Starbucks baristas say they're fed up with complex custom drink orders that can verge on the ridicul

[Demovictory9]

Starbucks baristas say they're fed up with complex custom drink orders that can verge on the ridiculous. One said they were asked to blend egg bites into a drink.

Starbucks customers in some cases are pushing drink customization to the limit with modifications that some baristas deem "excessive," "ridiculous," and "disgusting."


More than a dozen current and former baristas across the US and Canada told Insider they were sick of making overly complicated lattes, cold brews, and Refreshers, including so-called TikTok drinks like the $7 iced white mocha.



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"There are no limits to what people can really order," a current Baltimore barista said.

"Some of the things I see are just disgusting," a former Los Angeles barista said.

They said that some drinks had "mile-long stickers" listing order customizations and that sometimes there wouldn't be enough space to fit everything in the cup. Under company policy, custom drinks still have to fit in the cup size customers request.


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Some of the baristas said people had ordered drinks with 20 or more pumps of syrup. Nat El-Hai, a former barista in Beverly Hills, California, shared a photo with Insider of an iced latte she said she made for a customer with 12 shots of coffee and five shots of hazelnut syrup.



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Numerous baristas said they had turned down customers' requests for cake pops and brownies blended into drinks, and one said she had even been asked to blend egg bites into a drink.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/starbucks-baristas-say-they-re-fed-up-with-complex-custom-drink-orders-that-can-verge-on-the-ridiculous-one-said-they-were-asked-to-blend-egg-bites-into-a-drink/ar-AANla6x?ocid=msedgntp

El-Hai told Insider that one customer even asked her to blend banana and milk together and then use that as a base for a latte.

[JI7]

1. People do this to share on social media and get likes, views, followers

[sanatanadharma]

19. This, that is pointed out about people...

...demonstrates the underlying problem, people are seeking to get their egos stroked in many ways.
Because individuals lack any understanding of the nature of "Self", they think 'ego' is all.
Ego is an impostor claiming to be in charge; a child-brat yelling "Look at me, look at me".

The longest list of wants and desires, even fulfilled, never fills the emptiness of ego.
Only knowledge of the true "Self" satisfies the hunger for connection.
No quantity of likes, looks, and retweets can ever succor the sad, sickened souls of the ignorant.

[zeusdogmom]

2. The barista at my local Starbucks always smiles when I order

Venti coffee, dark roast if available, no cream, no sugar.

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. You order twenty coffees?

Wow. You must really like coffee. Or you buy for a group, right?

[whistler162]

20. I agree that is a lot..... odd accent also!

[blogslug]

28. Blame Starbucks

That is what they call their 20oz coffee. The company deserves your snark.

[SYFROYH]

70. I've thought about asking for a 20 ounce drink...

...but then I realized I'm just making life difficult for someone else.

And it's weird because venti is 20 for 20 ounces, but Italy is metric and wouldn't use ounces.

Its a mixed up world.

[hlthe2b]

3. And THAT is among the reasons, I make my own lattes/capuccinos at home...

(of course, paying 50-75% less and not having to encounter anti-maskers is no small bonus)

I'm sure a lot of people have been self-absorbed assholes throughout history. But it is just out of control now.

[Rorey]

4. The only times I ever have Starbucks

I rarely go to Starbucks of my own volition. I don't understand the appeal. Sometimes when my family is all together someone will want it, and we'll all go, but all I ever really want is coffee, and I don't particularly like theirs. I guess I can see why some people want to have them add so many ingredients. It's to make their disgusting coffee palatable.

[tavernier]

21. It's not the best coffee.

Daughter has Zabar’s beans sent from NYC every other month. But I’m basically a tea girl, Earl Grey, which my friend calls perfumed piss.

[TheBlackAdder]

44. And the kicker, they push their nastiest house blend as the default: Pikes Place is rank!

[Maru Kitteh]

68. Earl Grey smells like pre-1950's lacquer varnish to me.

Brand does not seem to matter.


And I love tea so I don't know what the deal is.

