Although they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, patrons of one Pennsylvania Applebee’s would beg to differ, thanks to the generosity of a mystery couple that’s been paying the tab for strangers at least a few times a month. [More]
paying it forward
Waitress Pays Kind Diners’ Bill, Gets Free Dental Work In Return
By 1.25.17 — Updated: 1.26.17
In a world where there is no shortage of negative interactions between total strangers, it’s always nice to hear about people treating each other with a large dose of kindness. Like a meal at a New Jersey diner that started with one decent act and eventually resulted in free dental work. [More]
Stranger Buys Bride-To-Be Her Dream Wedding Dress
By 2.24.15
We’ve all got dreams, but when it comes to getting hitched, many people just can’t afford to shell out the big bucks for everything they want on the big day. But one Utah woman says her dreams are now going to be realized due to the generosity of a complete stranger, who swooped in to buy her the perfect wedding dress. [More]
Diner Leaves Waitress $1,000 Tip On $15 Meal After Waiting For The Right Chance To Pay It Forward
By 11.7.14
Sometimes we see things on the Internet that inspire us to do really ridiculous things (cut to: actually attempting to open a wine bottle with a shoe, wine bottle shards flying everywhere). But then there are the times when the good stuff cuts through all the muckety muck of the daily grind, inspiring people to perform acts of kindness we might not otherwise have thought of on our own. Such was the case for one diner at a Colorado restaurant recently. [More]
Couple Waits More Than An Hour For Their Meal, Tips Overwhelmed Server $100
By 10.1.14
The reaction most common when you’re waiting for what feels like forever for your meal at a restaurant is, obviously, annoyance. You’re hungry, you’re angry, you’re hangry and you just want to shove every available food item in your mouth as soon as possible. While this kind of experience often leads to the temptation to be snippy towards the staff, one couple who had to wait for more than an hour for their entrees to arrive took another, kinder approach toward their overwhelmed server. [More]
Customer Repays Chef 15 Years Later For Valentine’s Dinner He Couldn’t Afford
By 5.17.13
For every case of restaurant owners going ballistic on customers, there are other stories of restaurant staff who actually want to be kind to their patrons. Such was the case in 1997 when a teenager had to borrow $40 from the chef at a French eatery so he could afford to impress his Valentine’s Day date. He’s since returned, 15 years later, to repay that debt — with interest. [More]
Reader Pays Off Strangers' Layaway Tabs, Becomes Santa Claus
By 12.16.11
Reader Gail read our post last week about a mysterious benefactor who paid off $500 worth of layaway tabs for random strangers at a Michigan Kmart. She found it inspiring, but in a different way from most readers: the story actually inspired Gail and her husband to visit local discount stores and do the same exact thing for some families in her area. She shared how the experience works from the benefactor’s end. “I can’t remember the last time spending $100 made me feel so good!” she wrote. Here’s the best part: she’s not the only one doing this. [More]
