Customer ends 'pay-it-forward' line at drive thru after refusing to pay $45 order

A fast-food customer sparked debate when he revealed he'd ended a 'pay-it-forward' line at a drive-thru after being asked whether he wanted to pay for someone else's $45 order.

There's only one thing better than grabbing yourself a treat at a drive-thru, and that's realizing that your treat has already been paid for by a generous stranger. But does that mean you owe that generosity to someone else?

That's is the question TikTok user Darius, who goes by @chefboyardarius, raised after he visited a Bojangles restaurant one morning after work for a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit - or three.

Darius was all ready to pay for his food himself, but when he reached the window he learned that the customer in front of him had kindly paid $15 to cover his food order.

"I was like, 'well thank you, the fact that she paid $15 for somebody else, that's wild'," Darius said.

However, he was then caught off guard when the staff member asked if he wanted to pay for the order of the customer behind him, instead.

The employee explained that Darius had become part of a 'pay-it-forward' line which had already involved multiple customers, so, feeling generous, Darius asked how much they'd spent.

It was at that point he learned the total was $45.38 - much more than he's originally planned to pay for his food.

"I didn't sign up to feed the 5,000," he joked, adding: "Who's spending $45 at Bojangles?"

Darius ended his video by showing his appreciation to the customer who'd paid for his order, but as for the person behind him? He simply said: "I don't know what to tell you."

After sharing his story, Darius was met with a whole range of responses from viewers who had differing opinions on the matter.

One viewer sympathized with Darius as they pointed out that the chain 'has to be broken eventually'.

"I think most want it to be a gift to someone. Plus employees probably hate it," they added.

However, another viewer firmly placed themselves in the pro-pay-it-forward category, writing: "Just yesterday I paid for the 2 cars behind me. I didn't ask how much their bill was first, but I also didn't care if they continued it or not."

Offering a more reasonable solution, one viewer explained that if they ever find themselves in a pay-it-forward line, they just give the cashier whatever their own order would have cost, and have the other customer make up any difference.

"That way I’m not stuck paying a huge bill," they said.

Generosity without the unexpected charge? That seems like the way to go.