[tavernier]

72. It's the bergamot.

I have found that when I add milk and sugar it has a bit of a chocolatey flavor which I enjoy.

[Wounded Bear]

38. Starbucks over roasts their beans...

Oh, and their owner is an asshole, too.

[csziggy]

50. Yes - I got arguments once because I said Starbucks coffee tasted burnt

I've been to Starbucks only twice, once because someone gave me a gift certificate there. Since I'd tried their coffee once and detested it, I used it to buy a gift pack to give away to someone who did like their coffee.

Then I got stuck for a week at a hotel that only served Starbucks. I was miserable since I could not drink enough of that swill to alleviate my caffeine withdrawal. Since I was at a seminar that ran eight hours a day I didn't have time or energy to go outside to hunt for better coffee. First thing I did on checking out was to find a place with good coffee and drank two cups.

[vercetti2021]

5. Honestly that explains a lot

When I use to go to one of my stores at my previous job, they had a Starbucks inside. The barista who I got to know, he always looked fucking miserable until I approached. Instant happy smile and I think because he had a crush on me because all I ordered was a large dark roast coffee with cream. I'd add my own stevia afterwards. He seemed always just so relieved to see me come in. I miss him a lot and I'm sure he misses me. Good thing we exchanged numbers and he texts me all kind of crazy ass coffee mixes. Like wtf you troglodytes? It's coffee! You don't need three pumps of caramel, one and half pump of whatever the fuck the blue shit is.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. What happened to a good old fashioned cup of coffee?

Spending several bucks for a specialty drink stopped making sense long time ago.

[doc03]

18. I don't think people realize those drinks are just loaded with fat,

sugar and hundreds of calories.

[TexasBushwhacker]

29. It depends on what you order

If you're concerned in about fat, they have fat free milk or half and half. If you don't want sugar, they have Stevia and even good ol' Sweet n Low.

[doc03]

32. True but I see these young women mostly that are morbidly obese order those drinks with

all the fat and sugar. I don't think they are aware of what they are consuming.

[TexasBushwhacker]

35. Don't assume morbidly obese people are uninformed

We're fat, not stupid.

[Bettie]

37. Isn't it weird how some people think

that if only they tell us we're fat, we'll turn and say "OMG! I didn't know that! Thanks for sharing your opinion! I'll get right on another attempt to match your aesthetic!"

Frankly, most of us have done what the multi billion dollar diet industry has told us to do for years and come out fatter than when we started!

[TexasBushwhacker]

40. Yup, the SAD - Standard American Diet

is usually what got us the way we are in the first place.

Then there's the "well I'm only trying to help you" excuse. How would they feel if I told them "You know, those dark roots are a dead giveaway that you aren't really blonde"? Or tell a guy whose belly is hanging over his waistband "For God's sake, buy some pants that fit!". I am an adult. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it!

[doc03]

51. I just see people with those drinks and wonder if

they know they are killing themselves. I am one myself that has battled to keep my weight down all my life. I had a brother that could eat like a horse and not gain a pound.
I have kept my weight fairly steady the last 10 or so years. If I let myself go a couple days I end up putting on 2 or 3 pounds then it takes me weeks to loose. I have a niece with the same problem but don't know how to talk to her without her thinking I am picking on her weight. My older brother 6 years older than me called me a fat slob and shamed me when I was a kid which just made it worse.

[Bettie]

71. So, do you assume that the fat person you see

having a coffee drink eats and drinks nothing else?

That you know their entire diet and health history based on seeing them for a few seconds on one day?

"Killing themselves"? Do you know what they eat every day? Do you live their lives? Do you assume that the thin person is killing themselves too?

The fact is that fat people exist in fat bodies. We live in them and we carry extra weight for many reasons.

A lot of us carry extra weight from years of weight cycling, buying a product that is the perfect profit machine because if it fails (and it usually does) the consumer is considered to be 100% at fault.

Diets don't work for the vast majority of people and weight cycling generally leads to people becoming larger.

