Last week a stranger paid for my groceries when my card got declined at the register

I was at the checkout line at Safeway in Portland around 6pm, had a cart full of stuff for the week, and my debit card just decided to crap out. Swiped it twice, nothing. The guy behind me, some dude probably in his 50s with a Seahawks hat on, just reaches around and hands the cashier a $50 bill. Told me to keep the change and walked off before I could even get his name. I stood there for a solid 10 seconds trying to process what just happened. The cashier just shrugged and said this happens sometimes here. I tried to catch up to him in the parking lot but he was already gone. Has anyone else had a stranger just step in like that out of nowhere?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oscar6d ago

Tbh I read "Safeway at Portland" and "Seahawks hat" and my first thought was "wait, is this guy a time traveler from an alternate dimension where people are nice?" Nah but seriously, that cashier shrugging and saying it happens sometimes is the most Portland thing ever. I've seen people here offer to pay for a stranger's whole cart just because they dropped a jar of pickles. Guess we're all just one declined card away from finding out if there's a Seahawks-hat-wearing angel in the line behind us.

evan2956d agoMost Upvoted

@the_oscar my buddy had his card decline once at Fred Meyer and the guy behind him just paid the $40 tab no questions asked.