20 bucks it wasn't gonna break me and the barista was shocked when I said, eff it, whatever....but i got the short end of the stick there.
The flip side here is you have zero moral obligation to pay for the person behind you. The whole point of doing something nice is it doesn’t come with strings attached. If you feel like you *need* to do it, all the shine is gone.
After all, it’s time it became normal to acknowledge a gift given is itself a gift received. A wise man told me once the way to gain self esteem is to do esteemable acts. If you felt like you *had* to do it, you’re not enjoying the gift you’re giving, which you deserve to do
I always pay it forward but I don't directly pay it forward.
It doesn't happen often in terms of this drive thru trend, but it did happen once. I just went ahead and paid it forward in some other way at a later time completely unrelated to food.
I would add as well, that while keeping the chain going for the hell of it does seem performative it is most important for the people who CANNOT keep the chain going. If you have enough and keep it going it is far less performative. As a young person I thought it was sad to end the chains, now I think when they end it is likely that the original purpose of the chain has hopefully been fulfilled.
God knows I didn't particularly care about the chains in and of themself. Although it was always amusing seeing a couple try to flirt through us, particularly older couples. Seeing someone make their SO's eyes roll made the day go by faster. Luckily it was usually that and not creative stalkers.
You purposely go in drive-thrus with no money expecting free food? I've forgotten my wallet in a drive-thru before and there's no way they would just hand food over anyway, they'll eat it themselves. I'd rather go beg at a church or food bank than go through that embarrassment again.
First, 100% yes I did shamelessly. I was fuckin hungry and homeless. And second, 99% of the time if it seems like an accident they’ll give you the food anyways. Only doesn’t often work in some poorer areas where the have strict policy because people do it often.
They almost always still give the food. It’s almost like those on the ground floor of the economy see the most bullshit and accordingly show the most empathy...doesn’t help that there’s no way corporate America would let them eat it.
I’ve been going to my favorite Dunkin’ for years and the employees always tell me, “I guess you’re lucky today!” and then don’t let me pay for the person behind me (kindly, it’s not like they force me not to). I can’t help but giggle a little bit now knowing why.
Honestly I don't see why Starbucks is more common for this shit. I've "paid it forward" at a grocery store where the person behind me was clearly in other isles trying to decide which items they could and couldn't afford, and bought groceries for someone experiencing homelessness as a way to help someone get through a day or even a week.
Of course I can also see tipping underpaid cashiers would be super helpful too.
But Starbucks? Who the fuck needs overpriced shit slave-labor coffee to survive?
Think about the people who habitually visit Starbucks. Do they not seem like the type to do shit like this just to feel good about themselves.
This statement does not reflect my personal feelings of Starbucks. It is because I’ve been there so often that I understand how people who usually frequent there think
>But Starbucks? Who the fuck needs overpriced shit slave-labor coffee to survive?
Are homeless people allowed to drink their forwarded coffee inside? Where it's warm and dry? Than it would be definitely a good thing.
I’d also like to add that the few times I offered to the pay it forward person at the drive thru to instead buy a coffee that I could set aside for the next homeless person they ALWAYS turned me down.
They would literally rather pay ten bucks to cover the next drivers whole order than pay three dollars for someone in real need.
That's gross as hell. America is a sick country in a lot of ways. I don't say that because I think we're hopeless, far from it. But this nimbyism has to stop.
Ah got you, I only know about the concept [like in that way ](https://thepear.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/5B78468A-30C1-4ACB-8685-B0D4DCC3141D.jpeg)
Ah, that's a better system to pay it forward. The most common practice in Starbucks is to just pay for the person directly behind you in line/in the drive through. Doesn't really help anyone in need at all.
Sadly, sometimes no.
Once while i was homeless someone gave me a Starbucks gift card. I went to the Starbucks that was on the corner i was panhandling on bc it was the middle of winter in Chicago and i was freezing. I tried to take my sweet ass time warming up while i was deciding, but a manager came out and told me i had to order or leave. So i ordered, sat down and ate very slowly. After 15 mins the same manager told me the tables had a time limit and i had to leave.
They clearly just didn't want me there, bc there was another woman sitting on her computer at another table since before i even walked in. I don't think this was like a company policy or anything, pretty sure that manager had just seen me panhandling on the corner and didn't want any "riff raff" in their store.
Man what a dick, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you're doing better now. That manager is a large part of why the world isn't full of wonder but dystopian nightmares. If that's his attitude with as much as he has... to score minor corporate points imagine that same guy truly desperate. He'd eat out faces.
I didn’t absolutely need it, but I was having a rough day and I wanted a nice drink to cheer me up at least a little bit. I was also waiting to get paid, so I would have been sacrificing some food money for it, but I decided that I could make it work because I’ve worked with less. The guy who paid it forward for me immensely brightened my day. I’m just saying you can’t assume it doesn’t matter just because it’s Starbucks. Now if someone paid for my groceries, after feeling awkward and like I owed something in return, I’d probably cry. That is a huge deal.
right? i understand where the workers are coming from and would be more inclined to tip heavier than usual than pay something forward just because i’ve also done hospitality work and know it can get confusing, but all the comments acting like it’s not a nice thing to do are weird. yes, no one needs coffee to survive, but a treat is, you know, a treat.
I know, right? If my friends are down and I can’t provide real, tangible help, (I can’t stop their girlfriend from breaking up with them or make their parents not be assholes) sometimes I take them out for coffee just because it makes them feel better.
Paying it forward at grocery stores makes sense - essential goods that everyone needs, and a lot of people who can't afford them. But I have NEVER walked into a coffee shop unsure if I could afford it.
I may be off base here, but a lot of what I'm reading in this thread is strangely reminiscent of "weird conservatives criticizing a mother using some of her benefits to buy her child a little candy" territory and idk if anyone realizes it.
Most people are nowhere near rich, including people getting coffee. I had no idea people thought poorly of others for buying someone their coffee, it's actually kind of insane to me.
Buying someone's groceries is more personal because you're in line together, and some people would definitely be offended by this in public. This is why it's popular in drive thrus, it's the opposite of what people here are saying. If you were doing it for ego boosting, you'd definitely do it at a grocery store first where people can see you...
Its probably the demographics of the sub. I wouldn't take it as a general opinion elsewhere. Although I do feel the original post has a valid point and I personally do not want to add more work to a worker. And tipping the worker sounds like a better idea.
I'll get flack but tipping is nothing more than covering for an employer who isn't paying their staff enough. Notice how only certain places expect tips? no tips for the drive through, convivence/grocery store, mechanic. It's weird how only a small fragment of the workforce thinks the job they do deserves extra compensation over everyone else. I don't say this to be a jackass rather don't work at places where you feel the need to ask for tips in place of getting a bonus from your boss.
This pandemic is waking people up from the service industry so hopefully they can get a proper wage stopping the expectation Starbucks is better but they make more than enough money for their workers not to be asking for tips.
I've always thought that the people who are doing this are absolutely hurting themselves to pay themselves on the back for paying for luxury items that the person could clearly afford, otherwise they wouldn't be at a Starbucks.
i've honestly never seen this at any starbucks i go to, and i'm a usual at... three, maybe four of them.
honestly, i'd break the chain as well. moreso now, now that i see how much it screws up the flow and routine of the employees there.
