This Starbucks customer placed her order minutes before closing and thought the workers were shading her. The interaction might have been much more wholesome than she’s thinking, commenters said.
Service workers know the struggle. You’re closing up shop and already have things in order. You’ve counted the register already in the hopes that you can clock out and go home as soon as possible. Then a person walks through the door.
Many customers see that a place closes at 8 p.m., but if it’s 7:58 p.m., they think shopping or ordering is still fair game. This doesn’t take into consideration how the workers might feel.
Now, if customers are just in and out, it’s usually fine, but it becomes irritating when they ask for something that workers know is going to take time to prepare. And sometimes, they’re just lollygagging.
This Starbucks customer felt guilty about being one of those late arrivals after seeing what the barista wrote on her cup.
Starbucks customer gently called out by barista?
In a viral video with more than 1.5 million views, content creator Ky (@dailydoseof__ky) shared what happened when she hit up her local Starbies.
In the clip, Ky explains that she went to Starbucks and placed an order but was aware that it was right before closing time.
After picking up her drink, she says the intricate design on the cup indicated that the worker who made it may have been annoyed with her.
There was a big clock drawing amongst several clouds.
Ky interpreted that as the visual equivalent of the viral “Do you know you have 30 minutes?” sound.
But commenters think the barista was actually having fun with it given Ky’s drink choice.
“I think they were trying to illustrate london fog,” the top comment with more than 50,000 likes read.
“I may just be gone but I thought London fog like that’s fog in the London sky and that’s the clock tower thing?” a person agreed, pointing out the drawing’s similarity to Big Ben.
Others said that ordering that drink before close is “diabolical.”
What is a London Fog?
A London Fog is a latte made with tea instead of coffee. It consists of:
- Earl Grey tea
- Steamed milk
- Sweetener
- Vanilla or vanilla syrup optional
Why is ordering a London Fog considered annoying?
In a Reddit thread asking a similar question, a customer said that their barista seemed “a tad overwhelmed/annoyed” by the order. So much so, the barista instructed her to order it inside instead of at the drive-thru.
“I’ve worked at a small coffee shop before but I’ve never had to make one of these so I don’t know what the process is that makes it’s so difficult!” the user wrote. “Should I just wait for a super slow day to order it?”
Starbucks workers replied, saying that it’s not a hard drink to make, but it is time-consuming. The tea needs to be steeped in hot water for 5 minutes before the barista can consume the rest of the steps of the drink.
“Ordering it in the drive thru is usually frowned upon because it causes the line to be held up for just one drink,” a worker said.
Was it all for views?
“This is a joke, obviously i know what her drawing meant & the store didn’t close for another two hours it was just a funny video! I was a starbucks barista for 3 years do not come at me,” Ky clarified in the comments.
@dailydoseof__ky #starbucks ♬ Peacock_FlavorOfLove_30Minutes – Peacock
The Daily Dot reached out to Ky for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Starbucks via email.
