As if getting a latte wasn’t already expensive enough, some folks are allegedly getting charged a fee for customizing their drinks at Starbucks. One TikToker shows viewers how they were charged a customization fee for adding special requests to their order, like oat milk or syrup.
In the video, Alexis Kathleen (@alexiskathleen) shows their receipts for two Starbucks orders. Each receipt shows customizations on their drink. For example, Alexis noticed she was charged $0.70 for substituting regular milk for oat milk in her chai latte. She was also charged $1.25 for “Customization” on top of the individual charges for additions like espresso shots and syrup pumps. Both the receipts show the fee.
“Meaning they are charging me a $1.25 for the person at the register to physically push three buttons because then I’m being charged with what the additions are associated with. So what the hell?” Alexis says.
The video has over 370,000 views and more than 3,000 comments.
Alexis goes on to share her frustration with being asked for a tip after all the surcharges on an already expensive drink. She also mentions that she’s been a server for 10 to 12 years and understands service fees and the impact of inflation. Still, she finds the fee and subsequent tip request absurd. She’s not the only one. Many consumers say they’re experiencing “tipping fatigue,” which the Daily Dot has previously reported.
Similarly, Starbucks began to charge customers $1 extra for ordering refreshers—a drink typically made with a mix of freeze-dried fruit chunks, water, milk, and sometimes lemonade—with no water. The rationale is that ordering the drinks with no water means the other ingredients aren’t diluted. Therefore, more product is needed to make the drink without water, and the value of the drink is more expensive, according to one article by CBS quoting Starbucks’s CEO in 2023.
@alexiskathleen3 Someone help it make sense. If I’m wrong then explain. k thanks. #starbucks #rant #brokegirls #ripoff #corporateamerica #fyp @Starbucks ♬ original sound – Alexis Kathleen
The comments have a wide array of opinions. Some commenters mentioned that they have been boycotting Starbucks anyway since October, part of a larger call to divest from companies perceived to support Israel’s interests in the Middle East at the expense of Palestinians, as one Time article reports.
“I’ve been boycotting Starbucks since last year and I’m never going back. I hope you find someone who can relate,” says one comment.
Other commenters mentioned that Starbucks has gotten too expensive, and they have transitioned to making coffee at home with a Nespresso machine.
“Getting a nespresso machine was the best thing that ever happened to me,” another comment states.
Some viewers were perplexed by the fee.
“I’m a Starbucks manager,” one wrote. “I’ve never seen this before. Maybe report it to customer service? We can’t just randomly add a $1.25 charge.”
“It’s not so the person at the register can press 3 extra buttons lol its bc ppl make ridiculous customizations and it takes the baristas a lot of extra time and effort to make them,” another comment argued.
Overall, it seems that Starbucks is beginning to crack down on drink customizations and is assessing the impact of customizations on its sales more closely.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Alexis for comment via TikTok message and Starbucks via email.
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