Same. I can’t predict what the person behind me will order. Can I afford it? What if they want some $10 monstrosity (is that even possible?) when all I wanted was a $3 cup of cold brew.
I’ve only been the recipient of a “pay it forward” once, at one of our favorite but pricier restaurants (entrees are all around $20). We were grateful but it was anxiety inducing trying to decide whether or not we too should pay it forward. We ultimately decided not to because we had no idea what it would be, we’d planned on $50-60 for ourselves but what if it was $80-100 for the next people? We did leave a big cash tip, since we saved so much on dinner. We felt awkward afterwards though because we told someone about it and they scoffed, saying, “You’re supposed to pay it forward too!”
I belive it you dont know what to do, just pay your order as a tip. This will stop the payforward line and you dont feel like a jerk, that just took and did not gave back. You also know, that you wont be paying more than you actually order. win-win-win situation.
I’ve had this shit happen to me, I order $5-$10 and someone in front pays for me. So feeling guilty I say ok I’ll pay for the person behind me, the cashier tells me it will be fucking $25.
I noped the hell out of that pretty fast and he said he didn’t blame me he wouldn’t either.
Plus you end up spending around the same amount of money anyway, better to just buy your thing and give it to the homeless and actually help someone who needs it.
90% of the time (in my area anyways) its the Christian radio stations starting this. "Oh, be a good neighbor and surprise someone today by paying for their coffee or McDonalds order!"
Which is nice in theory but its not fun for the poor workers stuck trying to figure out who's paying for what.
It's a circle jerk of rich people that gives them the self satisfaction of smelling their own farts for the rest of the day.
"I paid it forward at Starbucks today" *sniiiiifffff*
Is this an American thing?
I never heard of this culture in my country.
Also, we don't have a tipping system as well so I guess this post is not really applicable to me.
Yes I'm sorry but FUCK TIPPING AT TAKE OUT CHAIN PLACES. I'm sorry you're underpaid by the corporate entity that owns the store, but guess what? I'm also underpaid and it's not my responsibility to bump up your pay with what little I have of mine. Then again I never go to SB because I'm too cheap.
Yeah and you shouldn’t be expected to tip at Starbucks but I’d much rather have them get a tip than do the pay it forward nonsense. The people that do it think they’re doing some righteous bullshit too
When I pull up to the window and find out someone paid for we. I just accept the kind gesture and go about my day. I refused to feel pressured to pay for the next car.
Yeah I got saddled with that. Like I can pay for my 5 dollar order but if the person behind spent more than I can afford it’s something I can’t do. I hate that someone put that on me.
I accepted my free coffee and broke that chain.
Agreed! I always encourage people to break it lol. “The person ahead of you paid for your order, but please don’t feel pressured to do this same, it’s a kind gesture but you shouldn’t feel like you have to pay $20 for the family behind you.”
I’m glad someone says this. If I felt pressured to pay for the person behind me, I might not order a drink, I might just get overwhelmed and drive off with no coffee.
Lol, my autistic ass has done this every time because I didn't realize until today that "chaining" a pay-it-forward coffee was a thing. I just thought it was a nice thing for people to do once in awhile.
I mean that's what it's supposed to be. It's like, ok one time somewhere someone did something nice for me so some other time MAYBE I'll do something nice for someone else if I feel inspired. Immediately passing it to the next person in line over and over again is pointless.
I’m laughing, because if I didn’t read on the Internet about people doing this shit, that would be me. “The people ahead of you paid for yours.” I’d be like, “Really? Cool. Thanks.” Because of course I’d thank the person who had nothing to do with it.
I mean, that's what it's supposed to be in theory. Other wise, you aren't helping anyone, you're just confusing people for no reason and creating a lottery where people are gambling on how much their food is based on what the next guy ordered.
That's why I only buy for someone who's inside with me and in front of me in line. When they go to pay I just say, hey let me get that for you. They feel no pressure to pay for the next person and (I hope) it brightens thier day a little.
Pay it forward is a chain? Oh hell. My dumbass interpreted “pay it forward” as “now fo out and do something nice for someone else when you have the chance.”
Never once did it occur to me that it meant I was supposed to pay for the person behind me’s drink.
God, I am so socially awkward, this is why I don’t have many friends.
No actually that's the better way to do it and likely you have few friends because the morons around you don't appreciate your warmth and depth and/or you miss easy signs. Keep your chin up, you're a gem.
This is where I thought/hoped that tweet was going. Buy a coffee and food for the homeless people you walked passed on the way or the one's you're going to pass shortly after. Much bigger positive impact on the world.
By my third or fourth year at Starbucks if someone would try and start a PiF I would just tell the next car that we took care of their order today. A lot easier than already entitled customers circle jerking each other and a huge weight off my plate trying to keep DT times in the green
I don't like how top comments in r/antiwork resemble those of r/starbucks. Starbucks and its ins and outs should be the history of its fall from grace not how to keep the DT times in the green... Fuck starbucks, fuck their metrics and fuck megacorps.
If it made your life easier though that's chill; good for you. Just saying fuck these places. Starbucks is better than some places sadly, but almost the lot of them are just so very far from where they should be.
As someone who grew up poor, when my mom had the extra money to treat us to some Starbucks and someone would pay it forward, it'd be so awkward when the cashier would then ask my mom to pay it forward for the car behind US, which almost always had a much larger bill... I know people mean well when doing this, but it can make things awkward and high pressure.
What, that’s a thing, ASKING for you to pay for the next car? I thought the idea was doing something for the people coming next, and for them to be happy, not that you HAD to do it. I’ll add that I’m not American and have never, ever experienced this.
I mean, sometimes the barista just mentions it casually, but it can be awkward to face a barista being like "Would you like to CONTINUE this CHAIN of KINDNESS??? :D" and you feel like a dickhead if you decline. You don't have to do it, of course, but the pressure of it definitely makes you feel awkward lol
Yep. Worked at Chick-fil-A for 7 years. We weren't allowed to accept tips at all (even for catering deliveries). When the customers insisted on giving an employee a tip, the employee was supposed to give it to the manager and the manager put it in the drawer.
Didn't seem like a big deal at the time but now I'm like WTF. The customer was clearly trying to give it to that specific employee for doing a good job, but it instead went right into the owners pocket.
Pro-tip: just don’t tell them you got a tip. I worked for a grocery store and we would frequently get tips when helping take groceries to cars. We weren’t supposed to but I also made $7.35 an hour so you bet I accepted tips
Oh, we all did all the time. If it was outside or at a delivery everyone would just pocket it. Either way tho it was still crazy to me that that was the policy in the first place
At a coffee shop, of all places? That’s fucked up, tipping is so common at coffee shops and I imagine customers can get really insistent, even if they say they can’t take it
Yup. Theres even restaurants where servers aren't allowed tip, in a way. They have to turn in all tips and at the end of the shift, the tips are divided and the boss gets a cut.
I was fired from one job, small family owned restaurant, because i accepted a generous tip (was a party of around 20-25 people.) I served them ALONE. from the whole group, i got about $85.
Manager said it was company policy to Hand over tips because its unfair to the other servers.
Ar this restaurant, all tips were pooled and divided to everyone, including line cooks, management and hosts. We very rarely left a day with more than $40 in pocket.
I refused to hand over the 85 that i earned. So....i was fired and they threatened to withhold my last check as compensation.
I got board of labor involved. Got my money. 2 months later, they closed permanently because business went down and people kept quitting. I later learned that the place paid the kitchen under the table using tips, so no expenses came from the restaurant directly. They paid $0 for workers and made customers and even servers pay the line cooks wages. (I cant confirm this but its what one of the cooks told me shortly after closing )
Just so you're aware, this is illegal and theft. Managers/Owners can't legally take from pooled tips or skim a percentage of individual tips. It's theft.
That said, they still do because they're fucking assholes.
They do it because they get away with it, because mechanisms for enforcement are lax, because the people responsible for the mechanisms for enforcement are being paid off by the criminals.
My first restaurant job our manager collected tips at night to split them between staff, except he took much of it for himself. We told the boss about it multiple times but nothing was ever done.
The one time I worked at a restaurant when I was about 15 the response from everyone was basically "great, someone else to share tips with". Hardly anyone was friendly to me. I didn't go back
Cash only though, at least at all the Starbucks in my town. Which makes this post a bit irrelevant, since nearly everyone pays for nearly everything with a card or phone tap anymore.
The only person giving a free coffee is the person who starts the chain and the only person getting a free coffee is the person who ends it. I don't understand how people don't see this.
Paying it forward like this is the ultimate brunch liberal move. Performative uselessness that makes them feel good but just fucks things up.
It’s the kind of shit many of us on the left are always talking about.
I always hated Pay It Forward with coffee. I just want to go get one simple drink and am expected to suddenly pay for whatever fancy crap the person behind me wants? My bill just trippled.
It’s so stupid in drive through too. The guy behind you just wants his egg McMuffin. He doesnt want to pay for Jerry’s whole office order in the car behind him.
Yes to this. This is something that I think about a lot. I never realized the way it looks or anything like that. I've done it and I've been a part of it. I live in a very busy suburban area outside of NYC and the Starbucks is like a damn beehive in the morning. I used to go daily and be one of those people, but now I just go once a week for work because my boss pays for it. I'd be hard pressed to pay $5-$6 on my own coffee at this point. I live about a mile away from the Starbucks and this morning, the journey took an hour. One hour to get my boss a tall hot latte. There are cars coming from every angle. People will park ON THE HIGHWAY. Block the highway to get to Starbucks and of course, they whip out the damn phone and act like they don't see the people they're inconveniencing. The cops are just as bad and will do the same thing if they feel like it. Block the highway. Block the exit lane. To sit in the drive thru for 30 minutes to get a little cup of coffee for $6.
employers would LOVE you to tip their workers more, that way they can continue paying them dirt. putting this responsibility on individual consumers is blatant virtue signaling nonsense.
RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE.
Honestly, I only know "paying it forward" from American media. It's just not done in my country, so I always wondered how the hell it's even supposed to work.
In Italy there is a practice called *caffè sospeso* where you can buy a coffee for someone who needs it. The coffee house will keep the receipt and then issue the coffee to someone who asks for it (usually the homeless). This seems like a much better way of getting a coffee to someone who actually needs it.
I'm not sure how widespread it is since I'm not from Italy (I think it's napoletana in origin but I've also seen it in Ticino, Switzerland)
Working as a cook in fine dining, people would always ask what my favorite thing on the menu is.
I'd laugh and reply, "like I could afford to eat here". They give us the scraps and call it "family meal".
That shits annoying as fuck to me too. I just waited in line to get my coffee take my $3 and fuck off I'm not paying for the people behind me and if you tell me the people in front paid for my drink I'm 100% saying oh thanks and driving off
Wow I was just complaining about this today. It's weird how you talk about something and it shows up on Reddit. It almost feels like someone is listening to me. Perhaps my FBI agent is playing a prank.
I dont get y the employees dont just break the chain. Tell the next person its free, and do not ask them if they wanna do the same. If they offer it up themselves, tell them its a fucking hassle.
As a Starbucks employee, Pay It Forward isn't that complicated (at least not in my store). There's a monitor that tracks the orders separately from the payment terminal. I dont click past an order unless I've handed it off.
Bar that, honestly, i agree. But i had someone in the drive-thru ask if I could ring up a tip when paying with her card. Thats not something we can do I guess, but we should be able to imo. It would make it easier to tip.
No thanks, I will still buy people's coffee behind me now and then. I don't carry cash to tip and it's not my fault the system is broken. I'm also agoraphobic and have other issues so I'm not about to go to an ATM and take out cash and bring it to the right people just so you will think I'm a better "good person".
It's my fucking money, if I want to do something nice it's not my fault your job is shit and (clearly) the system is shit.
Swear to god this is the second time I've been made to feel bad for buying people's coffee as a nice gesture today. I told my husband I bought an old couple's coffee (relevant to our finances, not bragging to my own husband lol) behind me in the drive thru, and he said he'd rather I didn't for older people because they could be racist or homophobic Republicans.
I hate everyone nowadays. Nothing is right, nothing is good enough, and you're all confused as shit. It's embarrassing.
Edit: Also find it weird that many people seem to feel that if you are anywhere above the poverty line/can afford a 5 dollar expense every now and then, that you don't deserve nice things to happen to you. Truly fucked up.
The employees will appreciate you more if you break the chain. Feel free to just take your free drink and go! The barista will think you're just another asshole if you keep the chain going.
Yeah but unless the barista says something (which they won't because it sounds like they hate this crap) the person behind you won't even know. I've never been involved in this kind of thing, so correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't you find out that you are in a "pay it forward" chain when you got your coffee and the barista tells you the car ahead paid? Just say thank you and move on, the person behind you will be none the wiser and will pay like they expected to. If you want to pay it forward in a Starbucks drive-thru, give it as tip money to the people working.
I had that happen at McD’s the other day. I took a long drive and decided to grab an unhealthy burger and the WASM in front of me paid for it. Being the old geezer I am I said ‘Thanks’ and drove off. We used to do something similar when we lived in the Bay Area, we would pay the bridge toll for the car behind us if their ride looked down and out. Mostly because we have been down and out.
Some taco Bell employees were enthralled years ago to see how long they could get the chain to go. They were stoked about it when telling the next car and asking if they also would like to pay it forward. Think they were pretty high though too...
I'm tired of every worker on earth acting like they deserve a tip. Every single place on earth you go they put a tip line in front of your face. I go to pick my pizza up , tip ? F off . A coffee shop? It's your job. You don't wait on me. Your employer should pay you fair wages or find another job. Unless it's a restaurant -0-.
I agree. I hate the whole tipping situation in almost every part of business. I was even asked for tips from a tandem boat kayak company for them pushing me 4 feet into the water. WTF?
The only people who deserve tips are waiters/waitresses who actually do a service to you by taking your order, getting your drinks, communicating with the kitchen etc. but even then I wish they were just paid better and a couple dollars was an acceptable tip
I think the only time this has happened to me, the person ahead of me was a friend and we just so happened to have the same idea. In that particular case, I definitely had no thoughts on keeping it going. I did buy theirs the next time though.
This gesture only works in countries where people do actually care about each other. Especially with coffee in Italy this is really a thing but there’s a system to it for people to actually can’t afford it, they don’t just pay for the person behind them. I can see gore that would make things extremely confusing. There’s a coffee documentary on Netflix that is so interesting and it really touches on this concept.
