Asking for a free beverage at a business that makes most of its money selling drinks can require some delicacy from customers.
For Starbucks baristas, who work in a flow based on what kind of drink is ordered, throwing in an extra beverage, even just a free ice water, can quickly become cumbersome in a rush. If the order it is added onto is already large, the last-minute request for an ice water can create even more chaos.
It’s just one of many frustrations the coffee chain’s employees have shared with viewers on TikTok, in company with folks who ask that drivers turn off their windshield wipers in the drive-thru or share which tasks they dislike doing the most.
One barista is asking viewers to let cashiers know they would like an ice water at the register, rather than asking for it down the line when they receive their original order.
The video simply features barista Megan Palluccio (@cozybarista) on TikTok making different facial expressions and a text overlay asking viewers to place their order for ice water with the rest of their order.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Palluccio via comment on the video.
Several viewers said they had always been told the direct opposite—and expressed remorse for any issues they had caused baristas in acting on it.
“I’ve always asked at the register but a few times they’ve told me to specifically tell the end of the bar and it makes me feel so bad,” one commenter wrote.
“Lol once they told me to ask the end people not the register so I did that the next couple times and I got yelled at by someone for it,” another claimed.
“Did this when i went to disney springs for a concert… a lot… so often in fact the barista asked if i wanted more water when i came back,” a third said.
@cozybarista Thanks :) #starbucks #barista #starbucksdrinks #starbucksrecipes #starbucksbarista #starbuckscup #starbuckssecretmenu #starbuckschallenge #starbuckscups #starbucksorder ♬ Cooped Up / Return Of The Mack – Post Malone & Mark Morrison & Sickick
Other viewers, themselves baristas, shared why they felt the same way as Palluccio. Some even revealed how they attempted to show customers that they’d like them to order it at the register.
“When I’m busy and I’m fed up I tell to ‘I’m sorry you have to get in line for that’ cuz ma’am why that’s basically an order,” one commented.
“Completely throws off my sequence,” a second wrote. “plus ringing them in earns you labor hours and tracks cup usage.”
“I stop what im doing, look them in the eye, go ring it up, pull all my stickers to find the water, then make it, so they know,” a further user said.
