A Starbucks customer had some words for a barista who allegedly judged her for ordering a cold foam with oat milk.
The five-second clip was uploaded by TikTok user Nikki (@cargopantbarbie), who said that she wanted her cold foam to be made with oat milk, instead of 2% milk. “Oh, that sounded really bratty,” she mouthed to the audio with a frown. “Yes, it did. I didn’t think I was gonna.”
A Starbucks cold foam drink consists of 2%, heavy whipping cream, vanilla syrup, and ice. “Kickstart your morning or power through the afternoon with our bold, smooth cold brew topped with cold foam. Soothing and refreshing sips that last,” the coffee chain says about the drink.
The content creator also wrote the caption, “i’m lactose [intolerant] but i still need a little treat x (no disrespect to the baristas i know you’re just looking out for me).”
@cargopantbarbie i’m lactose intolarant but i still need a little treat x (no disrespect to the baristas i know you’re just looking out for me🥹🫶) #starbucks #starbucksdrinks #starbuckshack #fyp #fypシ ♬ that sounded really BRATTY – ™️
The video garnered over 133,000 views, and in the comments users claiming to be Starbucks baristas explained why they do this when anyone asks for cold foam with non-dairy milk.
“I ask because I have a real fear of poisoning people,” one explained.
“This is bc ppl have complained to us abt how we [give] them dairy when they asked for oat milk lol,” a second said.
Nikki responded in the comments, “I KNOW BESTIE IM SORRY I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND!! someone was just mean to me about it and i got embarrassed.” The Starbucks customer said she also appreciated the concern from baristas about the contents of her cold foam. “I know you’re all asking me so i don’t get the poops!!! someone was just rude about it you’re the best ily + good looking out <3,” she wrote.
But other customers resonated with the Nikki’s complaint and shared their own encounters with rude baristas.
“Not as bad as the little tone I get for asking them to make me a little cold foam with a vegan milk lol,” one commented.
“This happened at a milk tea place. oat milk with a special cream topping. the cashier looked at me like an idiot,” a second user recalled.
This isn’t the first instance of someone on social media calling a barista out for their bad attitude. One Starbucks customer recently complained of being gaslit by her barista after they got her order wrong. Another said that her barista was so rude that she left the coffee establishment without the drink she had just paid for.
Update 4:33pm CT, Oct. 11: Nikki told the Daily Dot baristas typically kindly inform her that the cold foam contains dairy but that this time, the barista was “rude” and “snarky.”
“They seemed super annoyed by my drink preference since I guess it doesn’t make sense, but it’s genuinely just a taste preference,” Nikki said.
Despite the negative experience, the content creator still plans on returning to the same Starbucks if she’s “in the area.” However, she said she would opt to do a mobile order to “avoid any interaction.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Starbucks via press email for further information.