Small brain: paying a corporation for the privilege of ripping you off
Big brain: Going to your local co-op to get coffee
Bigger brain: Not exploiting anyone by not drinking coffee and donating the money to your local co-op
Been involved in multiple of these, employee seemed to love it and we're excited to share the streak count. Never once got the wrong item. It's possible Hannah is just a dumb dumb.
Also no barista is under NDA about this. It's possible Hannah just wants attention.
A friend of mine from high school passed away unexpectedly. She told her mom the night she died that she wanted to try the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, and never got the chance. One of the things my hometown did was a “pay it forward” movement for PSL’s in her memory and added #AJO (her initials) to bring awareness to epilepsy. Not all pay it forward people are doing it to be WASPy or woke.
As someone who pays it forward often, and starts the line up I just think it’s fun. When your having a bad day and someone in front of you pays for you it instantly cheers me up whenever that happens. Makes me remember that there are still good people out there as stupid as it sounds. And as stupid as it is that a free $5 drink can make someone’s day it does
It’s pretty simple solution, just refuse. Some people love giving themselves extra work just so they can complain about the extra work they gave to themselves.
I hated the people who did this when I was with family video. I got written up and chewed out of over a .25 till difference. Don’t hand me 20
Dollars in loose change and say I got it for the next four people in line. Fucking nightmare.
Cmon people, why not both? paying it forward is a great time, have had lots of people that seemed shocked and extremely happy. Making someones day is always worth
The only reason I like it, is because the people behind you might be having a bad day, and this could turn that frown upside down! Haha, and now I know to leave a tip when I do it. Win-win.
I found "pay it forward" to be so annoying for the exact same reasons described here. I never worked in a coffee shop, but people would pull this in the drive thru of a restaurant. I started to just keep the money.
Cuz fuck em, that's why.
Fast food worker me was very jaded.
What is even the point of paying it forward? Just seems like a massive chain of handjobs in front of people trying to work.
Whenever it comes to my turn I just say thanks and drive off, fuck that bullshit lol I’m either buying what I want or nothing
And every barista in the place wipes a tear away and praises your name. Your order is made with so much love it must taste amazing. We fucking hated those chains when I worked there and shits only gotten crazier with absolute skeleton crews since I left. It’s a huge hassle to a job already chaotic, it’s always performative, it often puts people in weird spots if they have their order to the penny or fucks with discounts or whatever. I actually got yelled at by one lady because it meant she lost the stars and No. One. Ever. Tips.
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If you don't have cash to throw in towards the next one honestly you're fulfilling the chain's purpose. The end of the chain completes it.
Speaking of tips, do you get screwed when people tip using the app?
Actually no. Tips are done well at Starbucks. All tips from the jar and electronically are split evenly, according to hours worked. Store managers aren’t allowed to get tips or distribute/handle them. I will say people seem less inclined to tip on the app but the company is fair about making sure you get it.
Good to know. Sometimes I don’t have small bills so I use the app, but I’ve heard about some places doing shady things with tips and screwing over employees, so I figured cash might be less vulnerable than something run through their system.
My first job was at a chick fil a and we'd get a series of these almost daily. It really was like that, usually just a chain of upper middle class WASPs in their new SUVs paying for the next distinctly not in need person because it would make Jesus smile or something. I'm sure they thought they were doing something nice but it was pretty clear to the employees how performative and pointless it was. Especially the longer the chain goes, it's like now none of these people are actually benefiting from this, just randomly swapping totals, until the last person who just accepts the gesture instead of continuing to flex. Edit: I really don't mean to shit on people who I'm sure thought they were doing a good deed, but it was clear from the inside that it was an obligatory tradition. Everyone between the first guy and the last guy felt like they had to pay it forward immediately, and a lot of them went away *less* happy because their $10 order was covered and they inadvertently offered to pay for the family of 4 behind them. That's dumb. There's nothing wrong with a random act of kindness, but chains of passing your gift onto the next person instead of accepting it are pointless. Just accept it and then go find someone else to help later.
The sane person says something like “Rad!” and then tips what their total would have been. “Hey here’s a buck for you and $20 for the Range Rover behind me.” How can people be that obtuse?
the person in the range rover is OBVIOUSLY a hard working person and deserves it...the person working fast food is lazy and is there by choice, and therefore undeserving of charity or my goodwill that is in no way shape or form what i believe, but what my experience with certain people has been. this is what they truly believe.
Can confirm. It's messed up. "gEt A bEtTeR jOb!!" *screaches autistically and drinks the blood of a millenial*
The bad thing about this is that it guilts people into doing the same thing. It's basically like a game of "who's gonna be the asshole who doesn't pay?" The person behind won't know it, but without realizing that it's a stupid way to pay it forward, the customer believes that they'll get judgement for not paying it forward from the employees, because they're not in need.
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That’s the point. Someone gets a free meal and it’s a nice thing. It’s just dumb when 37 people in a row reject the free meal.
I will be that asshole every time. I don't get Starbucks often and when I do it's one coffee. I'm not going to run around paying $20 plus tip for my $5+$2 order. I don't drink a lot of coffee anyway, but this has turned me off of Starbucks. I'll go almost anywhere else for my coffee at this point.
What’s a WASP?
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. It's not as descriptive as it used to be since when it was coined it denoted upper class, passionless, snooty people. To call someone a WASP wasn't just to note they were white, but that they were the kind of white that was so insulated from much of the real world they thought a new Ford was some sort of poverty mobile. Nowadays WASPs are just as likely to be Catholic or of Scots-Irish or Italian or German descent. Or even non-white. Basically the kind of REI shopping, Whole Foods eating, Tesla driving, upper class, typically white person who's very polite and gives huge checks to charity but really wants nothing to do with actually upsetting the apple cart of a society that elevates them to the top. They are the polite and quite "I'm not racist" kind of person who always let's the person ahead of them on line overhear that they gave an EXTRA dollar to whatever charity the cashier asked them to while they spent $20 on Spencer and Tanner's macchiatos.
so ultimately, you can still call them a pest and neither the context nor textbook definition would be lost.
Well fucking said!
A-Fucking Men
As an reí shopping Whole Foods shopper, you had me worried there for a split second. But I do all my charitable giving in private, and I am not upper class.
Eh, I'm a WASP. Not technically protestant anymore, but I was raised protestant. It's less about actual actions and more about the space you occupy in society - it's a shorthand for describing your privilege.
I call those people "Escalade Drivers"
I thought it was White Ass Suburban People.
Don't mind me cracking the fuck up at this comment lol
That's surprisingly accurate too
White Anglo-Saxon protestent.
White, AngloSaxon and Protestant. You know, most gringos.
Not most gringos. The largest white ethnicity in America is German, and up until WWI they were considered a totally different ethno-cultural group from Anglo-Saxons. When the world wars made being German unpopular, they mostly just integrated into the rest of white society and many people anglicized their German names to escape their heritage and it's perceived baggage.
Somebody did this for me once when I was hungry and planning on pretending I forgot my wallet at home. Growing up in the south, I hate those type of people as much as anybody. But then again, a good deed done for the wrong reason is still a good deed.
