55 Drive-Thru Customers Part Of 'Pay It Forward' Chain At Amesbury Donut Shop

AMESBURY (CBS) - A gesture by a customer at Heav'nly Donuts in Amesbury triggered a chain reaction on Saturday that presumably led to a lot of smiles.

On Friday, Eileen Taylor made her usual stop at the popular donut shop, when something unusual happened.

"There was a woman ahead of me and she paid for my drinks, and I thought that was really cool. I thought it was really nice, it was unexpected," said Taylor.

So when she came back a day later, it was her turn.

"I knew that my husband would probably kill me because I just recently lost my job," she told WBZ.

Yet she still did the same thing, even though money was tight. What happened next though -- she never could have imagined.

"After that it was like, oh we're three cars deep, four cars deep, and after about the 15th car I started letting the customers know, 'Hey, we're 17 cars in, you can either keep it going or you can take your coffee and go. Either way it's your choice,'" the clerk said.

According to the clerk, 55 customers rolled through the drive-thru back-to-back, each one paying for the next order.

"Fifty-five cars consecutively -- it just kept going. And i thought that was just really something," Taylor said. "It was wild, crazy! Crazy at Heav'nly Donuts."

Employees were stunned that every customer was so willing and eager to continue the chain, especially when orders ranged anywhere from $5 to $20.

"We do have regulars who do pay for the customer behind them every once in a while, but never have we had a chain like today," said Wendy Clement, the shop's manager.

Customers and employees alike believe the chain of good deeds will happen again soon.

"I hope so, I hope it happens every single weekend because it just put everybody in a good mood," said Clement.

Taylor, job or no job, said she won't hesitate to be the one to get it started.

"Oh absolutely, it was great. This was really nice. It was worth it," she said. "It was the best $12 I ever spent."

When asked who broke the chain, Clement said it was the last car in line, and only because there were no cars behind them.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports