Ever had a craving for fast food, but realised at the cash register that you didn't have the money to buy it? Whether you forgot your wallet or were simply low on funds that day, you probably had to walk away empty handed.
For one young man in Utah, however, "no" was not an option. He instead offered to work for his meal at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant.
Footage of the teen, named Cody Rieffer, was uploaded to TikTok by his friend, Nick Eldredge, on his account @nickeldr.
In the light-hearted clip Rieffer, who is wearing a khaki-colored T-shirt and blue jeans, can be seen mopping floors behind the counter and portioning out French fries.
The delighted youngster is then shown walking away with his hard-earned food.
The overlaid text on the video reads: "He asked to work for 10 minutes for free food," along with a laughing-face emoji.
The footage, which was shared on May 9, is captioned: "it's crazy what you can ask for #foryou #utah #fyp #wendys."
The video has since gone viral, racking up more than 1.8 million views. It has also received more than 143,600 likes.
Many people took to the comments to compliment the teenager on his ingenuity.
TikTok user Alex wrote: "That pretty cool tbh, I mean, id he did some real work why not lol [sic]."
Another user, NerdyBunny, posted: "Wendy's workers are some chill people."
A third TikTok user, GirlDad311, commented: "I respect that. He was hungry and earned it."
A fourth social media user, Star Maynard, wrote: "and honestly this is fair and how it should be if someone doesn't have money!"
Another TikToker, Mincey Jordan, was less impressed, posting: "that's a no no just give him the food."
Other commenters were concerned that the clip highlighted a real problem, believing Rieffer was struggling and needed help.
One social media user, Butch, wrote: "Why didn't y'all just buy the man a meal? This wasn't something he did for fun, I'm sure."
Eldredge responded to this comment, clarifying that the video should not be taken too seriously: "He did it for fun so ease up."
Another TikTok user, the Glock Destroyer, posted: "The fact y'all are recording him like he's a lab animal while he's literally trying to survive."
Eldredge also replied to this comment, stating: "We did this for fun and it was funny to us. No need to get pressed homie."
Newsweek has contacted Wendy's for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
