AITA for Not Paying for the Drive-Thru Order for the Person Behind Me ?

A woman went through a drive-thru and received a free coffee after the car ahead of her paid for her order as part of a kindness chain. When it was her turn to pay for the car behind her, she hesitated after seeing a large, expensive vehicle with a family, feeling she couldn’t afford to pay for their entire order.

She ended up not paying it forward, and now she’s questioning whether she made the right decision. read the original story below…

‘AITA for Not Paying for the Drive-Thru Order for the Person Behind Me ? ‘

This morning, I went through a fast-food drive-thru to grab my usual coffee on my way to work. As I pulled up to the window, the young woman at the drive-thru told me that the car ahead of me had already paid for my order. I was surprised and a little taken aback, but grateful for the unexpected kindness.

She mentioned that it was part of a chain reaction, where multiple cars ahead of me had paid for the person behind them, and it was now my turn to continue the cycle. Now, here’s where I was torn. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the car behind me—a huge, $90,000 truck with a family of five or six inside.

To be honest, I was thinking about how much they likely had in comparison to me. I had a $5 bill in my hand, and I wasn’t sure it was worth it to break the chain of goodwill, but I also didn’t feel like I could afford to pay for their entire order.

I thought about it for a moment and then looked at the drive-thru attendant. I smiled, said “Thank you” for the free coffee, put the $5 back in my wallet, and drove off without paying for the person behind me.

Now I’m wondering if I did the wrong thing. On one hand, I didn’t have the money to pay for their entire order. On the other hand, I did break the chain of kindness that had been established. People are telling me that I should have paid it forward, but I honestly felt like I just couldn’t afford it. So, AITA for breaking the chain of generosity?

Here’s the comments of Reddit users:

Primary-Efficiency91 −  I always found this an interesting ethical situation. While most people think that you should keep the chain going, it can be argued that, by paying for the person behind you, you have effectively negated the good deed of the person ahead of you, since their actions have not really benefited you.

Perhaps the first person should always take the freebie and drive on. Far better, take that money and send it to an organization that helps people who really need it, like people who can’t afford cars to go through drive throughs in.

ChaosVania −  55 BURGERS 55 FRIES 55 TACOS 55 PIES

Brostallion −  I always break the chain and leave the money I would have spent as a tip. I’m not responsible for paying someone 50$ Starbucks bill so I’ll keep the good faith by giving the barista a nice tip.

misteraustria27 −  These chain things are so stupid. If they want to do something good they should give money to a homeless to the fast food workers.. NTA.

WraithfulWhispers −  Not at all, it’s not your responsibility to pay for someone else’s order. Plus, who knows if that person actually wanted to pay for their own food? Maybe they were just hoping for a free meal.

BigMax −  The good deed isn’t a good deed until someone stops the chain. Until then, it’s just a coin flip, where half the people get a discount, and the other half are guilted into paying more for their order than they should have. You got a free order, and it’s all good.

nderhjs −  No and these s**k as workers, so thanks. Wanna do something nice? Call your local library and ask how you can help.

ladyleopards99 −  As long as you didn’t cut them off in line, you have no obligation to pay for their meal. Plus, what if they ordered a ton of food? That would be an expensive gesture.

Amazing-Wave4704 −  NTA. This is a nightmare for the workers. If people want to be generous give the extra to the person serving you!!

Broad_Respond_2205 −  Did someone link the sketch? If not I’ll go look for it. Anyway, this is such a stupid and random tradition. Best case it’s a zero sum game, worst case someone is benefited at the expense of someone else. Want to do something nice? Volunteer or donate to a cause that actually needs it. NTA

Was OP wrong for not continuing the cycle of kindness, or was it understandable given her financial situation? What would you have done in her place? Share your thoughts below!