Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by NealS 10 years, 3 months ago
    I usually wear a Vietnam Veteran cap when we casually go out. One evening in a McCormik & Schmick's a young group acknowledged me and bought us a round of drinks. I found out they were Iraq Veterans, we talked briefly, I thanked them, and on the way out I picked up their entire tab not saying a word. It made me feel great. Now on occasion I'll walk through an entire restaurant looking for another vet just to pick up his tab, and instruct the server to simply write "Paid, Thank You for Your Service" on their bill. It's a real kick for me, makes my whole day.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 10 years, 3 months ago
    I was in my 20s and starting my first real job with low pay and a super tight budget when some religious group mailed a donation request with a couple of coins and a photo of someone worse off than me.
    I was all "Oh, no. They at least need these coins they sent me!" Guilt drove me to come up with a donation. As this manipulation ploy was repeated, it did not take long for me to resent it. I started to keep the coins with some twinge of conflicted guilt.
    Now retired and 67, I've evolved into a mean ole' dino who snorts contempt as I keep such guilt trip bribes. Three months ago, I as a Tea Party member was stunned to see the Tea Party send me a dollar with a donation request. It was only because the Tea Party supports causes I strongly believe in that I placed a stamp on the return envelope, sent back the dollar and wrote on the donation multiple choice: "Send me another dollar to manipulate me like this? I will keep the dollar and throw the rest you see away." Then I signed my John Hancock to it.
    Just waiting to see if that crap is tried again.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 3 months ago
    My answer would have been, "I pay for my own drink. My own drink - period. What the other scumsuckers in this line choose to do is their own problem. Here is MY money for MY drink. Fair exchange."

    Grrrrr.

    Jan
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  • Posted by Herb7734 10 years, 3 months ago
    It's unwarranted guilt. None of us are perfect, we all have accumulated things we can feel guilty about. Then we rectify the guilt-thing and move on. But this Starbuck's thing is continuous guilt for the sake of being guilt. When libs can't make themselves feel good by doing a good deed, they make one up so they can say what a good person they are. It's stupid and childish, unless, of course, you are a child.
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  • Posted by DaveM49 10 years, 3 months ago
    As soon as something is regarded as compulsory in in any way, it ceases to be a gesture and becomes a demand.

    This sounds basically like a marketing gimmick. Was there any "gesture of kindness" on the part of Starbuck's? Not as far as I can see. No matter who was paying, they were still pocketing their usual.

    I have never heard of Starbuck's offering nickel coffee to customers as a means of "paying it forward". They are free to do so if they wish, of course. Though, this being America, the result would probably be a riot. Over coffee.
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  • Posted by airfredd22 10 years, 3 months ago
    I have to agree with the logic of Peter Schorsch. The concept of paying forward in any line and as Mr. Schorch put it, guilting everyone behind into paying is redundant and frankly absurd. If you truly want to do some good, the next time you're in a line at the supermarket and see someone that is obviously in financial pain, then pay for his basket of food. Don't take credit, just go on your way.

    The same is true in any restaurant, if you see a soldier and his family, pay for his bill, the restaurant owner could also do this. Having been in the business, tell your staff to handle such a situation whenever they see a military family. No need to explain who, just do it if you can afford it.

    An act of kindness is always a good thing.

    Fred Speckmann
    commonsenseforamericans@yahoo.com
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    • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 3 months ago
      I got a chance to save a guy's job once, when he
      had worked for me and was being laid off ... with
      the provision that I remain anonymous.

      he's a great guy; it's a great feeling! -- j

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      • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 3 months ago
        "I got a chance to save a guy's job once, when he had worked for me and was being laid off ... with the provision that I remain anonymous. "
        It sounds like this guy would have wanted that, so you did something he would approve of he knew.

        *I* would not want my job saved. If my client/employer isn't excited to be working with me, I'd rather go find someone who is. If they're thinking, "I guess we could keep using CG even though we have a guy on oDesk who does basically the same thing for less," I want to be gone. Someone else out there is working an oDesk guy saying we really need someone who can do XYZ. It's a waste of their money, the potential new client, and my life to receive business as charity.

