A Hawaii-based physician assistant tried to buy her favorite Starbucks egg bites at Costco but realized they’re out of stock. When she went through the coffee chain’s drive-thru to get her breakfast, she got roped into a pay-it-forward line.
In a video with over 16,000 views, Brooklynne Barnhill (@brooklynneelizabeth) drives away from the Starbucks drive-thru with her egg bites in hand. While she only anticipated paying $4 for her meal, she shares that she ultimately ended up paying over five times her total.
“All I got was the egg bites, OK?” she says. “I get up to the window, and they’re like, ‘Oh, the car in front of you paid.'”
Barnhill was touched by the nice gesture at first. Then, the cashier asked if she wants to continue to pay-it-forward chain.
“I’m not going to be a greedy goblin, I’ll pay for the car behind me,” she continues. “She goes, ‘The car behind you is $25.'”
She groans in despair at footing the much higher bill. The caption reads, “I hope the person behind me enjoyed their starbies.”
What Is A Pay-It-Forward Drive-Thru Line?
Pay-it-forward lines start when one drive-thru customer decides to be generous and cover both their order and the customer behind them. When the customer whose order they covered gets to the payment window, the cashier will tell them the car ahead paid.
Sometimes, this triggers a chain of paying-it-forward, with customers afraid to break it in fear of seeming greedy. One pay-it-forward line at Dairy Queen lasted for two consecutive days, including over 900 cars.
While it seems like a harmless gesture, many drive-thru workers and customers alike say they dislike the practice. Baristas interviewed by Eat This, Not That suggest that pay-it-forward lines mess up their flow and reduce tips. They point out that some customers may feel uncomfortable paying a greater amount than their original order, too.
In an email to BroBible, a Starbucks spokesperson says the company is “moved by the generous gestures” of customers who pay it forward. However, there’s no expectation that the next customer continues the chain.
“While these gestures reflect the strong sense of community in our coffeehouses, there is no expectation for a customer to pay for an order they did not place,” they write.
Should The TikToker Break The Chain?
In the comments of the viral TikTok, viewers agree that pay-it-forward chains can be annoying. They assured Barnhill that it would have been fine if she broke the chain instead of paying for the expensive order.
“Thats when you just tip the workers the price of your order. or you say okay then can I just pay for one of their items. id be happy even if one of my items was paid for,” one wrote.
A second commented, “This was cute 10 years ago when Starbucks was three dollars and nowadays you can be doing that anymore, break the chain who cares that person wanted to do something nice and they did.”
“Paying it forward is so dumb bc it literally defeats the purpose,” another said.
How Do You Make Egg Bites At Home?
Instead of risking getting caught up in a pay-it-forward line, there’s another solution when Starbucks egg bites are out of stock at Costco. Food blogger The Girl On Bloor shared an easy recipe to make the egg bites at home.
You’ll need to pick up some ingredients:
- Gruyere cheese
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Cottage cheese
- Corn starch
Once the ingredients are combined, the egg bites are then baked in a muffin pan. The blogger notes that they can be easily reheated for a quick breakfast.
“I love these copycat egg bites. They turned out perfect,” one reviewer on the blog post wrote.
Another added, “This recipe is the closest copycat I’ve found! The texture is spot-on, just like the real thing. The flavor is good, though I’d add a bit more salt and pepper or maybe a dash of Tabasco next time.”
@brooklynneelizabeth I hope the person behind me enjoyed their starbies 🥲 #payitfoward #starbucks
BroBible reached out to Barnhill via email and TikTok direct message.