More than a Customer

CLINT MAKES IT MORE THAN A COFFEE RUN FOR BETH

IMAGES AND STORY BY HANNAH HERNER

We asked vendors to point out a customer that has gone above and beyond for them, and they’ve formed a friendship with. In this series, we’ll interview both the customer and the vendor, in hopes of inspiring more connections.

The way that Contributor vendor Clint McDowell runs his business is sure helping out the Hillsboro Pike Starbucks — at least in getting more money from Beth Laird. Her pitstop between home and her job as a CEO on Music Row has fostered a friendship between she and McDowell over more than four years. The good thing is, she gets to see her friend, the bad thing is, she’s spending more money on coffee, she says.

“One of the things I look forward to is pulling into the parking lot outside of Starbucks and just seeing Clint standing there waving at me saying hi and me getting to wave back,” Laird says. “I realize that when I get in my car to leave, my day always starts out better.”

What started with waves and hellos has grown into deeper conversations, exchanged numbers and regular checkins. Laird noticed how much McDowell enjoyed his job, so she thought of ways to help him succeed even more, like giving him a padded seat to rest, a sun hat, some fresh clothes, and more recently, masks.

“I just started paying attention to things that he might need that would help him,” she says. “His job is so hard and he has to stand out on concrete and be in the hard weather.”

The pair has a strong faith and deep love for family in common.

“We talk about family stuff, about what’s going on with her family, with what’s going on with me and my family, what’s going on with me and my living situation. We talk about everything.” McDowell says. “I pray for her family, she prays for my family.”

The friendship is a two-way street, Laird says.

“Whenever I have had hard times in my life, Clint is such a non-judgemental, warm, inviting person,” she says. “I would ask him to pray for me, and he would ask me to pray for him and I feel like we just connected.”

When the pandemic hit and McDowell stayed home from selling papers for a bit, Laird was able to keep supporting him through periodic venmo payments and encouraging her friends and family to do the same.

McDowell says it means a lot to know customers on a more personal level, and communicate with them outside of the parking lot where he sells.

“It’s really awesome because that let me know that they love me as a person and not just as somebody out there selling the papers,” he says. “They accept me for who I am.”

Laird was sure to point out that she’s just one of many who love Clint.

“When I’m there, sometimes I have to stand back and wait to talk to him, because another customer is bringing him food, or telling him a story, or giving him money,” she says. “I think that’s just a testament to the way that he loves on people and his spirit. He has so many customers that go above and beyond for him and that’s just because of who he is.”