One simple act of generosity can inspire another, which in turn might inspire another, and another and another.
Such is the idea behind "pay-it-forward" chains, a trend where a drive-thru customer pays for the person in line behind them, who in turn pays for the person behind them, ideally creating a lengthy chain of generosity.
TikToker @im_blessed55 recently found himself in a "pay-it-forward" chain during a recent trip to a Starbucks drive-thru.
But upon learning the bill for the car behind him, he chose not to "pay-it-forward", thus ending a 23-car chain.
He explained why he wasn't feeling particularly generous at the time in a TikTok video, which has received over 1.5 million views.
@im_blessed55 How y’all feel about this am I wrong? What would y’all have done? #starbucks #viral #fyp #payitfoward
The 14-second video began with @im_blessed55 behind the wheel of his car, in line at a Starbucks drive-thru, explaining the situation in the overlay.
"At Starbucks, they were doing the pay for the person behind you thing."
"I pulled up and ended a 23-car streak!!"
After receiving his order, @im_blessed55, declared "they tried to set me up" in the overlay, eventually explaining how and why he ended the giving streak at the video's conclusion.
"The person behind me's bill was $46, when mine was $6."
@im_blessed55 did express a hint of doubt as to whether he did the right thing in the video's caption, while also opening up a discussion for his 66.5 thousand TikTok followers.
"How y'all feel about this, am I wrong?"
"What would y'all have done?"
Several TikToker's fully supported @im_blessed55's decision to break the streak, agreeing he was under no obligation to pay for the person behind him, particularly for such an expensive order.
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
Some, however, felt he maybe should have at least offered to pay for a portion of the order, if not the full amount, allowing him to possibly continue the streak.
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
A number of current and former baristas also came forward, expressing their frustrations with the pay-it-forward system.
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
Indeed, several Starbucks employees have been outspoken in the frustrations "paying-it-forward" often saddles them with.
Hannah Wilson, who worked as a Starbucks barista for seven years, went viral in a Facebook post where she called "pay-it-forward" chains "extremely annoying" and that they made "everything confusing".
"It makes it easy to hand out the wrong drinks, and just sucks."
"Instead of paying for the people behind you, who can probably afford their own stuff since they’re in line intending to pay, tip the people making your drinks who have been working understaffed for months."
Several TikToker's agreed with Wilson, that those who really deserved to be "paid forward" are not the customers behind you in line, but the ones serving and making your drinks.
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
@im_blessed55/TikTok
While one never wants to discourage acts of generosity, the idea of ending pay it forward and instead rewarding workers rather than customers seems like an idea to seriously ponder.
@GavinNewsom/X