Ever see the study on the people from that horrible show "The Biggest Loser"? They lost weight and wrecked their metabolism, while being humiliated on national TV.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-years-after-the-biggest-loser-metabolism-is-slower-and-weight-is-back-up/

Also: Weight does not equal worth, no matter what some people may think.

[obamanut2012]

55. Funny, it's always thin Insta girls I see ordering them at my Starbucks

[obamanut2012]

54. Only if you order one of those drinks

I mainly order espresso, espresso con panna, hot tea, unsweetened iced tea, an an iced latte (no sugar) or iced macchiatto (no sugar). I see way more coffees and regular lattes than frapps.

[Ferryboat]

42. Always thought it was pretentious.

Refuse to buy into the whole custom coffee scene.

Used to be a reliable place to stop on road trips to get the daily NYT paper. Then they stopped selling papers.

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. Oh, so that explains the funny look I get

when I order my typical Giganto Triple-Iced Mocha Caramel Macchiato Frappe Made Only From Beans That Have Been Roasted For Precisely Eight Minutes and Milk Only From a Cow Named "Ivy" That Has Been Frothed For Not Less Than Eleven Seconds In A Room With An Ambient Relative Humidity Of Not Greater Than 62 Percent And A Double-Shot Of Expresso. With a twist.

It probably also explains why I usually wind up wearing it instead of drinking it when I offer my constructive criticism that the froth MUST be stirred in counter-clockwise for the proper flavor and aroma.

[Hugin]

26. Ivy thanks you for your patronage...

Without it, she would have been frijoles long ago.

[A HERETIC I AM]

74. You don't get beans from dairy cows.

Those come from beef cattle.


Everyone knows this.

[Hugin]

75. Jack got a handful of beans for his cow.

At this point a good trade for Ivy.

[Totally Tunsie]

77. Is that you, Niles Crane?

[betsuni]

8. Obsession with individualism, feeling special (while doing the same things lots of other people

are doing to feel unique and special). "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy look at me!"

I had to look up what "egg bites" were. Hell of a lot of sodium. This is David Brooks' bobos stuff. When you're too fancy to just buy eggs and coffee and make breakfast at home.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

9. Anything to mask the awful taste of Starbucks' coffee...

It's bitter and has a burned smell from over roasting. I don't blame these people for trying to salvage it at any cost.

[Vinca]

12. Oh, good. I thought I was the only one who thought their coffee was awful.

Years ago I bought a black coffee there (I'm a minimalist) and that's the last time I stepped foot in a Starbucks.

[SkylineChili]

22. YES!

Yes, NameAlreadyTaken, thank you! It tastes burned, bitter, over roasted. I don't like it at all, but used to have a co-worker who insisted we stop there at every occasion. I can't believe how people buy into the hype that it is somehow, "the best". I have a Technivorm Moccamaster, an easy to use Dutch coffeemaker my husband gave me for Christmas about 11 years ago. Still going strong, still makes the BEST coffee!

[JCMach1]

25. They overcook to overwhelm the fact it's usually stale...

Note, they did used to be very good in the early/mid 1990s

[TexasBushwhacker]

33. They have different roasts

Yes, the default Pike Place is a medium-dark roast. Just ask for a light roast.

This is getting to be like people bitching about what's on TV. If you don't like it, change the channel!

I still love the off menu Medicine Ball when I have a cold. Peach and green tea with a shot of peppermint syrup and honey.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

63. The blond roast is the only one I like

[TexasBushwhacker]

76. I like Pike, but I have to have cream

I agree it's pretty stout, but I like it that way.

[PJMcK]

10. Starbucks?

Meh.

[brewens]

11. I used to have one of the Niles Crane orders from Fraiser down pat and would do

it for laughs. That was usually with co-workers getting everyone's order though.

[NightWatcher]

13. They started it when they abandoned small medium and large w grande venti and the like

They made it overly complicated and offered all these bizarre and picky customizations.

[betsuni]

16. First time I went in a Starbucks was confused: I have to speak Italian to order coffee?

[NewHendoLib]

15. charbucks!

