Paying It Forward

Scott Hardie | August 28, 2014
Has your meal or drink at a drive-through window been paid for by the customer ahead of you? Have you turned around and paid for the next person? Do you think these trends are based on generosity or guilt? It didn't occur to me that anyone could think ill of them until I read about this guy.

Samir Mehta | August 28, 2014
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Scott Hardie | February 26, 2015
I thought about this guy tonight. A woman approached me in Target seeming so embarrassed and desperate. She claimed to have locked her purse in the car and was stranded for an hour waiting for a locksmith and needed to eat because she just came from chemo treatments and needed food to take with her medicine, and could I please help her out? She kept promising to give me her number so she could pay me back later, but I didn't mind giving her $20 to buy what she needed, so I told her to "pay it forward" at a Starbucks or McDonald's sometime. I have no idea if she was legit (who can stomach food after chemo?), and honestly she was so hoarse I'm not sure I understood her request correctly, but whatever, I'd still rather try to help a stranger who seems to be in need than live in a society where people won't spare a few bucks to help each other.

Samir Mehta | February 26, 2015
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Erik Bates | February 27, 2015
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Scott Hardie | February 28, 2015
Normally when you mystery shop, you're supposed to evaluate and then discard of the items purchased, right? Can you give them away to someone in need like that woman?

Samir Mehta | February 28, 2015
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Erik Bates | March 2, 2015
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Scott Hardie | March 3, 2015
Has this job changed how you perceive the food? Can you taste when a burger is just a little bit off one day? The way that fast-food chains engineer the experience to be the same every time, I imagine that the food would vary only a little, but the service could vary quite a bit.

Erik Bates | March 4, 2015
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Scott Hardie | March 5, 2015
I bet whether it's fast food or any other business, there must be times when you get lousy service and wish you could be on the job to give them a bad write-up. :-)

Erik Bates | March 5, 2015
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Scott Hardie | March 6, 2015
Hehe, that's great. You could always complain via the traditional route, but I guess it doesn't really matter much. I know someone who runs the national McDonald's call center that fields complaints and questions from all over. Apparently they give out a lot of make-good gift certificates to angry callers.