We all have preferences when it comes to what goes in our coffee.
But in a world where you can customize a cup of joe online — that is, without ever meeting
the barista you’re inconveniencing — it might be too easy to go overboard with those preferences.
At least that seems to be the case with a recent Starbucks order that has gone viral on Reddit.
A Starbucks worker, who goes by @StormCarter23 on Twitter, voiced their concern about an overly
complicated order, tweeting the following message along with a picture of the complex coffee:
"Partners brought forth concerns about mobile ordering practices & how additional staff
is needed to address orders like this, which only took 50 stars to order with a price ticket of over
[$24]. 5 minute wait time from the app, which is longer than it would take to pull shots alone."
The photo reveals the order was for a Venti Decaffeinated Pike Place coffee
and a grocery list of add-ons, including: 12 pumps of Mocha, 12 sugars, 12 raw sugars,
whipped cream, and every type of creamer and milk alternative. And the list goes on.
“I’ll have a trenta, no foam, five shot, half caf, no foam,
pumpkin spice latte with no foam, at 210 degrees.”
The post was liked over 5,000 times, and retweeted more than 460 times. If you think this is an
excessive order, you are not alone. Reddit threads resharing this order have popped up with the
community expressing support for the poor coffee shop employee expected to create this drink.
The order made a Reddit user wonder if the drink was even drinkable. User BigCrim881 wrote:
"My heart goes out to all the Starbucks staff who have to put up with these grotesque, absurd online
orders. [...] I wonder if anyone who orders a monstrosity like this actually drinks it."
Another user suggested telling the customer that the order couldn't be fulfilled or refunded and
advising the person to contact corporate. User madeyoucookies couldn't fathom how such an order
was even an option, echoing the sentiment of many others in the thread when they wrote:
"I can't believe this is allowed;
I feel so bad for all of you baristas that have to deal with this."
In an unsurprising turn of events, Twitter was also not amused. User @BodhisattvaPGH commented:
"My better half and I own a business in food. If an order like this came through
I would legitimately tell them it's not possible. The time required to make this
has to be absurd and the person ordering it equally absurd."
User @legitimateacct on Twitter raised the
possibility that this order was placed out of spite, posting:
"[It's] a spite order. takes no time to order, no one picks it up, but the young person who
wasn't adequately [deferential] to you earlier does have to make it."
If true, that would definitely live up to its name!
With so many baristas sharing their stories about nightmare customers online,
at least one Reddit contributor — user coincident_ally [co-IN-sih-dint AL-eye] — was
concerned that they were a part of the problem. Posting on r/Starbucks, they asked:
"Do baristas really judge customers based on what they order?
If so, what are some judgments you make (positive or negative)?"
The user went on to ask about the specific drinks they tend to order, noting they stopped asking
for a previous go-to, honey citrus mint tea, after learning that it was, quote, “hell for baristas."
But, perhaps unsurprisingly, the response they received can be summed up as: "it depends."
A barista, who goes by Superbear92, responded:
"I don't care what people order... It's really how you behave about it.
The more complicated the drink, the longer it'll take
so definitely bear with us and we will get you on your way as soon as possible."
The comment received more than 500 upvotes, suggesting that quite a few folks agreed with
the overall sentiment. User Main-Yogurtcloset-82 answered the customer's question with a qualified
"Yes," adding that this is reserved for an order with excessive modifications or instructions.
It would be one thing if these insanely complicated drinks tasted good,
but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Some self-identified Starbucks baristas on Reddit
indicated that they have visceral reactions to certain drink orders.
One user, going by the handle LocalCartographer529, wrote:
"We have this lady that comes in and orders two venti pink drinks with almond milk, five Stevia,
five scoops of vanilla bean powder, liquid cane sugar,
light ice, and vanilla sweet cream cold foam on top. I gag every time I have to make it."
The court of public opinion on Reddit has reached its verdict.
The sentence? We’ve got to dial it a few notches back on the Starbucks app.
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