        I know not everyone thinks this way. I have no problem with your doing this favor for someone who wanted it. I would probably do the same thing b/c I generally like to be helpful and nice.
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        • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 3 months ago
          CG, let me explain. I was a department head (120
          subordinates) at a large govt-owned facility (3500
          employees), and had a chance to recommend someone
          for a job in another department when he was being laid off
          from his "present" job. he had worked for me in the past
          and done a super job. *and* I was close friends with
          the hiring department head. my recommendation put
          him over the top, in comparison with other contenders.

          I kept it quiet, to avoid his feeling indebted to
          anyone -- it was generally known that he was an
          excellent employee, yet he is a very quiet and
          reserved person who does not toot his own horn.

          he moved to the new job and did great there, also.
          he helped to save another department head's
          butt, as he helped to save mine more than once! -- j

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      • Posted by airfredd22 10 years, 3 months ago
        Re: johnpe 1,
        good for you and him. I'm curious, what did you do to save his job?

        Fred
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        • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 3 months ago
          Fred, could you check out my answer to CG? it was
          a unique opportunity, and there were no regrets,
          all-around.

          it was especially delicious because this guy had
          been hurt before this time because of his shy
          nature.

          helped to make up for the hurt. very intelligent,
          creative and shy fabrication supervisor.

          Thanks!!! -- j

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  • Posted by Hiraghm 10 years, 3 months ago
    "Maybe a campaign of anonymously leaving cookies on the front porch of a neighbor going through a difficult time"

    A PINK cookie...

    At first I thought I was going to be annoyed by the story, but after reading it, I agree with his point. Mandatory generosity enforced by guilt is NOT paying it forward.

    Long, long ago, when the universe was young and the internet had not yet cooled and formed, I belong to a timeshare service called "Compuserve". There, in the message bases and chat rooms, 3 individuals took it upon themselves to teach me to program in C. They did it because it entertained them to do so. When we spoke of recompense, all they told me to do was to teach someone else who needed it. This was before the term "pay it forward" came into being.

    They got their value from the transaction; entertainment. I got mine, education. And for some of us, myself included (that's why I pontificate so much), educating others is entertaining.

    But, this is not that. This is some kind of, pardon my French... circle-jerk.

    I won't patronize Starbucks. I disagree with their politics, their pricing, and their product disagrees with me.
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    • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 3 months ago
      I learned njalbinding the same way. I was on a tour of the Smithsonian and through a crowd I saw 2 costumed (Norse) women doing njalbinding. I burst through the crowd like an alien from a host's peritoneal cavity, plopped myself down at their feet and exclaimed, "Njalbinding! I have read about this and really want to learn how to do it! Teach me!" They responded with a big grin and a handful of wool yarn. I ended up going home with them for dinner for further lessons.

      Jan, heavy on enthusiasm
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  • Posted by Zenphamy 10 years, 3 months ago
    I love contrarians. +1
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    • Posted by LetsShrug 10 years, 3 months ago
      I love it when someone demands logic in the midst of oppressive nonsense. It bothers me that after making a point he THEN tips her a 100 bucks to prove he's not a grinch....who gives a flip if the barista thinks he's a grinch??? FAIL.
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      • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 3 months ago
        That was a truly elegant touch. The war of ideology we are in is not for the approval of a single barista. By this act he defused a lot of the potential negative responses to his excellent deed - and may have made a dint in someones liberal armor. Look at the article, the blog, and this discussion: what he did is not for the happy barista who happened to be on duty.

