378 People 'Pay it Forward' at St. Pete Starbucks

What started out as a simple random act of kindness at a St. Petersburg Starbucks on Wednesday morning turned into a chain of giving that lasted all day and even broke a previous store record.

It all began at 7 a.m. when a woman in the Tyrone Boulevard store’s drive-through asked to pay for the person behind her in line addition to herself, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The giving kept rolling all through the day until 378 customers had taken part.

Some customers even paid for several people behind them, Bay News 9 reported.

“I was feeling generous today,” explained customer Sharon Taylor.

Another customer bought a gift card to pass along since no one was in the line behind her.

Customers said keeping the chain alive just made them happy. A few even returned to the store later in the day to repeat the act.

While customer 379 broke the chain at 6 p.m. by declining to participate, that Starbucks broke its record of giving that was set at 141, Bay News 9 reported.

Random acts of kindness have been making headlines as of late. The story of a grocery store worker who took time out to tie an elderly man’s shoes even went viral earlier this month.

Why do you think random acts of kindness are taking off lately? Have you been on the giving or receiving end of one lately? Tell us about it by commenting below!

See also: Random Act of Kindness Goes Viral