The new recycled glass Starbucks cups are a surprisingly hot commodity, it turns out. Apparently it’s pretty normal for Starbucks stores to be sold out—and this TikToker’s reaction stuck a chord with many customers.
Viewed more than 1.4 million times in three days, this brief clip from @jj.fernandez depicts an online Starbucks order for three glass cups with the Dua Lipa “One Kiss” meme overlayed on top.
“Placing a mobile order at 5:30 am and driving to Starbucks excited to get the newly released glass mugs,” reads the caption, leading into a trio of print receipts with “WE ARE OUT” scrawled across them. The video description reads, “Starbucks did me dirty.” In other words, she ordered those cups at the crack of dawn, showed up to Starbucks, and discovered that they were already sold out.
@jj.fernandez Starbucks did me dirty #CapCut #starbucks #starbuckscup #onekissisallittake ♬ original sound – Jannete
This simple customer service issue divided commenters, with some expressing sympathy for @jj.fernandez’s plight (“Why are they on the site if she can’t order them???”) while others voiced appreciation for the Starbucks worker’s snarky receipt: “Love seeing people get sh!t on by customer service workers. You deserved this.”
That comment actually resulted in a follow-up TikTok, as @jj.fernandez reacted to the influx of attention for her viral post: “First of all yes, full hate to this commenter here because getting joy out of anyone getting treated like shit for literally absolutely no reason is clearly a personal problem.”
@jj.fernandez Replying to @miami_vices ♬ original sound – Jannete
Meanwhile other commenters said they had similar issues ordering online and then finding out the cups were out of stock, suggesting a disconnect between the Starbucks app and brick-and-mortar stores. “You know I almost ordered that through the app too but I wanted to see them in person. 3 stores in my area were out of stock,” wrote one person, with @jj.fernandez replying, “Lesson learned, don’t trust the app.”
This issue also highlighted a divide between casual customers and people who are seriously into Starbucks as a brand. To most people, a glass cup is a glass cup. But this particular product is technically a new launch from Starbucks’ Spring 2023 collection, and some Starbucks aficionados were ready to buy them on launch day.
“These sold out on the first day they launched lmao,” wrote one knowledgeable commenter. “each store only got like 4-5 cups so you need to talk with your local Starbucks.”
“well I am not into the Starbucks cup cult soo I don’t know all about launches,” responded @jj.fernandez. Which: Fair enough.
Basically, it sounds like some Starbucks outlets have sold out of the new recycled glass cups while others are still in stock. Not exactly an unusual situation. The main problem is that the Starbucks app still lets you order when your local store is sold out – which is clearly frustrating for some customers.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @jj.fernandez via TikTok comment.