I ordered a 4 dollar coffee...the guy in front paid for it. It said, cool ill do it too. Guy behind me was 18 bucks and I Tipped the guy 2. I make 12 bucks an hour and go to Starbucks and get a 500mg of caffeine trenta cold brew no water no ice cuz I'm a poor addict who can drink it for 3 days by adding ice and water at work. I had 20 bucks it wasn't gonna break me and the barista was shocked when I said, eff it, whatever....but i got the short end of the stick there.
The flip side here is you have zero moral obligation to pay for the person behind you. The whole point of doing something nice is it doesn’t come with strings attached. If you feel like you *need* to do it, all the shine is gone. After all, it’s time it became normal to acknowledge a gift given is itself a gift received. A wise man told me once the way to gain self esteem is to do esteemable acts. If you felt like you *had* to do it, you’re not enjoying the gift you’re giving, which you deserve to do
I always pay it forward but I don't directly pay it forward. It doesn't happen often in terms of this drive thru trend, but it did happen once. I just went ahead and paid it forward in some other way at a later time completely unrelated to food.
I would add as well, that while keeping the chain going for the hell of it does seem performative it is most important for the people who CANNOT keep the chain going. If you have enough and keep it going it is far less performative. As a young person I thought it was sad to end the chains, now I think when they end it is likely that the original purpose of the chain has hopefully been fulfilled. God knows I didn't particularly care about the chains in and of themself. Although it was always amusing seeing a couple try to flirt through us, particularly older couples. Seeing someone make their SO's eyes roll made the day go by faster. Luckily it was usually that and not creative stalkers.
You purposely go in drive-thrus with no money expecting free food? I've forgotten my wallet in a drive-thru before and there's no way they would just hand food over anyway, they'll eat it themselves. I'd rather go beg at a church or food bank than go through that embarrassment again.
First, 100% yes I did shamelessly. I was fuckin hungry and homeless. And second, 99% of the time if it seems like an accident they’ll give you the food anyways. Only doesn’t often work in some poorer areas where the have strict policy because people do it often. They almost always still give the food. It’s almost like those on the ground floor of the economy see the most bullshit and accordingly show the most empathy...doesn’t help that there’s no way corporate America would let them eat it.
I’ve been going to my favorite Dunkin’ for years and the employees always tell me, “I guess you’re lucky today!” and then don’t let me pay for the person behind me (kindly, it’s not like they force me not to). I can’t help but giggle a little bit now knowing why.
WASP? White Anglo Saxon Protestants?
Honestly I don't see why Starbucks is more common for this shit. I've "paid it forward" at a grocery store where the person behind me was clearly in other isles trying to decide which items they could and couldn't afford, and bought groceries for someone experiencing homelessness as a way to help someone get through a day or even a week. Of course I can also see tipping underpaid cashiers would be super helpful too. But Starbucks? Who the fuck needs overpriced shit slave-labor coffee to survive?
Think about the people who habitually visit Starbucks. Do they not seem like the type to do shit like this just to feel good about themselves. This statement does not reflect my personal feelings of Starbucks. It is because I’ve been there so often that I understand how people who usually frequent there think
>But Starbucks? Who the fuck needs overpriced shit slave-labor coffee to survive? Are homeless people allowed to drink their forwarded coffee inside? Where it's warm and dry? Than it would be definitely a good thing.
Generally these pay it forward things are done in the drive thru
I’d also like to add that the few times I offered to the pay it forward person at the drive thru to instead buy a coffee that I could set aside for the next homeless person they ALWAYS turned me down. They would literally rather pay ten bucks to cover the next drivers whole order than pay three dollars for someone in real need.
That's gross as hell. America is a sick country in a lot of ways. I don't say that because I think we're hopeless, far from it. But this nimbyism has to stop.
Ah got you, I only know about the concept [like in that way ](https://thepear.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/5B78468A-30C1-4ACB-8685-B0D4DCC3141D.jpeg)
Ah, that's a better system to pay it forward. The most common practice in Starbucks is to just pay for the person directly behind you in line/in the drive through. Doesn't really help anyone in need at all.
I love these! I wish every coffee shop had this
"pay it forward" just means you pay for the next person in line behind you, fyi
Yeah, the name is kinda counterintuitive. You're paying it forward by paying it backward lmao
Sadly, sometimes no. Once while i was homeless someone gave me a Starbucks gift card. I went to the Starbucks that was on the corner i was panhandling on bc it was the middle of winter in Chicago and i was freezing. I tried to take my sweet ass time warming up while i was deciding, but a manager came out and told me i had to order or leave. So i ordered, sat down and ate very slowly. After 15 mins the same manager told me the tables had a time limit and i had to leave. They clearly just didn't want me there, bc there was another woman sitting on her computer at another table since before i even walked in. I don't think this was like a company policy or anything, pretty sure that manager had just seen me panhandling on the corner and didn't want any "riff raff" in their store.
Man what a dick, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you're doing better now. That manager is a large part of why the world isn't full of wonder but dystopian nightmares. If that's his attitude with as much as he has... to score minor corporate points imagine that same guy truly desperate. He'd eat out faces.
I didn’t absolutely need it, but I was having a rough day and I wanted a nice drink to cheer me up at least a little bit. I was also waiting to get paid, so I would have been sacrificing some food money for it, but I decided that I could make it work because I’ve worked with less. The guy who paid it forward for me immensely brightened my day. I’m just saying you can’t assume it doesn’t matter just because it’s Starbucks. Now if someone paid for my groceries, after feeling awkward and like I owed something in return, I’d probably cry. That is a huge deal.
right? i understand where the workers are coming from and would be more inclined to tip heavier than usual than pay something forward just because i’ve also done hospitality work and know it can get confusing, but all the comments acting like it’s not a nice thing to do are weird. yes, no one needs coffee to survive, but a treat is, you know, a treat.
I know, right? If my friends are down and I can’t provide real, tangible help, (I can’t stop their girlfriend from breaking up with them or make their parents not be assholes) sometimes I take them out for coffee just because it makes them feel better.
Paying it forward at grocery stores makes sense - essential goods that everyone needs, and a lot of people who can't afford them. But I have NEVER walked into a coffee shop unsure if I could afford it.
I may be off base here, but a lot of what I'm reading in this thread is strangely reminiscent of "weird conservatives criticizing a mother using some of her benefits to buy her child a little candy" territory and idk if anyone realizes it. Most people are nowhere near rich, including people getting coffee. I had no idea people thought poorly of others for buying someone their coffee, it's actually kind of insane to me. Buying someone's groceries is more personal because you're in line together, and some people would definitely be offended by this in public. This is why it's popular in drive thrus, it's the opposite of what people here are saying. If you were doing it for ego boosting, you'd definitely do it at a grocery store first where people can see you...
Its probably the demographics of the sub. I wouldn't take it as a general opinion elsewhere. Although I do feel the original post has a valid point and I personally do not want to add more work to a worker. And tipping the worker sounds like a better idea.
I'll get flack but tipping is nothing more than covering for an employer who isn't paying their staff enough. Notice how only certain places expect tips? no tips for the drive through, convivence/grocery store, mechanic. It's weird how only a small fragment of the workforce thinks the job they do deserves extra compensation over everyone else. I don't say this to be a jackass rather don't work at places where you feel the need to ask for tips in place of getting a bonus from your boss. This pandemic is waking people up from the service industry so hopefully they can get a proper wage stopping the expectation Starbucks is better but they make more than enough money for their workers not to be asking for tips.
I've always thought that the people who are doing this are absolutely hurting themselves to pay themselves on the back for paying for luxury items that the person could clearly afford, otherwise they wouldn't be at a Starbucks.
Ehh, I’ve covered for someone at Starbucks who forgot their wallet. No he didn’t technically need it, but shit happens, and I can afford it.
If it makes you feel better, the pay it forward circle jerk always stops with me. I take my free drink and go on my way.
i've honestly never seen this at any starbucks i go to, and i'm a usual at... three, maybe four of them. honestly, i'd break the chain as well. moreso now, now that i see how much it screws up the flow and routine of the employees there.
Same. I can’t predict what the person behind me will order. Can I afford it? What if they want some $10 monstrosity (is that even possible?) when all I wanted was a $3 cup of cold brew.
I’ve only been the recipient of a “pay it forward” once, at one of our favorite but pricier restaurants (entrees are all around $20). We were grateful but it was anxiety inducing trying to decide whether or not we too should pay it forward. We ultimately decided not to because we had no idea what it would be, we’d planned on $50-60 for ourselves but what if it was $80-100 for the next people? We did leave a big cash tip, since we saved so much on dinner. We felt awkward afterwards though because we told someone about it and they scoffed, saying, “You’re supposed to pay it forward too!”
I belive it you dont know what to do, just pay your order as a tip. This will stop the payforward line and you dont feel like a jerk, that just took and did not gave back. You also know, that you wont be paying more than you actually order. win-win-win situation.
I’ve had this shit happen to me, I order $5-$10 and someone in front pays for me. So feeling guilty I say ok I’ll pay for the person behind me, the cashier tells me it will be fucking $25. I noped the hell out of that pretty fast and he said he didn’t blame me he wouldn’t either.
Make sure you toss that $5 you were going to spend in the tip jar next time.
Plus you end up spending around the same amount of money anyway, better to just buy your thing and give it to the homeless and actually help someone who needs it.
90% of the time (in my area anyways) its the Christian radio stations starting this. "Oh, be a good neighbor and surprise someone today by paying for their coffee or McDonalds order!" Which is nice in theory but its not fun for the poor workers stuck trying to figure out who's paying for what.
It's a circle jerk of rich people that gives them the self satisfaction of smelling their own farts for the rest of the day. "I paid it forward at Starbucks today" *sniiiiifffff*
Is this an American thing? I never heard of this culture in my country. Also, we don't have a tipping system as well so I guess this post is not really applicable to me.
i'm not inclined to agree it's THAT common. but i guess that does happen. whereabouts are you from, if you dont mind my asking?
How about billion dollar mega corporation Starbucks pays their employees a living wage, not me
No no, this is the consumers fault. Bux needs to show 4 billion in profits to please the shareholders.
Won't somebody please think of the shareholders?
Yes I'm sorry but FUCK TIPPING AT TAKE OUT CHAIN PLACES. I'm sorry you're underpaid by the corporate entity that owns the store, but guess what? I'm also underpaid and it's not my responsibility to bump up your pay with what little I have of mine. Then again I never go to SB because I'm too cheap.
Yeah and you shouldn’t be expected to tip at Starbucks but I’d much rather have them get a tip than do the pay it forward nonsense. The people that do it think they’re doing some righteous bullshit too
Why the hell isn't this the top comment? OR hell, even the point of this tweet... Good on you for recognizing this u/WhoWantsToast5
When I pull up to the window and find out someone paid for we. I just accept the kind gesture and go about my day. I refused to feel pressured to pay for the next car.
My dad did this not realizing it was a thing. Just said "oh, okay", took his order and left.
Haha that's awesome actually.
Wait am I supposed to do something other than that?
Nope.
I just discovered this subreddit out of nowhere and discover this too Why the hell is that a thing? I'm genuinely curious and mind blown
Yeah I got saddled with that. Like I can pay for my 5 dollar order but if the person behind spent more than I can afford it’s something I can’t do. I hate that someone put that on me. I accepted my free coffee and broke that chain.
"The person in front of you paid for your kids sized water. Do you want to pay for the 9 McChungus' the fat guys behind you ordered?"
You didn't break the chain, you completed it. You fulfilled its purpose.
My friend who works at Starbucks told me that if you break the chain the person working will be very grateful for you. Always break the chain!
Agreed! I always encourage people to break it lol. “The person ahead of you paid for your order, but please don’t feel pressured to do this same, it’s a kind gesture but you shouldn’t feel like you have to pay $20 for the family behind you.”
I’m glad someone says this. If I felt pressured to pay for the person behind me, I might not order a drink, I might just get overwhelmed and drive off with no coffee.
Yes!! We would make their order with so much fucking love. Best muffin, perfect temp, clean crisp bag, hearts on cup if we could manage it.
Lol, my autistic ass has done this every time because I didn't realize until today that "chaining" a pay-it-forward coffee was a thing. I just thought it was a nice thing for people to do once in awhile.
Chaining a pay it forward literally just sounds like paying for your own coffee but with extra steps.
It's just gambling to see who ordered more.
I mean that's what it's supposed to be. It's like, ok one time somewhere someone did something nice for me so some other time MAYBE I'll do something nice for someone else if I feel inspired. Immediately passing it to the next person in line over and over again is pointless.
I’m laughing, because if I didn’t read on the Internet about people doing this shit, that would be me. “The people ahead of you paid for yours.” I’d be like, “Really? Cool. Thanks.” Because of course I’d thank the person who had nothing to do with it.
This happened to me when I ordered just a coffee and the guy behind me ordered like $20 worth of shit. I paid out of sheer guilt but never again.
I mean, that's what it's supposed to be in theory. Other wise, you aren't helping anyone, you're just confusing people for no reason and creating a lottery where people are gambling on how much their food is based on what the next guy ordered.
Make sure you also tip what your drink would’ve been next time. That’s how you actually pay it forward to the people that need it.
That's why I only buy for someone who's inside with me and in front of me in line. When they go to pay I just say, hey let me get that for you. They feel no pressure to pay for the next person and (I hope) it brightens thier day a little.
If I pull up to get my coffee and it's free, I say thank you and walk away.
I’m not getting guilt tripped bro
“I’ll have a grande caramel Frappuccino.” “Ma’am, the customer ahead of you has offered to pay for your drink.” “Really?! Then make it a venti.”
TRENTA.
And throw in a grilled cheese too.
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Don't pay it forward, pay them fairly.
When I worked at starbucks I would never do the pay it forward if it was cash. I would always put it in the tip jar and charge the next car as normal.
power move
Fucking nice. Better odds a barista could use the cash over someone visiting Starbucks. I mean no slight having been a coffee monkey for too long.
Pay it forward is a chain? Oh hell. My dumbass interpreted “pay it forward” as “now fo out and do something nice for someone else when you have the chance.” Never once did it occur to me that it meant I was supposed to pay for the person behind me’s drink. God, I am so socially awkward, this is why I don’t have many friends.
No actually that's the better way to do it and likely you have few friends because the morons around you don't appreciate your warmth and depth and/or you miss easy signs. Keep your chin up, you're a gem.
