Lunch customer cuts line, pays for others’ food — then gets the evil eye from those still waiting
The user was in a hurry, didn't have 20 minutes to wait — here's what an etiquette expert said
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A fast-food customer in quite a hurry took to social media to ask about the ethics of — and thoughts about — the act of cutting in line.
Reddit user "u/FirstContribution236" posted to the subreddit page known as "r/AmItheA--hole" on August 20 to seek advice from others after receiving staredowns by fellow customers at a lunch spot.
The user, whose name or gender was not specified, described a recent visit to grab a sandwich at a popular spot — a place the person apparently often visits.
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Upon arrival, the Reddit writer was shocked to find a long line of people waiting to order — a line that normally, the person indicated, required a wait time of no more than five minutes.
The user, who wanted to order a single sandwich, said he or she was in a hurry and didn’t have a lot of time to wait for food.
The Reddit user said the line for food was probably 20 minutes long — and normally would take about five minutes. So, the person tried an aggressive move — which others responded to onto the platform. (iStock / iStock)
So the person decided to skip the line by walking to the front — and asking the two or three people who were about to order if they would add the user’s meal to their order.
In return, the user said he would pay for the person's meal.
"The first person in the queue took me up on the offer," the individual reported in the Reddit post.
The Reddit user (not pictured) went to the front of the line and asked if someone else would add his or her own sandwich to their order. In return for that favor, the Reddit user offered to pay for the meals. (iStock / iStock)
The user explained that the pair ordered — and the user then paid for the meals.
The issue, however, began after the person paid for the order and was waiting for the food to arrive.
The user noticed that other people standing nearby had begun to stare and glare.
"This was a poor, inconsiderate move on his part."
"One person [even] came out and said that I was rude for skipping the line … and [that] there was a line for a reason," the user reported.
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After receiving the ordered food, the user apologized and left, according to the Reddit post.
The user is now questioning his or her actions — saying if no one had accepted the offer of paying for food, then he wouldn't have skipped the line.
The Reddit user only wanted one sandwich — and didn't think it was a big ask to cut in line and ask those at the front of the line to include another order in their own orders. (iStock / iStock)
Fox News Digital spoke with Florida-based etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore about the situation.
She said the user was in the wrong.
"It doesn’t matter if he offered to pay for someone else’s meal or not," she said.
"He overstepped his boundaries by feeling entitled and skipping over many other people, so he could satisfy his own needs."
"You can pay for my food anytime … People are just jealous [that] you didn’t get them free food."
Whitmore said skipping the line might have made one person happy — but it resulted in many others feeling unhappy.
"This was a poor, inconsiderate move on his part," she said.
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Whitmore recommended that the user choose somewhere else for lunch next time the person's in a time crunch.
Some Reddit users agreed with the etiquette expert — saying the person's front-of-the-line order pushed everyone else’s back.
The Reddit user (not pictured) said after he ordered and received food, others still waiting on the line began staring and glaring. (iStock / iStock)
"What makes you think that [your] time is more important than anyone else’s in that line?" one user asked.
Another person wrote, "Is it fair to the person who has to wait 20 minutes because he can only afford his own sandwich?"
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Some users, however, said they felt the user was not wrong — saying one sandwich probably wouldn’t further the wait time more than it already was doing.
"I don’t think one sandwich is really going to bog everything down," one user wrote.
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Another agreed by saying, "You can pay for my food anytime … People are just jealous [that] you didn’t get them free food."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Reddit user for further comment.