This week on MOTE, I received the prompt of Parrish Baker: The coffee shop’s “Pay It Forward” chain had been going for three years straight when something unexpected broke it.
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Jessica ordered her takeaway coffee at her local coffee shop, Angela's Coffee Emporium, whose motto was "Drink at Angela's. We're ACE". Then she handed over her voucher.
The employee at the counter scanned the voucher. "That will be another £1.20."
Jessica had forgotten how much was left on the voucher. Still she got out her purse and took out a pound coin and a twenty-pence piece. Then she extracted a twenty and handed that over as well.
The employee, Bob by the nameplate on his chest, accepted the money, then stamped a £20 voucher, and placed it by the till. He then printed out a receipt for her, which he handed over.
Jessica nodded, took the receipt, and moved to where she would be handed her coffee by the barista the steady stream of customers kept working non-stop.
The newly stamped voucher remained by the till, where it would be offered to the next customer.
It was a "Pay it Forward" system. The store liked it because they got the £20 before the customers had ordered the equivalent value, and not all customers used their voucher for its full value. The customers who benefitted liked it for they got £20 worth of goods, and were generally happy to pay for a voucher for the next customer.
Little did anyone know that after three years of the system working near-perfectly, this would be its last day.
The next day, Jessica heard loud voices as she approached Angela's.
There was a big sign in the window "Now Part Of Bernie's Brews!" Jessica was very surprised, for she hadn't heard anything about Angela's having been bought by the much larger Bernie's chain.
When she went inside, it soon became clear what the problem was. The regular staff was standing around looking very embarrassed. A new bloke, who seemed to be the new manager, was having a row with a customer.
"I still have six-pounds on my voucher, and I expect you to honour it."
"As I have stated already, Bernie's Brews do not recognise vouchers issued by other companies."
"This is an Angela's voucher! This is Angela's! I was given this at that very till!"
"It is not a Bernie's Brews voucher. We do not recognise vouchers issued by other companies."
Jessica didn't hear any more, for she just turned around and went elsewhere.
The next day she continued her hunt for another coffee shop.
It was another month before she was in that part of town again. The store formally known as Angela's was nearly empty. It looked as if all the goodwill that Angela's had built up over the years had gone, and all the old regulars had gone elsewhere.
Jessica moved on, mourning once more the loss of her favourite coffee shop.
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My offering this week went to Padre. As ever, I’m looking forwards to seeing what everyone comes up with.