We’ve all heard of “paying it forward.”
You’re in the Starbucks drive-thru when the barista informs you that the customer ahead of you paid for your order. Whether you love it or hate it, many people continue the chain, paying for the person behind them as well.
However, many have railed against the common drive-thru practice online. Whether at McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, or Dunkin’, most customers dislike the pressure to pay the unknown amount owed by the person behind them. Several employees have even called out the practice, too.
But what if you paid it backward instead?
That may sound like something straight out of Tim Robinson’s comedy sketch show I Think You Should Leave, but one Dunkin’ customer actually tried it.
Paying it backward at Dunkin’?
A fellow Dunkin’ customer, Samantha (@samanthawhitebrochu on TikTok) found herself in an interesting predicament after trying to pay at the drive-thru. She says the man in front of her told the Dunkin’ employees she would pay for his order.
She shared the strange situation in a trending TikTok with over 948,000 views.
“To the random guy in front of me at the dunks drive thru who lied to the employee and said I would be paying for his order, I hope you have the day you deserve,” Samantha wrote in a text overlay. The video shows her sipping her Dunkin’ iced coffee in her car with a stoic look.
Commenters were shocked that the Dunkin’ employees believed the man.
“Why would they even believe that?” one viewer asked.
“I find it shocking employees are beleiving a paying it backwards scenario,” a second joked.
“You refused to pay right? No way they could force you to do that,” another said.
Did Samantha have to pay for his Dunkin’ order?
Definitely not.
In a follow-up video, Samantha clarifies that she didn’t pay for his coffee. She only paid for her own order.
“The employees were actually pretty great about it once they realized what had happened,” she says in the clip. “It was pretty seamless afterwards. I posted the video because I was just taken aback by the fact that someone would do that.”
“But just for good measure, let’s go do this the right way,” she says.
Samantha then pulls up to the Dunkin’ drive-thru window and offers to pay for the order behind her. Not the one in front.
@samanthawhitebrochu I mean this with the upmost disrespect #karma #coffee #dunkin ♬ Im Doing Fine by Marino – Promoting Sounds
Are pay-it-forward chains scams?
Whether or not you’re happy about them, pay-it-forward chains are a relatively common occurrence in drive-thrus. But they usually aren’t scams to be scared of. You can just tell the employees of the drive-thru establishment that you don’t want to participate.
In 2023, one Taco Bell customer reported a fellow drive-thru customer coming after her over a pay-it-forward “scam.” The woman ahead got out of her car and came charging at the customer behind her because of her $60 order.
However, the woman behind said it ended up being a mix-up on behalf of the Taco Bell employees.
So, unless you catch someone trying to pay it backward, there’s probably no scam going on.
The Daily Dot reached out to Samantha via TikTok comment and to Dunkin’ via email.
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