        Jan
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        • Posted by LetsShrug 10 years, 3 months ago
          We are not in a war to gain the "approval" of idiots caught up in some feel good scheme. Let the negative responses fly.... who cares. One should pay for what THEY ordered. What's to find negative about that? Hmmm, How about we corner the Barista and find out what she did with that 100 dollar tip. Did she use it to pay the line forward until it ran out, because, apparently, that's the only decent thing to do with money in your pocket at Starbucks. Giving that tip made zero sense..and it completely contradicted the point he was attempting to make...he underminded himself. And then wrote an article about it.... ?
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      • Posted by khalling 10 years, 3 months ago
        That's what I thought. He didn 't take his own thoughtful advice.
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        • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 3 months ago
          I think he's saying it my money and I get to choose whether I do something weird with it.
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          • Posted by khalling 10 years, 3 months ago
            but his advice was clear that a bunch of people affording 5 buck coffees have better things to do with their dough than play that game because they're guilty. I think one could objectively reason giving the barista a $100 tip was not in his rational interest. that came from an emotional place. see? I'm not a bad guy. maybe I'm wrong. IF I'm going to make a 100 dollar point, it most likely would not be at a drive up window for coffee.
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            • Posted by $ Susanne 10 years, 3 months ago
              The drive up guy was probably laughing his way to the bank on that gimmick. First, pocket the overage for the $5 (see my other post) and *then* get some guy who does the stand-up thing, who then is guilted into giving a Franklin for a tip?

              It's all a scam as big as the IRS... and if Starbleech's condones this, I think I'll take my double-mocha-half-caff maple-hazelnut frappucino, dry and tight half soy half skim sugarfree syrup business elsewhere...
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              • Posted by LetsShrug 10 years, 3 months ago
                The intimidating names of these concoctions alone would keep me from going in there. Fashion statement or what? Sheesh...just give me a damn coffee and I'll pay cash for it MYSELF.
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  • Posted by barwick11 10 years, 3 months ago
    That sounds like something I would do... if I felt that strongly about the pay it forward thing. I didn't even know it was becoming "a thing", but if I did I'd probably be annoyed enough to do the same thing.
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  • Posted by $ Susanne 10 years, 3 months ago
    I am 200% behind this breaking of the wah-wah socialist crap that this moocher opportunist "barista" (why not call them Espresso-nistas? Or better - Coffee Pourers...) came up with.

    Sure, sometimes I'll pay the bridge toll for someone behind me, I've even paid for a cup of coffee (not some schlocky $5 drink) for someone behind me IF I DECIDE TO DO SO... but had I been approached by the window server to do that, I would have told him to go blow it. And called corporate.

    What I bet - it was a racket. The rare occasions I do a drivethru coffee thing, I get a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso. That's it - no fritz, no foam, no expensive syrupy blender drink. Costs all of $1.75 (actually a buck and a half locally). So where does the other 3 and a quarter go? You betcha... right into the moocher's pocket. Laughing all the way to the bank.

    And I bet he didn't even feel guilty about it...
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  • Posted by bassboat 10 years, 3 months ago
    Typical tree hugging lefty Starbuckeans who love to feel something, anything. Why use paper cups when it destroys the forest in their logic? Why not use Styrofoam that keeps that expensive cup hotter, longer? It's nothing more than a yuppie joint that advocates for the poor but excludes them by charging high prices for their coffee. Many ambiguities in their outlook if questioned but liberals never will face facts, only their feelings. Having said all that I buy their coffee by the pound because it is excellent coffee.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 3 months ago
    For this pay-it-forward system to work, there had to be a constant stream of customers such that there was always someone who placed and order before the previous customer had paid. That coffee shop is doing well.

    The system would make me feel a little weird and lousy about it. It's like socialism but without the zeros behind the dollar figure.