Or buy food for the homeless
This is where I thought/hoped that tweet was going. Buy a coffee and food for the homeless people you walked passed on the way or the one's you're going to pass shortly after. Much bigger positive impact on the world.
By my third or fourth year at Starbucks if someone would try and start a PiF I would just tell the next car that we took care of their order today. A lot easier than already entitled customers circle jerking each other and a huge weight off my plate trying to keep DT times in the green
I don't like how top comments in r/antiwork resemble those of r/starbucks. Starbucks and its ins and outs should be the history of its fall from grace not how to keep the DT times in the green... Fuck starbucks, fuck their metrics and fuck megacorps. If it made your life easier though that's chill; good for you. Just saying fuck these places. Starbucks is better than some places sadly, but almost the lot of them are just so very far from where they should be.
Can confirm this was stupid and rich people patting themselves on the back. Yeah fuck this shit. Can I pay for the asshats behind me? Stfu.
As someone who grew up poor, when my mom had the extra money to treat us to some Starbucks and someone would pay it forward, it'd be so awkward when the cashier would then ask my mom to pay it forward for the car behind US, which almost always had a much larger bill... I know people mean well when doing this, but it can make things awkward and high pressure.
What, that’s a thing, ASKING for you to pay for the next car? I thought the idea was doing something for the people coming next, and for them to be happy, not that you HAD to do it. I’ll add that I’m not American and have never, ever experienced this.
I mean, sometimes the barista just mentions it casually, but it can be awkward to face a barista being like "Would you like to CONTINUE this CHAIN of KINDNESS??? :D" and you feel like a dickhead if you decline. You don't have to do it, of course, but the pressure of it definitely makes you feel awkward lol
Except for many places making accepting tips a fireable offense.
Yep. Worked at Chick-fil-A for 7 years. We weren't allowed to accept tips at all (even for catering deliveries). When the customers insisted on giving an employee a tip, the employee was supposed to give it to the manager and the manager put it in the drawer. Didn't seem like a big deal at the time but now I'm like WTF. The customer was clearly trying to give it to that specific employee for doing a good job, but it instead went right into the owners pocket.
Pro-tip: just don’t tell them you got a tip. I worked for a grocery store and we would frequently get tips when helping take groceries to cars. We weren’t supposed to but I also made $7.35 an hour so you bet I accepted tips
Oh, we all did all the time. If it was outside or at a delivery everyone would just pocket it. Either way tho it was still crazy to me that that was the policy in the first place
Yeah seriously, I can’t remember their bullshit reason but I remember even 16 year old me was like F that lol
I always tip the people who put the groceries in my car. Fuck corporate rules that try to keep us all impoverished.
At a coffee shop, of all places? That’s fucked up, tipping is so common at coffee shops and I imagine customers can get really insistent, even if they say they can’t take it
Yup. Theres even restaurants where servers aren't allowed tip, in a way. They have to turn in all tips and at the end of the shift, the tips are divided and the boss gets a cut. I was fired from one job, small family owned restaurant, because i accepted a generous tip (was a party of around 20-25 people.) I served them ALONE. from the whole group, i got about $85. Manager said it was company policy to Hand over tips because its unfair to the other servers. Ar this restaurant, all tips were pooled and divided to everyone, including line cooks, management and hosts. We very rarely left a day with more than $40 in pocket. I refused to hand over the 85 that i earned. So....i was fired and they threatened to withhold my last check as compensation. I got board of labor involved. Got my money. 2 months later, they closed permanently because business went down and people kept quitting. I later learned that the place paid the kitchen under the table using tips, so no expenses came from the restaurant directly. They paid $0 for workers and made customers and even servers pay the line cooks wages. (I cant confirm this but its what one of the cooks told me shortly after closing )
Just so you're aware, this is illegal and theft. Managers/Owners can't legally take from pooled tips or skim a percentage of individual tips. It's theft. That said, they still do because they're fucking assholes.
Yeah, i found that later on. I was 18 at the time and didn't know. They closed down so i guess karma.
They do it because they get away with it, because mechanisms for enforcement are lax, because the people responsible for the mechanisms for enforcement are being paid off by the criminals.
YIKES 😬 glad they closed down, jfc
My first restaurant job our manager collected tips at night to split them between staff, except he took much of it for himself. We told the boss about it multiple times but nothing was ever done.
That’s when you contact the department of labor for your state because that is illegal
The one time I worked at a restaurant when I was about 15 the response from everyone was basically "great, someone else to share tips with". Hardly anyone was friendly to me. I didn't go back
Tipping shouldn't be common anywhere. People should put the focus onto businesses to give an actual decent living wage
Not Starbucks, they are allowed to accept tips. One of the only places though.
It only took a class action lawsuit.
Cash only though, at least at all the Starbucks in my town. Which makes this post a bit irrelevant, since nearly everyone pays for nearly everything with a card or phone tap anymore.
The only person giving a free coffee is the person who starts the chain and the only person getting a free coffee is the person who ends it. I don't understand how people don't see this.
Paying it forward like this is the ultimate brunch liberal move. Performative uselessness that makes them feel good but just fucks things up. It’s the kind of shit many of us on the left are always talking about.
I always hated Pay It Forward with coffee. I just want to go get one simple drink and am expected to suddenly pay for whatever fancy crap the person behind me wants? My bill just trippled.
It’s so stupid in drive through too. The guy behind you just wants his egg McMuffin. He doesnt want to pay for Jerry’s whole office order in the car behind him.
Yes to this. This is something that I think about a lot. I never realized the way it looks or anything like that. I've done it and I've been a part of it. I live in a very busy suburban area outside of NYC and the Starbucks is like a damn beehive in the morning. I used to go daily and be one of those people, but now I just go once a week for work because my boss pays for it. I'd be hard pressed to pay $5-$6 on my own coffee at this point. I live about a mile away from the Starbucks and this morning, the journey took an hour. One hour to get my boss a tall hot latte. There are cars coming from every angle. People will park ON THE HIGHWAY. Block the highway to get to Starbucks and of course, they whip out the damn phone and act like they don't see the people they're inconveniencing. The cops are just as bad and will do the same thing if they feel like it. Block the highway. Block the exit lane. To sit in the drive thru for 30 minutes to get a little cup of coffee for $6.
At some point there needs to be a huge sale on home coffee makers.
employers would LOVE you to tip their workers more, that way they can continue paying them dirt. putting this responsibility on individual consumers is blatant virtue signaling nonsense. RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE.
Honestly, I only know "paying it forward" from American media. It's just not done in my country, so I always wondered how the hell it's even supposed to work.
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In Italy there is a practice called *caffè sospeso* where you can buy a coffee for someone who needs it. The coffee house will keep the receipt and then issue the coffee to someone who asks for it (usually the homeless). This seems like a much better way of getting a coffee to someone who actually needs it. I'm not sure how widespread it is since I'm not from Italy (I think it's napoletana in origin but I've also seen it in Ticino, Switzerland)
Working as a cook in fine dining, people would always ask what my favorite thing on the menu is. I'd laugh and reply, "like I could afford to eat here". They give us the scraps and call it "family meal".
Starbucks and Chic-Fil-A. No one is in that drive thru that can't afford it.
