Every industry has its own lingo. If you’re ordering from In-N-Out Burger for the first time, for instance, and you hear people in the restaurant asking for their french fries “animal style,” don’t fret: they’re not asking the employees to toss them in the dumpster out back so they can scavenge for it like raccoons.
The same type of secondary ordering language is definitely in place at Starbucks, where certain phrases mean specific things. While to many, especially long-time customers of the popular chain, the ordering lingo may seem completely intuitive, to others, it isn’t.
The latter appears to be readily apparent with a customer that TikToker Syd (@insydemymind) made a caramel macchiato with extra caramel for.
In the clip, the customer clearly had a different definition for what “extra caramel” means, and certainly didn’t think it meant pouring some more syrup on top of their beverage.
Syd posted about her experience in a trending clip on the popular social media platform, which has garnered over 139,000 views as of Saturday.
@insydemymind i took the order and someone else made it and they remade it for him😵💫 #malekaren #karensgoingwild #starbucks #starbucksdrinks #starbucksbarista #skit #customerservice #customerserviceproblems #workstories #karens #karenstories #caramelmacchiato #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – SYD💐
Syd re-enacts her encounter with the customer in her viral clip. Their exchange involves the customer asking for extra caramel for his caramel macchiato and Syd complying. However, upon giving the beverage to the customer, “Ken” looks horrified at the drink before him. He takes a sip and then recoils in disgust.
“Excuse me, what is this? What did you put on my drink?” Syd says as the customer.
“You wanted extra caramel, right?” she responds.
“Yeah, but I didn’t want the caramel sauce the stuff on top there’s way too much of it it’s way too sweet,” “Ken” replies.
Syd then explains that a caramel macchiato is made with pumps of vanilla and caramel drizzle on top.
“So when you say extra caramel it means extra caramel drizzle which is why there’s that stuff on top and extra of it,” Syd recalls saying.
The customer then tells her it’s too sweet and “disgusting,” demanding she remake it.
Syd concludes, “Maybe you need to learn what goes in your drink.”
The TikToker adds in a caption for the video, “I took the order and someone else made it and they remade it for him,” along with a “#malekaren” hashtag.
One viewer remarked that considering the name of the beverage, it would be quite easy for folks to misconstrue what the nature of the drink really is.
“In all fairness the title is so misleading,” a user wrote.
Someone else appeared to be shocked that a customer would ask to have their drink remade as they have never requested their beverage to be made a second time during their visits to Starbucks.
“I have never had a drink remade,” they said. “If I make a mistake like that I will quietly shame drink it.”
Another TikToker said one of the many benefits of ordering beverages via the Starbucks mobile app is that it helps individuals realize every ingredient that’s going into their drinks.
“This is why I love ordering with the app,” the user shared. “Teaches me what’s actually in there.”
One user on the platform shared an ordering mistake from someone they knew that means an entirely different thing to a barista compared to what they thought it meant.
“My dad asking for an ‘extra shot’ when he wanted an extra pump and wondering why it tasted bitter never had remade, he would just be confused,” they said.
And while there are people who’ve expressed that ordering from Starbucks isn’t all that difficult, others think it’s confusing enough that guides need to be published on proper ordering techniques when one is visitng the chain.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Starbucks and Syd via email for further comment.
