A barista posted a humorous sketch after his coffee shop ran out of oak milk one hour into the shift, showing how customers will react when they find out.
TikToker Mr Mike (@welldonefries)‘s video has been viewed 1.2 million times and garnered 292,000 likes as of Monday. Users flooded the comments with similar experiences running out of the ingredient, debating whether it was worse for the customer or the employee.
Mike sits behind the counter on the floor, with his knees cradled to his chest. A text overlay above his head reads, “Ran out of oat milk an hour into opening.”
An imaginary customer berates him off-camera in a voice clip that says, “Loser piece of sh*t. You little barista they/them f*ck. You’re gonna f*ck with my drink? What kind of f*cking nasty piece of shit are you? You little f*cking spawn of satan.” Mike gently rocks back and forth, occasionally glancing at the customer.
@welldonefries We have almond milk !!!!!!!!!!!!! #barista #baristasoftiktok #oatmilk #trending #gay ♬ original sound – skinnyfat
Users loved the skit with many service workers sharing their own experiences of working when an ingredient runs out.
“I’ll never forget the day we ran out of oat AND almond,” one user said.
“OH GOD NO I WOULD CRY. PEOPLE GET SO UPSET WHEN WE RUN OUT OF OAT MILK,” a second exclaimed.
“Nothing gave me more stress at work than running out of a most requested ingredient,” a third added.
“Sometimes when we run out of something I go and look for it anyway just so I don’t have to see the disappointment on their face for a few seconds,” a user shared.
One user explained how the baristas feel just as let down as the customers when their stores don’t properly stock ingredients, sharing, “Y’all us baristas asking how too! Like how they gonna have oatmilk fall drinks WITH NO OATMILK.”
Others shared stories of ordering items with missing ingredients.
“I was at a carnival and i went to a coffee bar, i asked for oat milk & she said, ‘We have almond milk’ and when I tell you she looked so scared,” a user said.
“My Starbucks ran out of oat milk the day pumpkin came out. Ik they were fighting for their lives,” a user said. “He was scared when he told me,” the user continued, “I told him to give me 2% instead for my chai latte.”
“I always feel so bad but I’m usually like ‘oh, nevermind, I’m gonna go somewhere else!’ And they look so sad I’m like no pls it’s okay,” a third said.
Mike replied, “It makes me so sad when we run out of oat milk, you came all that way just for us to be out.”
Oat milk has seen a dramatic rise in popularity over the past decade. Unfortunately for non-dairy fans, a bad crop yield due to droughts in 2022 cut oat production by 40% in America and by half in Canada. The trickle-down effect is a mass ingredient shortage for major companies like Starbucks.
Another issue for plant-based milk enthusiasts is the associated cost. While it doesn’t cost as much to grow oats as it does to raise a cow, the labor costs coupled with the crop yields have caused a dramatic rise in price. Collectively, plant milks rose in cost by 13-14% from 2021 to 2022.
The Daily Dot reached out to Mike via TikTok comments for further information.
