A random act of kindness has led to a massive 900 cars paying it forward at a Dairy Queen drive-thru.
It all started when one man paid for the car behind him in a Dairy Queen drive-thru which resulted in the 900 cars in queue doing the same.
It has been one of the most difficult years for many of us, but the unusual stories of kindness done by the young and the old have been the highlight of the year.
Now at a drive-thru in Brainerd, Minnesota, people have shown kindness to one another in a small but unusual way.
Tina Jensen, the store manager said that someone came near the drive-thru window on Thursday and told her he would be paying for his meal and for the car behind him.
Jensen said this tends to happen once in a while and lasts for 15 or 20 cars but then dies out, but this time, it continued for 2 and a half days with more than 900 cars participating, and $10,000 in sales.
The trend continued as Jensen would explain to the next customer at the fast-food chain’s window, what the man in front of them had done and it continued to multiply.
“There are all different types of ways to help people,” Jensen said. “I think this touched a lot of people that we didn’t even know it touched, deeper than we know. And you don’t know what’s going on in a person’s life.”
One car even left $10 to start the chain Friday and on Saturday, after the chain closed for the night Thursday. Jensen kept updating the store’s Facebook page on the number of cars that took part in the act of kindness.
Heidi Bruse was one of those who experienced it on Friday evening, “During times like these it kinda restores your faith in humanity a little,” Bruse said. “The way the world is now you see a lot of anger, tension, and selfish behavior. What we witnessed was pure kindness and it was a breath of fresh air really.”
Bruse went home to tell her family that they had to play a role in the chain and kept it going. “Not that we got free ice cream,” she said. “The gesture was way more valuable.”
The restaurant industry has been hit during the coronavirus pandemic in a big way just like other service industries, “With the lobby shutting down, being only open for take out, being able to open for half your capacity, different things like that,” have played a role in trying to keep morale high, Jensen said.
She says her top priority was the customers and crew safety with increased disinfecting and cleaning measures. Her staff were feeling positive with every car paying it forward, and the heartwarming reactions of the customers when the cashier would tell them that their meal was paid for, was touching, Jensen said.
“No matter what’s going on, take care of each other, be positive, be happy and don’t focus on the negative, we’ll get through it,” she said.