A random act of kindness at a Tampa-area Starbucks set into motion a chain of giving that lasted for nearly 400 customers…Around 7 a.m. a woman ordering from the coffee house’s drive-through paid for her own drink and said she’d like to pay for the customer behind her. Moved by the stranger’s generosity, that customer returned the favor for the next, who did the same.
The chain grew so big that employees began keeping a tally of consecutive customers who chose to “pay it forward.” The tally was over 250 by 1:30…
As the afternoon rush hour came and more and more customers kept the streak going, the baristas entertained hopes of it continuing until closing and perhaps using a gift card to extend it to the following day.
But around 6:00 p.m., customer number 379 crushed their hopes of a fairy-tale ending. An unknown woman driving a white Jeep Commander refused to pay for anything but her own drink — even though it had already been paid for. Starbucks employee Vu Nguyen explained the special circumstances but the woman was unmoved and, in Nguyen’s opinion, visibly unable to understand the concept of paying it forward.
Oh, it would be so easy to identify the politics, personal philosophy of someone who doesn’t comprehend good works. Tempting. But, not enough data.
Now, imagine trying to get the same thing started at a corner liquor store or cigarette shop! Phew.
Not-so-incidentally, this really is a Starbucks tradition. The record was set last December’s holiday season with 1468 customers in Newington, Connecticut…and ran from Tuesday morning the 24th through Saturday evening the 28th.
Eideard 
well, not just a “Starbucks” tradition- Tim Hortons in Winnipeg Canada at the end of last year/beginning of this year had a similar situation- 228 customers over 3+ hrs. http://drugsandotherthings.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/random-acts-of-kindness/ . And I’ve heard similar stories over the years.
And many years I frequented a bar where some of the tap handles were stuffed with money- regulars paying in advance for other locals who were struggling.
Tim Hortons rocks. Though I have to admit to Dunkin Donuts loyalty. Lived a few miles from Dunkin Donuts University – and when I traveled all New England for a living, I never missed the local franchise in Nashua, New Hampshire. They made some products of their own [graham raisin crullers, yum] and it was a mellow local morning hangout.
Ha, I “grew up” with Dunkin Donuts (in the nearest “real” town, about 30mins away. Ironically, as if to re-enforce a sterotype- they were directly across the street from the police station.
And I was suprised to find out recently that Tim Hortons was an American company- that moved (at least on paper) to Canada for tax reasons.
Burger King is in talks to buy Tim Hortons and move its headquarters to Canada, becoming the latest American company seeking to relocate to a lower-tax country. http://www.businessinsider.com/burger-king-is-in-talks-to-buy-canadas-most-famous-donut-chain-to-avoid-us-taxes-2014-8
“Burger King, the Cash Cow” (June 2012) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/opinion/nocera-burger-king-the-cash-cow.html?_r=0 It’s a burger franchise, no it’s a private equity investment firm – wait, you’re both right. It’s “an enrichment scheme for clever financiers, who have sucked hundreds of millions of dollars out of it over the years.”
Including a royal citizen named Romney.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is providing $3 billion of financing for Burger King Worldwide Inc.’s planned takeover of Tim Hortons Inc. and will earn 9 percent annual interest on the investment. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-26/buffett-to-help-finance-burger-king-tax-saving-deal.html The latest transaction helps Buffett deploy some of Berkshire’s mounting cash pile, which grew to a record $55.5 billion at the end of June. It also deepens his company’s relationship with Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital, which controls Miami-based Burger King. …Buffett was able to charge higher rates in the financial crisis after alternative sources of funding dried up. He got 10 percent a year on a $5 billion preferred stake in Goldman Sachs and a $3 billion bet on General Electric Co. Both companies redeemed the investments at a premium. Berkshire later swapped warrants it got in those deals for common stock in GE and Goldman Sachs.
See also http://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/tax-inversion/
“Tim Hortons holds the ‘real power’ in Burger King deal, says industry expert” http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/25/tim-hortons-burger-king-takeover/
Also: “Miles Nadal is one of the best-known advertising moguls in Canada. His US$1.2-billion firm, MDC Partners Inc., owns more than 50 agencies that have crafted campaigns for companies ranging from Samsung to BMW, and he says Canadians have no reason to fret about the future of Tim Hortons Inc. – in fact, the company’s future may be brighter than ever under Burger King Worldwide Inc.” http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/30/burger-king-will-turn-tim-hortons-into-iconic-global-brand-miles-nadal-says/ “The combined company will be headquartered in Oakville, Ont., but it will be majority owned by Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital Inc., which currently owns about 70% of Burger King.”
“Meet the man who stopped the 11-hour Starbucks pay-it-forward: ‘I had to put an end to it'” http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/08/meet-the-man-who-ended-the-10-hour-starbucks-pay-it-forward-i-had-to-put-an-end-to-it–106360.html