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It was kind of a bad night at work. We were down a person, and having trouble making times. Everyone was frustrated, including myself. I was working drive-thru by myself (taking the orders, taking cash, and handing the order out) and had just handed out a lone woman's order. She sat there for a moment, looking down at the cash in her hand. After I asked if everything was okay, she turned to me and asked how much the car-behind-her's order was. I can't remember the exact amount, but she then proceeded to pay for his order. I figured she knew the person in the next car, because that happens quite often. So when I asked her, she said she didn't, she just wanted to do something nice for someone. (I'm a sucker for doing nice things for other people randomly.) She then simply asked that I tell the next car to, in turn, do something nice for someone else. I couldn't help the smile on my face, what a nice thing to do! So I wished her a good night, and when the next car pulled up, I informed them that their order was paid for by the previous car. The gentleman almost didn't seem to know what to do with this. He stared at me dumbstruck for a moment. He asked if she had said anything, so I passed on her message about doing something nice for someone else. He looked in his rear view mirror and then back at me, and asked me how much the next order was. Man, I must've looked like an idiot with the size of the grin on my face. So I gave him their total, and he paid for it. The next car pulled up, and it was a group of young girls. I think their original total had been around seven dollars, and when I told them that their order was paid for, they all did the 'no way,' 'ohmygod,' 'this is so cool,' thing. I couldn't agree with them more, this was fantastic! I again passed on the message about doing something nice for someone else. They asked me the total of the next car, and it was more than twice their original total. They all looked at each other, clearly debating on whether or not to spend so much more than their original total. The girl in the passenger seat was the one paying, and just as she was about to, the driver told her not to do it. The passenger suddenly said "It's my money," and immediately handed me the card. So they paid for the next order, received theirs, and pulled away.
This went on for about ten cars in total. I was absolutely giddy about the whole situation. I could feel that my face was flushed, and I was actually shaking with excitement by the end. It was exhilarating and awesome (in the actual sense of the word). My manager didn't seem to understand why I was so bubbly, especially since this kind of brought our times down even further. I tried explaining what was going on, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other as she kind of waived her hand in dismissal and told me to try and get the times down. I was too high on this excited feeling to even let her frustrate me.
This went on for about ten cars in total. I was absolutely giddy about the whole situation. I could feel that my face was flushed, and I was actually shaking with excitement by the end. It was exhilarating and awesome (in the actual sense of the word). My manager didn't seem to understand why I was so bubbly, especially since this kind of brought our times down even further. I tried explaining what was going on, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other as she kind of waived her hand in dismissal and told me to try and get the times down. I was too high on this excited feeling to even let her frustrate me.
So like I said, maybe I making a mountain out of a mole-hill, so to speak, but I felt incredibly lucky, privileged actually, to be a part of that. Sure, they only paid for someone else's fast food, but for some reason it felt bigger than that to me. I think it was the general idea of doing an unprovoked good deed, a random act of kindness, for a stranger. I had a 'faith in humanity is restored' moment. Maybe this is silly, but I actually look up to that lady; the conductor of that short good-will train.
Aesop said, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." I try to apply this philosophy to my life as much as possible. Admittedly I didn't know this quote until writing this, but the idea behind it I've known for a long time.
I still think about it, sometimes. And it still makes my heart swell, and puts a smile on my face. I've thought about trying to re-create it, but I doubt it would happen the same. The spontaneity of it probably in part added to the excitement and the length of the event. But I think it will remain one of my most fond memories.
