Starbucks customer hears ‘awful tone of voice’ from the car behind her and makes a quick decision to pay it forward

The holiday spirit often brings out the best in people, prompting random acts of kindness like covering a stranger’s coffee, but one recent Starbucks customer decided to redirect her generosity after overhearing some truly awful drive-thru behavior. TikTok creator Kelly Spinelli, known as @kspins, recently shared the story of her experience, which proves that sometimes, the best way to pay it forward is to reward the person actually doing the hard work.

Spinelli explained that she was feeling particularly festive and generous during a recent Starbucks run. She was in a great mood and decided she wanted to perform a random act of kindness by paying for the drink of the person in the car right behind her. This is a common gesture this time of year, and I love seeing people do it!

However, as she pulled forward toward the window, she heard something that made her completely rethink her plan. Spinelli hadn’t put her window up yet when the customer behind her started placing their order. What followed was a display of rudeness directed straight at the barista, according to BroBible.

Be nice to everyone, all the time

She described the interaction as having an “awful tone of voice” and a “demanding tone,” noting the customer offered absolutely “no thank you” during the exchange. Honestly, that kind of behavior is just inexcusable, especially when someone is making your complicated coffee order.

That was the moment Spinelli decided the rude customer didn’t deserve the free drink. She immediately changed her mind about covering the cost. When she got to the window, she spoke to the attendant about the situation and redirected the money she was planning to spend on the stranger’s order straight into the tip jar instead.

“I said I am no longer covering their grande cappuccino, extra foam,” Spinelli explained, noting that she and the Starbucks employee shared a good laugh over the swift change in plans. It’s a great reaction, and I think it’s a brilliant way to handle a situation where someone is clearly taking advantage of a service worker.

Spinelli later shared that she wanted to call out this behavior because it’s just “uncalled for,” no matter the season. She pointed out that there’s no reason to be rude to people who are “absolutely going out of their way to make you some obnoxious coffee.” If you’re going to be demanding, you should at least be polite!

Unfortunately, Spinelli’s experience isn’t an isolated incident. Research suggests that incidents of customers lashing out at service workers have actually increased in recent years. More than half of customer-facing employees report experiencing more abuse since the start of the pandemic, which is truly disheartening.

Psychologists suggest that even small disruptions, like long lines, delays, or rising prices, can cause frustration to build quickly. When people’s high expectations aren’t met, that stress tends to spill over. Service workers are often easier targets because they have less ability to push back, fitting into what experts call “scapegoat theory,” where people redirect their frustration onto someone they perceive as safer to blame.