Man Refuses To Pay $46 To Continue Pay-It-Forward Train At Starbucks

Incredible | 2/22/22

Have you ever been in a drive-thru and been told that the car in front of you paid for your drink?

What do you do? One man has gone viral on TikTok for ending a 23-car streak of paying for the car behind them's order, and people certainly have opinions

Ending The Streak

View of a red car in a drive-thru
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok

When TikTokker Mac pulled up to the window, he was told that his drink had been paid for by the car in front of him.

When he said he was not going to pay, he was told that he was ending the 23-car streak of people paying for the order behind them.

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It Was A Setup

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View of workers inside of a Starbucks
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok
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The video continued to say that Mac felt that he was set up for failure by the workers at the store.

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That is a pretty bold claim so we will see what he means!

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The Drink: Vanilla Bean Frappuccino

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Vanilla bean frappuccino
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok
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He ordered a vanilla bean frappuccino with a couple of changes.

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His drink replaced almond milk for the regular milk and also added a caramel drizzle to finish it off.

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Their Bill Was Too Much

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Person holding a frappuccino in a car.
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok
Photo Credit: @im_blessed55 / TikTok
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Mac felt that he was set up for failure because his drink only came to $6 while the car behind him had a $46 total.

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Being asked to spend $40 more than you were planning on would be a lot to cover.

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Looked Behind And Ended It

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Two Starbucks drinks on a counter and text saying they ended a chain payment.
Photo Credit: wiktoriagx / Reddit
Photo Credit: wiktoriagx / Reddit
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There were a lot of people with opinions on whether Mac was in the wrong or not for ending the chain.

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This woman had a similar situation where she looked at the car behind her and noticed it would be a big order so decided not to keep it going.

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Stuck To Their Budget

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Two iced coffee drinks and a comment saying they ended it because they were on a budget.
Photo Credit: Seannj222 / Reddit
Photo Credit: Seannj222 / Reddit
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This comment brings up a fair point that everyone has different budgets for things.

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It may be a lot harder for someone to pay for a large order when their personal finances do not allow for it.

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Employees Are Not A Fan

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Two festive Starbucks drink cups and comment saying employees hate the train.
Photo Credit: @isabelarielcruz / Twitter
Photo Credit: @isabelarielcruz / Twitter
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While many people were thinking of the people in the car train, this person brings up the employees' thoughts on it.

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They believe that the employees are not fans when people start paying for the order behind them.

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Didn't Have The Money

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Starbucks coffee cup and comment that barista was not pleased.
Photo Credit: @ChristPlacePJ / Twitter
Photo Credit: @ChristPlacePJ / Twitter
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Angela also brings up the point that while some people may want to pay for the next order, it might not be feasible.

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Some people only go in with the money they'll need for their drink.

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Tip The Baristas Instead

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Steering wheel and a Starbucks coffee on the dash of car. Comment that they don't pay it forward.
Photo Credit: @bluejay_inJapan / Twitter
Photo Credit: @bluejay_inJapan / Twitter
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Another option that this person brings up is instead of spending extra money on the order behind them, they will tip the baristas.

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That is giving someone some extra money to express gratitude for making your drink.

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Only Pay Forward What Your Drinks Cost

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Starbucks coffee cup inside of a store and comment that they could pay their drink total forward.
Photo Credit: @xx_kairu / Twitter
Photo Credit: @xx_kairu / Twitter
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Romeo suggested what might be a happy compromise to this situation.

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He suggested that instead of paying the full amount, just pay what your bill would have been and leave the rest for them to pay.

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Employees Don't Like It

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Hand holding Starbucks drink. Comment that employees hate it.
Photo Credit: @Fedrikyong / Twitter
Photo Credit: @Fedrikyong / Twitter
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This TikTokker is another voice saying that the employees in Starbucks do not like these pay behind you trains.

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She says that they are actually happy when they are ended.

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Too Much To Pay Forward

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Inside of Starbucks. Comment that $46 is a lot
Photo Credit: @PattiPetitte / Twitter
Photo Credit: @PattiPetitte / Twitter
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This person kept their comment short and sweet, saying that $46 is a lot to think that someone would just cover.

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While Starbucks drinks can be a little pricy, $46 would be a car-full's worth of drinks!

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Tipping Helps The Baristas

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Starbucks cup. Comment to tip baristas instead.
Photo Credit: @chaks_1980 / Twitter
Photo Credit: @chaks_1980 / Twitter
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Another barista has entered the chat and is advocating that the money would be better spent tipping the baristas.

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This is an argument that many people might be able to support.

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Helping The Wrong People

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Iced coffee sitting on a napkin. Comment that those people don't need it paid forward.
Photo Credit: @ZMZ831064yOeuyx / Twitter
Photo Credit: @ZMZ831064yOeuyx / Twitter
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This comment says that while the gesture may be nice, people who are going to Starbucks can usually afford to pay for their own drinks.

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After all, Starbucks is known for attracting higher-end coffee lovers.

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Large Margin To Cover

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Starbucks logo on the wall. Comment that $46 is a lot of money.
Photo Credit: @AdamToone / Twitter
Photo Credit: @AdamToone / Twitter
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This person says that they would also have been shocked by the price of the bill.

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They think that they too would not have paid for the car behind and would've taken their free drink and drove off.

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Over A Week's Worth Of Coffee

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Laptop and a Starbucks cup on a patio. Comment that they rarely spend $46 on coffee in a week.
Photo Credit: @vamdirect / Twitter
Photo Credit: @vamdirect / Twitter
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This person brings up another side point about what is acceptable to order in a drive-thru.

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They say that they do not even spend $46 on coffee in a week, so they would not be covering the car's $46 bill.

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Not In The Wrong

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Starbucks gift card.
Photo Credit: @entertoearn13 / Twitter
Photo Credit: @entertoearn13 / Twitter
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Another coffee shop employee added their two cents to this $46 predicament by saying that these trains are confusing for staff to keep track of.

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The other point they brought up is that you could be asked to pay a large bill like the $46 one Mac was faced with.

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Only Pay Forward If You Can

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Hand holding a Starbucks coffee.  Text saying only pay forward if you can.
Photo Credit: @bluethreenine / Twitter
Photo Credit: @bluethreenine / Twitter
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Katie believes that you should only participate in one of these pay-it-forward chains if you can.

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She does not think that there should be any shame in not wanting to cover a bill substantially larger than your own.

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Instant Regret

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Starbucks cup and takeout bag. Comment that they did it but regretted it.
Photo Credit: @anacsegovia / Twitter
Photo Credit: @anacsegovia / Twitter
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This man only did one pay-it-forward train and has always regretted it.

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He ended up agreeing to pay for a large bill that included buying drinks for someone's whole office.

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Pay For One Of The Drinks

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Hand holding Starbucks cup beside their steering wheel.
Photo Credit: @HannahBBloor / Twitter
Photo Credit: @HannahBBloor / Twitter
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This woman also says that if she were faced with this situation, she would only cover one of the drinks in the bill.

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What would you do in this situation? Would you keep it going?