Former Starbucks barista and TikToker Syd (@insydemymind) is no stranger to poking fun at odd customer behaviors. Like when people ask for extra caramel and then complain that their drink is too sweet, or when customers demand she take their drink order even though the worker is on her break.
In one of her recent videos, which has received over 171,000 views on the social media app, she called out customers who have a specific fixation with a certain cup size or lid, demonstrating how crazy shoppers can act when they don’t get exactly what they want.
@insydemymind the dome lids are sad people hate them😔😔 #barista #baristalife #baristaproblems #starbucks #starbucksdrinks #starbucksbarista #karen #karensgoingwild #customerservice #customerserviceproblems #customerservicebelike #workstories #crazystory #skit #strawberryacai #matcha #latte #drivethru #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #foryou ♬ original sound – SYD💐
Syd begins her video acting out a skit between a barista and a customer. The barista informs the patron that they’re out of venti cups. As a result, they’ll either have to put the customer’s beverage in a Trenta cup, leaving “room at the top,” or “can split it between two smaller cups.”
“But I want a venti,” the Starbucks customer tells the barista. “I just want a venti.”
The customer can’t seem to understand why the beverage, delivered in a Trenta cup, isn’t filled all the way to the top: “Because it’s a venti in a Trenta cup, we’re completely out of venti iced cups, it’s like a nationwide shortage.”
“I don’t want it,” says the customer, handing the beverage back to the Starbucks employee. “I’m just gonna go to a different store.”
The clip then transitions to another customer interaction: A Starbucks shopper asks for an iced matcha beverage, but freaks out once they realize they’ve been given a dome lid. The barista explains that they’re out of the other covers.
“I don’t want a dome lid,” they say, handing the beverage back.
“Nothing’s different about your drink,” the barista soothingly tells the patron, who is absolutely livid.
The final Starbucks customer that Syd lampoons orders a single shot of espresso but isn’t happy once they see how much the coffee costs. “Did you guys raise your prices?” they ask.
“Oh, um, I don’t know,” the barista tells the patron.
“How much is just a small brewed cup of coffee?” they ask.
“$2.75,” she informs the Starbucks customer.
“That’s a much better deal. Why is it so expensive for espresso?” the patron demands.
“I don’t make the prices, so… I… don’t… know,” the barista admits.
They proceed to share a tense, prolonged stare.
As it turns out, there were a number of commenters who work at Starbucks and other popular coffee chains who said that they’ve experienced this type of pedantry during their own shifts.
“When you’re out of something and they give you that ‘are you serious?’ Attitude like… don’t give me attitude I didn’t cause a shortage,” vented one user.
“When my dunkin would run out of flat lids and we had to give out domes you would think we spit on them,” shared another.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Starbucks and Syd via email for further comment.