Florida Man Deliberately Scuttles 'Pay It Forward' Starbucks Line
By YAZHOU SUN 2 hours ago Good Morning America
A Florida man put an end to a “pay it forward” streak at a local Starbucks because he said he thinks people were participating out of “guilt,” not “generosity.”
Peter Schorsch, a blogger, drove to the Starbucks drive-thru in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Thursday after hearing about the pay it forward phenomenon there that ended with customer No. 458. After he ordered two Venti Mocha Frappuccinos, the barista told him his first drink had been paid for by the previous customer and asked if he would like to pay for the next customer.
“I told him no,” Schorsch, of St. Petersburg, told ABC News. “When the barista asks you to pay it forward, it is no longer spontaneous.”
Though Schorsch didn't pay for the next customer at the drive-thru, he said he tipped the barista $100.
“I’m really not trying to be a Grinch,” Schorsch said. “I know things are hard for baristas and I am willing to help people.”
“I just don’t want to be forced into doing something,” said Schorsch, who is also a part-time political consultant. “This is turning into a social phenomenon and I had to put an end to it.”
When baristas ask customers to pay for the next customer, some patrons simply oblige out of guilt, not generosity, he said.
“Although I can’t prove it, I think this has become an organic marketing ploy for Starbucks,” Schorsch said. “I love Starbucks. I have nothing against them. But this takes away the genuineness.”
Schorsch said some patrons are driving to this particular store after they heard about the pay it forward streak.
“This is turning into something ridiculous and cheesy,” Schorsch said.
“It just seems like a First World problem to me. Middle-class people sitting in their cars at a drive-thru, sipping a $5 drink and worry about someone breaking the ranks,” Schorsch said.
“There is a little humor being a contrarian, but I think if you really want to help, find someone that obviously needs help, like the homeless,” Schorsch said.
"Also, I got a $6 Venti Frappuccino. Someone might just get a $2 coffee," Schorsch said. "This is unfair to that person who paid for me."
An employee at this Starbucks location referred ABC News to the company’s corporate media relations hotline this morning.
Linda Mills, Starbucks’ spokeswoman, did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for a comment.
This store’s pay it forward chain lasted for 10 hours on Wednesday, with 457 customers following the practice, until customer No. 458 refused.
https://gma.yahoo.com/florida-man-delib ... .html?vp=1
IMO, this guy was being more than a little dickish. It says in the article that he went to the Starbucks in question after hearing about the "Pay it Forward" line; which implies that he went there specifically to end it, rather than being confronted with an unexpected line and simply refusing once there to go along. It implies he sought out that particular Starbuck's (one assumes there are more than one in the Tampa- St. Petersburg area) which may or may not have been the closest one to him (it doesn't say in the article). He claims he did it because "he said he thinks people were participating out of 'guilt,' not 'generosity.'", but how would he know why others were doing it? And even if he were right, wouldn't that be for them do live with, not him? I rather strongly suspect that this smacks of a publicity stunt on his part, but TBH, there's no direct proof of that. So, what says NSG? Was he right to do this?