    Someone could have broken the system by ordering something really expensive or getting just a cup of water. The system works b/c you're basically paying for roughly what you ordered.
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    • Posted by khalling 10 years, 3 months ago
      logically, the people who you would want to pay it forward to would be those who could `do the most "good." But in reality, in this crazy drive through scheme, it isn't meaningful, because if it ends up helping someone(who couldn't really affor their coffee) the chain is broken. It's not really even the point of the book. Yet these kinds of things get publicity. I'm usually not a cynic, but what if the manager of the starbucks started a rumor. Hey that guy paid for your coffee, want to pay for the next guys? hoping word of mouth would create a long line of cars.
      Really, the best Pay it Forward is successful commerce and strong property rights
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      • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 3 months ago
        Right b/c it breaks down as soon as there's a break in customers. When a break comes, they can say, "the guy earlier paid for yours," but they can't ask him to pay for the next guy b/c they don't know how much he will order.
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        • Posted by LetsShrug 10 years, 3 months ago
          I wonder if the irs will be interested in seeing their 'pay it forward' receipts... how do they even get the amounts to jive... is this the telepathic coffee drinkers club or what?
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          • Posted by Robbie53024 10 years, 3 months ago
            As long as there are sufficient members in the queue, the ordering of those behind would take place before the payers were at the payment window. As CG states, though, as soon as there's a break, and the line behind you empties, then there's no way to establish that amount (unless you just leave a "seed" amount, say $5).
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  • Posted by freedomforall 10 years, 3 months ago
    I think the guy is just looking for attention... he is a political consultant and likely a looter.
    $100 is better spent on a home espresso machine. Starbucks over-roasts cheap beans and makes mediocre coffee (at best.) Just my opinion, at least we can still choose where we drink coffee.
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    • Posted by khalling 10 years, 3 months ago
      They do! Those beans are burnt. Where I live I get my beans from a grower who coats his beans in honey for the second roasting. The honey burns away leaving the beans happily roasted. Mmmmmmm
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      • Posted by freedomforall 10 years, 3 months ago
        Sounds delicious! I have roasted from green beans for years. Usually green beans are 30-50% lower cost, but you do lose about 10% weight in the roasting. It can be done in the oven at 400-500F for roughly 10 minutes (to the first 'crack'), but you have to watch them carefully or they can over-roast. Depends on your oven, too, since many ovens have hot spots. I roast one layer of beans covering the bottom of a large flat cake pan. I shake the pan every 2 minutes to get more even roasting.
        The easier way is to buy a hot air popcorn popper. About 100 grams roasts in about 10-15 minutes, and the 'cracking' points are obvious. There are 2 'cracks' that occur as the beans roast. The 'crack' is the sound the beans make as they respond to the heat by expansion. The first is usually at the med roast point, and the second at very dark roast. A popcorn popper can also be used to roast raw nuts (e.g., almonds) in about 2 minutes per 100 grams. The 100 gram weight (of coffee beans or nuts) is about how much will continue to be turned/rotated by the hot air so the roasting is very evenly done. I usually roast enough beans to last me for about a week as the flavor falls off over time.
        http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpop...
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        • Posted by khalling 10 years, 3 months ago
          Interesting. I have never roasted my own beans. Coffee is significantly cheaper where I am and I can go to his shop every two weeks or so. I am just a casual drinker of coffee.
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  • Posted by $ winterwind 10 years, 3 months ago
    This "pay it forward" nonsense [I just _really_ dislike the term as well as the action] is removing the weight from what used to be called a RAK [random act of kindness]. The whole point of that small movement was that it was RANDOM, and done whenever, wherever - and usually anonymously. There was no line of people drinking....what did someone call it....Starburnt and all feeling good about themselves together. The RAK - I hesitate to call it a "movement", since it was so loosely organized - was one individual doing something for another, by his own free choice. Different people, different Acts, different places, different times. fun!
    I wonder if it was the barista's idea to hold up the next person in line. Watch out, it'll become Starburnt's policy on Tuesdays. Like Nancy Reagan used to say "Just Say No".
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  • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 3 months ago
    Peter Schorsch is a hero! the guilt-ridden taxpayers
    thank him for the statement -- coercion is force, and
    the IRS is the universal master. it's like BHO giving
    the enemy 5 for one, just to be nice -- will we ever
    get our other 4? NO -- j

    p.s. just like our fair share of United Way -- which
    the company used as a measure of employee
    loyalty. I gave privately and at work ... oh well.

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