PAID 4WARD looks much like what we call “A-OK!” It’s a scenario that takes place at drive-thru coffee stands. If you’ve never heard of paying it forward at a coffee stand, I’ll explain to you how we see it in relation to PAID 4WARD.
A woman orders her drink and then tells the barista that she’d like to pay for the order behind her. So, the woman pays for both orders and drives away. Then, the person behind her pulls up, attempts to hand the barista her card, but the barista says with a smile,
“Oh. No need for payment. The woman in front of you paid for your drink!”
For me, I like when the scenario ends there. I don’t like when the barista says,
“So, since someone paid for your drink, would you like to pay it forward to the person behind you?”
How do I say this? Nobody likes bran muffins with icing and sprinkles.
The woman who paid it forward did so because it’s “A-OK!” She didn’t ask the barista for a tax receipt. She didn’t ask the barista to give the person behind her a business card and a flyer to an event. She just paid for the drink. That’s it. And, technically… the woman who paid for the drink doesn’t really know if the person behind her received the drink.
We provide rides and services free of charge. We do not ask the person receiving help for anything. That’s why we say PAID 4WARD and not Pay it Forward. We don’t ask anyone to pay it forward.
It all started when someone heard about the services we freely give, and then they PAID 4WARD.
It’s “A-OK”… Acts of Kindness!
