A TikToker’s viral confrontation with a Dunkin’ employee is stirring up debate among viewers, particularly after he helped himself to the employee’s tip jar to reimburse the cost of what he claimed was a mis-made drink.
The video rocketed to the top of user @itslondonlamarr‘s page, gaining more than 800,000 views in a single day. It details London’s experience at a combined 7 Eleven/Dunkin’ location in Allston, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts.
The confrontation between London and a female employee is already underway by the time London begins recording. Separated from the employee by a counter and clear protective plexiglass, London sets the scene at the outset of the video, explaining that the woman is allegedly refusing to remake his drink. He notes that he was previously employed by Dunkin’ and that, to his knowledge, no policy prevents the employee from remaking an incorrect order, before claiming that the employee’s stated reasoning was that the drink is “too expensive” to be thrown out and remade.
The employee responds to this claim, which London phrases as a question, by repeating a portion of London’s order back to him. He alleges, halfway through her response, that the employee “heard me wrong” and made an incorrect drink. Then, when he requested a remake, she allegedly refused.
“That’s not what I said, and that’s not what I wanted, at all,” he says.
In the background, the employee tells London to return in the morning if he wishes to speak to a manager. London notes that he doesn’t live in the area, so returning in the morning isn’t an option for him, before asking if a new policy has been instated that prevents her from remaking incorrect drinks. The employee, gradually unracking vacant shelves and tossing the remaining paper and crumbs into the trash, repeats that he can speak to a manager if he has questions.
On several occasions, the employee claims that she made the drink to London’s specifications. London stands firm in his version of the story, which posits that she misunderstood his order. He notes, however, that he believes the drink should be remade, even if he accidentally ordered the wrong thing.
When his repeated requests for a new drink are denied, London shifts tactics and instead asks the employee for a refund. She denies this request as well, instead picking up his drink and informing London “your coffee is done here like you asked.” When London again claims that she heard him wrong and made an incorrect drink, the employee ignores him and returns to her work.
This final refusal seems to push London over the edge. He slides over to the order window and notes that he is going to “get my refund right here” before dumping the entire contents of the employee’s tip jar into his bag. There appears to be less than $2 in the jar.
This gets more of a reaction out of the employee than any of London’s previous claims or demands. The woman immediately orders London to “give my money back,” to which the TikToker responds that she must “give me my money back.” He notes that if she won’t give him a refund, he will take it out of her tip jar. Upon examining the cash, however, he discovers that it falls far short of the $5.78 he spent for the supposedly incorrect coffee.
TikTok only allows for videos up to 3 minutes to be uploaded to the platform, and London used every second of his allotted time. Despite this, the video ends a touch too early, before the confrontation with the Dunkin’ employee has completely concluded. Several other videos posted to London’s page provide a few more details, but don’t reveal whether or not the young creator returned to the Dunkin’ location in the morning.
Commenters were largely on London’s side in the exchange, blasting the woman for refusing to remake the drink. Numerous former and current Dunkin’ employees chimed in, noting their opinions that the woman should be fired for refusing to work with London.
Calling the woman “manipulative and argumentative,” numerous people tagged Dunkin’ in the comments and urged the company to look into the matter.
“I’m not surprised about Dunkin’,” one person wrote. “They have the worst customer service.”
“Starbucks would never,” another added.
Not everyone was on London’s side, however. Several people noted that “y’all both Karens,” with one person quoting a heavily meme’d moment from Keeping Up With the Kardashians, in which Kourtney reminds a distraught Kim that “there’s people that are dying.”
Whether they landed in team Dunkin‘ or team London, however, almost every viewer found the tips exchange utterly hilarious. The comments section is largely populated by comments noting that “taking her tips just made my whole day.”
“You petty for taking the tip change & I love it.”
Whether or not people agreed with London’s tip withholding, most people felt that he was largely in the right. They called on Dunkin’ to take action against the employee.
Given the video’s viral status, it seems very likely the company will catch wind of the incident. London also noted, in a separate video, that he intends to return to the location in the morning to speak with the manager. Here’s hoping we get a part 2 informing viewers about how it went.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dunkin’ Donuts. London could not be reached for comment.
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