A Starbucks customer called out her barista for not filling her large cup all the way and being stingy with her request for light ice.
The customer, RayahSunshine (@4rayah.sunshine), took to TikTok to air her grievance and to ask viewers their opinion on her drink.
@4rayah.sunshine Whether I use cream or they fill it with coffee, it’s still a cost to them, so satisfy the customer @Starbucks is this standard? I spend so much money on this company!! #s#starbuckss#starbuckscoffeeh#helpmeouts#stopbeingstingyle#letmeknowwhatuthink ♬ original sound – RayahSunshine
“I just bought a venti, light ice and this is what she gave me,” she says as she holds her cup up to the camera. The cup has ice and black coffee which is filled until about one or two inches from the top.
Rayah claims the barista said the store’s policy was to “fill to the recipe line,” which is much lower than the top of the drink. The barista also explained that the cup had the right amount of liquid but the woman’s request for light ice was why it wasn’t filled all the way.
The customer says she was so confused that she went back inside the store to ask if this was standard practice because, she claims, “I’ve never had that happen.” She also notes that if she had complained that she simply didn’t like the drink, the worker would have made her a new one and if she topped it off with cream, it made it a more expensive product. So it didn’t make sense that the request for light ice led to the Starbucks barista being so reluctant to fill the extra 1-2 ounces of the customer’s cup.
Rayah says the barista told her “that’s how it comes,” and that she was taken aback by this response as she’s never experienced anyone at Starbucks be “so stingy.”
The video has received 42,000 views as of Friday with plenty of people sharing their thoughts about her Starbucks drink.
A number of viewers who claimed to work or have worked at Starbucks chimed in but their responses ran the gamut.
“She lied!” said one person about the barista. “I’m a former Starbucks manager, with ice, light ice, no ice, you fill it to the tip. Next time add “No Room” at the end of each drink order.” The TikToker liked the suggestion and responded, “Ohhh, that’s a good one.”
Someone else who claimed to have worked at the coffee franchise explained that it was store policy to fill to the recipe line.
“I used to work at Starbucks and I was told to “Fill to the recipe line” and honestly I never cared haha BUT! They say that bc of inventory purposes,” they wrote.
Another viewer said, “The recipe is standard yeah but we usually just [fill it] to the top to avoid people yelling at us,” referring to the all too common incidents of customers being rude to servers.
But one alleged worker said that the confusion extended to Starbucks employees as well.
“Ok so as a Starbucks barista, the answer is WE HAVE NO CLUE! We’re told to make it to recipe and told to fill it all the way,” admitted the barista.
But most viewers agreed that Rayah should have received a full cup of coffee regardless of her request for light ice.
“My son has been in management for 9 years and he said that was absolutely wrong of that barista! No excuses just fill it! Customer satisfaction is #1,” said one user.
“I get light ice often and they always fill it to the top! The coffee isn’t cheap,” said another.
Someone also suggested, “Lol I get NO ice and an ice cup on the side,” as an alternative method of ensuring a full cup of coffee.
“This has been happening at ours I guess I didn’t think about it until now,” said another user.
The Daily Dot reached out to RayahSunshine via Instagram direct message for this story.
