A woman blasts Starbucks and declares that Dutch Bros is the superior coffee company after an employee wouldn’t make her a ‘surprise’ drink on request.
In a TikTok with almost 3 million views as of Saturday, content creator Leilani (@leilanii_02) explains how differently the Dutch Bros baristas responded to her request for them to surprise her with a drink compared to a Starbucks barista.
“Dutch Bros is better than Starbucks and let me tell you why,” Leilani begins.
“A couple of months ago I went to Starbucks ‘cause I was craving something to drink. I asked the barista, ‘Can you surprise me with the drink? Any drink, I don’t mind.’ She looks at me dead in the eyes and she said, ‘Ma’am, we don’t have time for this. Please just pick a drink.’”
Contrary to the barista’s claim that Starbucks had “no time,” Leilani shares that there weren’t any other customers in the store. Given her “indecisiveness,” Leilani took a while to decide on her drink and says the barista finally made her an iced caramel macchiato.
Leilani’s experience at Dutch Bros, however, proved to be a stark contrast.
“Today, I went to Dutch Bros. As soon as I got there, there was already a line, but I asked the girl if she could surprise me with a drink. Not only did she not get angry with me, she asked me a ton of questions like ‘Do you prefer coffee, Rebel, a soda, an energy drink?’ I told her, ‘Girl, just make me whatever you please,’” she details.
Leilani says the barista then conferred with her co-workers about what drink they all liked.
“They ended up making me a cherry lime soda, which has pomegranate, lime, vanilla…I don’t know what else they put in here but it’s so good,” she gushes.
“They even wrote a cute note on my cup. It says ‘I hope you enjoy, by the way you’re so pretty.’ Made my whole freaking day,” Leilani says as the video ends.
@leilanii_02 whats ur worst customer service experience this is mine… 👀 #fy
♬ original sound – Leilani
According to Delish, Dutch Bros is the largest privately held drive-thru coffee chain in the United States. The Oregon-based chain also has locations across Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and other states.
In the comments section, many users agreed with Leilani’s assertion that Dutch Bros was the better coffee company, from customer service to the quality of drinks.
“10/10 prefer Dutch Bros! They are always so nice and creative with their drinks,” one viewer wrote.
“And Dutch Bros always make the drinks the same! Starbucks makes the same drink taste different EVERY TIME!” another user declared.
“As a Dutch Bros employee, making surprise drinks has to be my favorite drink to make,” came a third response.
A fourth user wrote simply, “Starbucks is out. Didn’t you know?”
The quality customer service Leilani and other users experienced at Dutch Bros may be hard won. The Daily Dot has previously reported on the “flow test” that Dutch Bros employees are allegedly required to take every 6 months to maintain high-performance standards and up-to-date knowledge of their menu.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Leilani via email and Starbucks and Dutch Bros via email for more information.
