A mom tried to use her Starbucks rewards to save money, but due to the barista’s error, she ended up having to dip into the only money she had left for her kids’ necessities.
In the video, Jess (@jessilaine0) explained that it was the day before payday, so she only had $40 left in her account and needed to get pajamas and school snacks for her kids.
She went to Target and explained that she planned to pay for her Target purchases on her card or with cash and would get her Starbucks order (a coffee for her, a cake pop for her daughter, and water) with her rewards stars.
“I save them for when it’s like almost payday ’cause I’m lower on cash,” Jess said.
She said she confirmed with the cashier that she could pay with her stars and was told she could, but when she scanned the app, she was told she still had $9 left to pay. As it turns out, she said she had $3 on her preloaded app card (which she didn’t intend to use), and that’s where the first part of the payment came from.
Jess said that when she asked if she could pay for the remainder with her stars, the barista tried but couldn’t accept the star payment.
“I’m so confused because I do this all the time where I pay with my stars, especially at the Target Starbucks. I’ve never had an issue there,” Jess said.
In her head, she’s stressing out because she doesn’t have money to pay otherwise since her kids’ clothes and snacks are the priority.
She said other employees tried to help and explain that the stars allegedly can’t be used over a certain amount. Meanwhile, she said a person was waiting behind her, so Jess quickly transferred $10 to her card to pay the remaining balance.
Then things got messier. Jess said the Starbucks employee refunded her the initial $3, but the money didn’t immediately show up. So, while Jess thought she’d be able to settle the ordeal, she only had $10 to pay for the $12 expense. Now, she had to add another $10 to the Starbucks app.
“So this point, I spent $20 at Starbucks when I had $40 total to spend to get all the things we needed,” Jess said. “So I’m just like trying to calm down cause I’m panicking about money and then just the whole situation in general.”
On top of that, she said she had to wait a while for her daughter’s cake pop, even though there were no customers left to serve.
Jess said she normally loves going to that Starbucks, and there’s one employee who remembers her name and the treats her daughter likes.
@jessilaine0 ♬ original sound – Jess | Book Lover | Disney Mom
Jess’ video has over 30,000 views, and viewers empathized with her in the comments section.
“I would have complained to management immediately. Karen or not, that’s money you planned to spend a certain way,” @dinorae.13 said.
“As a momma, i totally understand ! Am sorry this happened,” @bponce88 said.
“This is so relatable. I’m sorry this happened to you,” @mamadeee19 said.
Viewers wondered whether Jess was able to get snacks for her child. “Yes! We able to get her snacks and one set of pjs for my baby,” she assured viewers.
In a follow-up video Jess also shared that she reached out to Starbuck’s customer support, and a representative told her they’d share her feedback with the location’s management team.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jess for comment via TikTok message and to Starbucks via email.