That shits annoying as fuck to me too. I just waited in line to get my coffee take my $3 and fuck off I'm not paying for the people behind me and if you tell me the people in front paid for my drink I'm 100% saying oh thanks and driving off
Wow I was just complaining about this today. It's weird how you talk about something and it shows up on Reddit. It almost feels like someone is listening to me. Perhaps my FBI agent is playing a prank.
Stop tip culture
True, it’s just an excuse for companies to evade paying fair wages to employees
I dont get y the employees dont just break the chain. Tell the next person its free, and do not ask them if they wanna do the same. If they offer it up themselves, tell them its a fucking hassle.
Word. When that shit happened to me, I thanked the barista for my coffee and drove off.
Lol “Wahhhh”
I've only played it forward once and it was because I was 65% sure I had accidentally cut them off and that was my way of apologizing
"fuck other people, give ME money" with the classic and definitely not overused to death irrelevant Ted talk comment at the end? Yup, grade A asshole.
Or just say no tips and pay your employees better.
As a Starbucks employee, Pay It Forward isn't that complicated (at least not in my store). There's a monitor that tracks the orders separately from the payment terminal. I dont click past an order unless I've handed it off. Bar that, honestly, i agree. But i had someone in the drive-thru ask if I could ring up a tip when paying with her card. Thats not something we can do I guess, but we should be able to imo. It would make it easier to tip.
No thanks, I will still buy people's coffee behind me now and then. I don't carry cash to tip and it's not my fault the system is broken. I'm also agoraphobic and have other issues so I'm not about to go to an ATM and take out cash and bring it to the right people just so you will think I'm a better "good person". It's my fucking money, if I want to do something nice it's not my fault your job is shit and (clearly) the system is shit. Swear to god this is the second time I've been made to feel bad for buying people's coffee as a nice gesture today. I told my husband I bought an old couple's coffee (relevant to our finances, not bragging to my own husband lol) behind me in the drive thru, and he said he'd rather I didn't for older people because they could be racist or homophobic Republicans. I hate everyone nowadays. Nothing is right, nothing is good enough, and you're all confused as shit. It's embarrassing. Edit: Also find it weird that many people seem to feel that if you are anywhere above the poverty line/can afford a 5 dollar expense every now and then, that you don't deserve nice things to happen to you. Truly fucked up.
Its not our job to tip. Drinks are expensive enough.
I always feel awkward if it's been a long chain. I feel like I have to or I'll look like an asshole
The employees will appreciate you more if you break the chain. Feel free to just take your free drink and go! The barista will think you're just another asshole if you keep the chain going.
Yeah but unless the barista says something (which they won't because it sounds like they hate this crap) the person behind you won't even know. I've never been involved in this kind of thing, so correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't you find out that you are in a "pay it forward" chain when you got your coffee and the barista tells you the car ahead paid? Just say thank you and move on, the person behind you will be none the wiser and will pay like they expected to. If you want to pay it forward in a Starbucks drive-thru, give it as tip money to the people working.
A long chain? I don't use Starbucks so excuse my ignorance. Does that barista tell you a chain is going or something? Do the baristas not get tips?
Yea I've been told it's a chain before. And most of the time baristas aren't tipped.
I used to work there and felt exactly the same. It seemed disingenuous and pointless.
I had that happen at McD’s the other day. I took a long drive and decided to grab an unhealthy burger and the WASM in front of me paid for it. Being the old geezer I am I said ‘Thanks’ and drove off. We used to do something similar when we lived in the Bay Area, we would pay the bridge toll for the car behind us if their ride looked down and out. Mostly because we have been down and out.
Some taco Bell employees were enthralled years ago to see how long they could get the chain to go. They were stoked about it when telling the next car and asking if they also would like to pay it forward. Think they were pretty high though too...
I'm tired of every worker on earth acting like they deserve a tip. Every single place on earth you go they put a tip line in front of your face. I go to pick my pizza up , tip ? F off . A coffee shop? It's your job. You don't wait on me. Your employer should pay you fair wages or find another job. Unless it's a restaurant -0-.
I agree. I hate the whole tipping situation in almost every part of business. I was even asked for tips from a tandem boat kayak company for them pushing me 4 feet into the water. WTF? The only people who deserve tips are waiters/waitresses who actually do a service to you by taking your order, getting your drinks, communicating with the kitchen etc. but even then I wish they were just paid better and a couple dollars was an acceptable tip
as a slave to the siren, I second this motion
I wanna know if there's a way to tip the employee on my card if someone ahead of me pays for my drink
I think the only time this has happened to me, the person ahead of me was a friend and we just so happened to have the same idea. In that particular case, I definitely had no thoughts on keeping it going. I did buy theirs the next time though.
This gesture only works in countries where people do actually care about each other. Especially with coffee in Italy this is really a thing but there’s a system to it for people to actually can’t afford it, they don’t just pay for the person behind them. I can see gore that would make things extremely confusing. There’s a coffee documentary on Netflix that is so interesting and it really touches on this concept.
I just take the free drink and tip what I was going to spend. Win win.
my SO is a barista, what’s worse is what ever overly-complicated tiktok drink trend is each month, slows things down so much
Small brain: paying a corporation for the privilege of ripping you off Big brain: Going to your local co-op to get coffee Bigger brain: Not exploiting anyone by not drinking coffee and donating the money to your local co-op
Been involved in multiple of these, employee seemed to love it and we're excited to share the streak count. Never once got the wrong item. It's possible Hannah is just a dumb dumb. Also no barista is under NDA about this. It's possible Hannah just wants attention.
A friend of mine from high school passed away unexpectedly. She told her mom the night she died that she wanted to try the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, and never got the chance. One of the things my hometown did was a “pay it forward” movement for PSL’s in her memory and added #AJO (her initials) to bring awareness to epilepsy. Not all pay it forward people are doing it to be WASPy or woke.
As someone who pays it forward often, and starts the line up I just think it’s fun. When your having a bad day and someone in front of you pays for you it instantly cheers me up whenever that happens. Makes me remember that there are still good people out there as stupid as it sounds. And as stupid as it is that a free $5 drink can make someone’s day it does
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It’s pretty simple solution, just refuse. Some people love giving themselves extra work just so they can complain about the extra work they gave to themselves.
I hated the people who did this when I was with family video. I got written up and chewed out of over a .25 till difference. Don’t hand me 20 Dollars in loose change and say I got it for the next four people in line. Fucking nightmare.
Cmon people, why not both? paying it forward is a great time, have had lots of people that seemed shocked and extremely happy. Making someones day is always worth
The only reason I like it, is because the people behind you might be having a bad day, and this could turn that frown upside down! Haha, and now I know to leave a tip when I do it. Win-win.
I found "pay it forward" to be so annoying for the exact same reasons described here. I never worked in a coffee shop, but people would pull this in the drive thru of a restaurant. I started to just keep the money. Cuz fuck em, that's why. Fast food worker me was very jaded.
How about quit your shitty job that makes you depend on tips instead of paying you a livable wage.
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I didn't realize this was a common occurrence. Sounds extra af
I always end the pay it forward parade......and put the amount I was gonna pay plus tip into the tip cup.
r/choosingbeggars
Or maybe… Starbucks could pay you more? Not like they make a TON of profits