[doc03]

17. I sometimes go to Starbucks and get an iced tea just to watch the weirdos and listen

to the ridiculous drinks they order. By the way what they call iced tea consists of about 4 ounces of actual tea, then they fill the
mixer with ice and add water. I think it is like $2.50. I sure couldn't take the work environment, its non stop the entire shift.
They have a timer by the drive-thru window and have to reach just a few seconds goal to get each order out. So many each hour.
I wouldn't last 1 hour there.

McDonalds coffee is far better and I can get a latte at a local pizza shop that is better for 1/2 the price.

[roamer65]

64. I used to have an acquaintance that would order like that.

It would drive me up the wall when I went with him there.

Only time I would go was with him I would just get a small cake or such. I don’t like their coffee.

Give me a Dunkin Donuts coffee any day of the week!

[Irish_Dem]

23. Narcissism, self-indulgence, self-focused, rude behavior.

Becomes toxic when it spills over to masks and vaccines.

[milestogo]

24. I sometimes go to Starbucks and get a coffee, nothing added.

[Nexus2]

27. Get another job if you don't like being a barista for Starbucks.

Its called the service industry for a reason. Unless the customer is rude, abusive, disruptive or potemtially illegal or dangerous, that service, complex as it might be, is your job to provide. Its not up to you to decide if a customer's order is acceptable, let alone palatable.

There's also the option of petitioning company (or the manager of the Starbuck's you're working in?) if your sentiment is wide spread to limit the customization available or other limits you consider reasonable. Heck several people, I know consider paying as much as Starbucks can charge for coffee ridiculous at its base, so mileage is going to vary.

[JonAndKatePlusABird]

36. As a customer, I find drink orders with a million addons disruptive and obnoxious

We’re not talking about the baristas refusing to add a single pump of syrup, it’s when the customer has a mile-long list of extra crap that no reasonable person would want in their coffee. I’m impatient, and so become annoyed on behalf of the baristas when I see an order like that ahead of me in line. Starbucks receipts shouldn’t be Best Buy length.

Starbucks has charcuterie available for purchase; should the Barista be required to add salami and cheese to my latte if I so desire? After all, they’re in the service industry and it’s not their place to say that that drink would taste like crap.

[hlthe2b]

41. Yes..The issue is the other waiting customers. There is a reason restaurants limit

Such substitutions and customization.

[NYC Liberal]

47. These are some examples of what's being talked about:

I agree that is obnoxious.

[Takket]

61. yeah it is obnoxious...

but the problem isn't the customers, it is Starbucks. If you give people and inch they will take a mile. All starbucks has to do is limit the number of customization if this is that disruptive. Any how many outlandish orders do they get like this? 50%? 25?% 1% 1 in a million? How many is too many?

[smirkymonkey]

65. Cascara Topping?

Isn't that a laxative? As in Cascara Sagrada?

"Yes, I'll have a Venti Colon Blow, for here please. And the keys to the bathroom."

[JNelson6563]

52. Some like to act beyond reason.

And some find that defensible, apparently. It's almost as if those very special people out themselves when they see other very special people being criticized. Funny how that works.

[obamanut2012]

56. Get another job if you don't like being treated like a servant

By customers and the owners.

Get another job if you don't like being called inappropriate names by customers and your manager.

Get another job if you don't like being made to work off the clock.

Literally the same thing.

These are not customized drinks, these are abusive to the workers and also slows down the lines for everyone.

[treestar]

60. the company will put a stop to it

it won't be profitable if it keeps allowing all that to go on.

[tanyev]

30. Sounds like some of them are too lazy to make their own breakfast smoothies

and they're trying to make it happen with their Starbucks order. News flash--if you're getting 20 pumps of syrup in your morning drink there is a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in your future.

[smirkymonkey]

31. Ugh, people are such prima donnas.

Just order a damn coffee or tea.

Whenever I go there (usually because I have a gift card), I always order a Venti Black Iced Tea, no sugar, lots of ice. Very easy drink. The extra ice makes it easier because they don't have to pour as much (I like my tea on the weaker side) and they don't have to add anything. Couldn't be easier.

