Starbucks Responds to a Barista’s Viral Tweet About Long, Complicated Drink Orders
A Starbucks barista’s tweet picturing a long, complicated drink order went viral.
Dozens of other baristas responded with their equally long orders.
Starbucks responded with a statement.
If you’re a Starbucks lover, you’ve probably heard of the chain’s “secret menu”—an index of off-menu drinks created by customers and shared on social media. And while it’s fun to make a drink your own, the limitless customization options have opened the door to some *very* complicated drink orders that baristas well, aren’t too happy about.
In a now-deleted tweet, one barista shared an example of these super complicated orders—the drink receipt nearly as long as the Venti-sized cup that contained it. “On today’s episode of why I wanna quit my job,” the barista wrote, per People. Among the list of requests were extra caramel drizzle, extra whipped cream, extra ice, seven pumps of caramel sauce, one pump of honey blend, extra caramel crunch, and more.
As it turns out, they aren’t the only one to experience an overly complex order. The tweet quickly went viral—garnering over 52,000 retweets and 336,000 likes—with dozens of responses from additional Starbucks employees sharing their horror stories in the form of drink receipts.
“I raise you this,” one replied, picturing an order with over 20 customizations, including (but certainly not limited to) three pumps of caramel syrup, three pumps of white mocha, four pumps of vanilla, nutmeg powder, cocoa powder, Equal, and Stevia.
Another barista threw onto the pile, writing: “This order comes in every other week.” The drink in question? A green tea caramel Frappuccino with cocoa powder, pineapple ginger syrup, pumpkin topping, and over a dozen other add-ins.
The shares sparked a bit of a debate around what customers have the right to request. “My thing is... ALL orders (like them or not) pay Starbucks bills and consequently your paycheck. I worked in the food industry for many years and once you understand that small principal, you do whatever the customer wants (within reason) if they’re paying for it!” one user replied.
“And here I am being nervous about asking for liquid sugar and an extra espresso shot cause I don’t wanna make anyone’s life harder....then there’s these people,” another wrote.
Eventually, the commotion caught the attention of Starbucks and the company released a statement in response. “Customizing beverages at Starbucks and our baristas’ expertise in helping customers find and craft the right beverage has and always will be the heart of the Starbucks Experience,” the statement read. “There are many ways for customers to modify their favorite beverage at Starbucks and most customizations are reasonable requests from customers.”
So it looks like the ultra-individual drink orders won’t be stopping anytime soon.
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