Food & Beverage

Dunkin' customer pays it forward to tune of $4K

Photo: Provided.

April 2, 2021

A Dunkin' customer in the southwest Ohio suburb of Beavercreek, outside Dayton, paid it forward in a very big way recently when the anonymous patron at the store's drive-thru asked that $4,000 worth of gift cards be used on other guests, according to a post on the company's website.

The employees at the location said that though it's not uncommon for drive-thru customers to give a "pay-it-forward" gift of a free coffee or doughnut to the person in line behind them, this was completely out of the norm.

"We just kept asking if the donor was sure he wanted to pay this much forward to guests," Samantha Owens, the Dunkin' store manager, said in the posting. "He explained that the last year has been difficult for everyone, and in return, just wanted other Dunkin' guests to feel good for one day and pay this donation forward to them."

The donation covered orders from Friday afternoon around 4 p.m. until Saturday morning at 10 a.m. From carloads of families ordering dozens of doughnuts to the daily coffee run, the Beavercreek community was stunned to find out their orders were completely free. The restaurant crew loved watching the events unfold as customers reacted to the heartwarming gesture.

"When customers heard that their orders were taken care of, they asked to pay it forward to the person behind them, but we had to explain that they were taken care of as well," said Owens. "It was hilarious because all anyone wanted to do was pay it forward, again."

Since the generous donation was made, the donor has not been back to the store, but his act of kindness is not going unnoticed in the community. The store has seen significantly more customers coming through its doors that want to pay it forward, proving there is such a thing as a pay-it-forward ripple effect.