[treestar]

62. being a prima donna about something like this

is pathetic, too!

[smirkymonkey]

67. What are you talking about?

What is so "prima donna" about a simple glass of iced tea?

[treestar]

80. I wasn't talking about you

I was agreeing with you that the people who ask for crazy drinks are being prima donnas about a drink.

[smirkymonkey]

81. Oh, ok. Sorry about that.

I've been a little touchy lately. Please accept my apology.

[Takket]

34. So? That's part of the job. What a silly thing to complain about.

Starbucks can just change the rules if it is intolerably bad for their employees

[obamanut2012]

58. Nope, it isn't -- it is abusive to the staff

The anti-labor in this thread are horrifying.

[Takket]

59. "abusive" LOL

I cannot begin to imagine the good fortune in life you have had to consider a fussy drink order to be "abusive". I'm very happy for you that you don't know what real abuse is.

[smirkymonkey]

66. Seriously!

I'm pretty shocked at the nastiness on this thread so far. People are so bitter.

[Iggo]

79. You're right. Putting up with assholes is part of the job.

[MineralMan]

39. I never enter a Starbucks.

Too fussy. I drink my coffee black. I have no interest in adding anything to my mug. I also dislike paying 10 times the cost of a cup of coffee at a place where the person in front of me needs five minutes just to order what it is he or she wants.

I also don't want the person pouring my cup of coffee to ask my name. I don't want a relationship with a barista. I just want a cup of black coffee. So, I go somewhere else. That's the simplest thing to do.

[niyad]

43. There is a scene in "You've Got Mail" where, in a voiceover, Tom Hanks' character

talks about the way people order (and this was long before the current insanity) and remarks about how people cannot make normal decisions in their lives, but can, for the price of a cup of coffee, feel a defining sense of self.

[musette_sf]

45. I'll have a vanilla...

one of those vanilla bullshit things. You know, whatever you want, some vanilla bullshit latte cappa thing. Whatever you got.

[Initech]

46. Egg bites in a drink? WTF!!!

[Treefrog]

48. I make strong black coffee in a French Press every morning.

No sugar, no milk.

I can’t remember the last time I went to a Starbucks.

[Aristus]

49. ...

[honest.abe]

53. "On today's episode of why I want to quit my job."

Edward’s drink required 13 modifications, including five bananas, heavy cream, extra caramel drizzle, extra caramel crunch, extra salted brown butter topping, Frappuccino chips, one pump of honey blend, seven pumps of dark caramel sauce, extra whipped cream and ice.

Oh, and we did we mention that Edward wanted the whole thing double blended?

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/starbucks-employee-fired-frappuccino_l_609e9ea7e4b014bd0cab9d60

Meanwhile I am waiting to order a regular tall coffee with..

room for cream.

[GoneOffShore]

57. That's just crazy. Starbucks has released madness upon the world.

[Lemon Lyman]

69. People are morons

It's all probably part of some like-seeking contest bullshit. I know they were having a problem with their rewards program due to that. For every dollar you spend there, you get 2 rewards points. They also have little challenges (make 5 purchases, get 100 stars) and double points days. When you get 150 points, you get a Venti drink of your choice or a food item (smaller food items can be had for fewer points).

There used to be a contest type of thing people were playing with each other to see how much $$ they could cram into one free drink. You can google and find it. I know there were people into the low-to-mid hundred dollar figures ($130 or something) bragging about how they'd just set a record. You know, an insane # of pumps of this and additions of that. It wasn't about any kind of tasty anything. It was being a jerkoff and trying to "win" by having the most expensive free drink in history.

Regardless of whether or not you like the place, this kind of stuff is so stupid and the reason we can't have nice things. Kinda' like people returning thousands of dollars worth of stuff to Costco because they can. Costco had to change the return policy because everybody kept returning perfectly good TV's every year or two or three and "upgrading" for free.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

73. I am content with the coffees my Nespresso can produce.

Or my French Press. I love good coffee but cannot in good conscious pay what Starbucks asks for the products they serve.

[Iggo]

78. Special people gonna special.