A barista went viral on TikTok after recounting how a customer demanded a refund—and a remake—on a sandwich she’d ordered the day before.
Known for their content about the ups and downs of working as a barista, Jorlala (@bhadbarista) has over 167,400 followers on TikTok. Their videos range from rants about customers to showcasing their co-workers.
Recently, the worker vented about a customer—who Jorlala called “rude”—and said that her manager didn’t take her side in the back-in-forth. The text overlay on the video read, “storytime: manager takes a Karen’s side.”
@jorlala i do not miss having these type of managers lol #baristalife #baristaproblems #customerserviceproblems #customersbelike #customerstories #customerstorytime#voiceeffects ♬ original sound – bhadbharista
“Have you ever been betrayed by your manager, and had them completely disregard the fact that the customer was rude and wants to go against store policy?” she began the video. Playing both herself and the customer, the worker reenacted her encounter with the disgruntled woman. The customer, Jorlala said, demanded a new sandwich and a refund after receiving a “disgusting” one the day prior.
When Jorlala explained that she could either issue a refund or remake the sandwich—but not do both—the customer lost her cool. “I don’t care what you can or can’t do. You will refund me. And you will be remaking this sandwich today, okay?” the worker recounted the woman saying. “Store policy doesn’t apply to me.”
Jorlala said that she decided to re-make the sandwich, but quickly realized that the customer had already eaten it. “I open up [the bag] and there’s a piece of crust and a dirty used napkin inside,” Jorlala told viewers. She questioned why the customer wanted a refund and a remake for a sandwich she “literally ate all of.”
After another heated exchange with the customer, Jorlala’s manager was brought in. Hoping for her support, Jorlala said that her manager took the customer’s side, apologized profusely, and gave the customer everything she wanted.
“i do not miss having these types of managers,” Jorlala wrote in the accompanying video caption. As of Wednesday morning, her TikTok had over 207,500 views.
Service workers in the comments immediately sided with the worker.
“Yup …two face manager,” one user said.
“BIGGEST slap in the face,” a second added.
“Chronic people pleaser there,” a third viewer replied.
Meanwhile, other workers recounted similar stories.
“At Chipotle my manager refunded an $80 meal that the man ate the day before,” one worker said.
“Not only did I have a manager like that, she would also ‘punish’ me in these situations by making me stay late,” another recounted.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jorlala via email for further information.