A Starbucks employee is going viral on TikTok after calling out overly chatty customers who can’t take a hint and end their discussions with employees in the midst of a busy period.
TikToker Crissi uploaded a clip to her @basic_barista_girl account addressing this phenomenon, which prompted a slew of comments from other Starbucks workers.
@basic_barista_girl #fyp #foryou #starbucks #starbucksbarista #coffee #barista #customerservice ♬ Creepin’ – Metro Boomin & The Weeknd & 21 Savage
A text overlay in the video reads, “When I’m on drive through and the customer starts to share their whole life story with me while we are in a rush.”
She then lip-syncs some of the lyrics to Mario Winans’ “I Don’t Wanna Know” to indicate that she doesn’t want to engage in chit-chat with the customer when she has other orders to fulfill.
Dealing with an overly chatty co-worker can be a real problem for businesses and even other employees who are just trying to perform their own job duties in a timely fashion. Insperity classifies these workers as “overly social” and has even compiled a list of strategies for handling garrulous individuals who are negatively affecting a company’s bottom line.
It can also be argued that in a business like the food service industry during a particularly busy rush period, having to interact with talkative customers is a different workplace stress altogether. Trying to handle different drink orders while carrying on a conversation as you watch an endless line of customers’ patience running out can make anyone behind the counter anxious.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Starbucks via email and Crissi via TikTok comment.
A number of baristas who saw Crissi’s video seem to have had similar experiences at their own places of work. They specifically reference how Starbucks’ “Customer Connection” policy feels difficult to uphold during these exceptionally high-traffic time frames.
One user wrote, “exactly why I don’t customer connect during rushes.”
Another commented about the dichotomy of attempting to maintain these customer connection standards in pressurized situations.
“Them: ‘you need to make better customer connections’ me making cc: ‘hurry! our times are getting slow! you cant talk to customers,’” they shared.
However, some Starbucks employees said they actually enjoy some of the conversations that they have with patrons, even if it does mean that their efficiency drops.
“No, this lady saw our selena vs Hailey tip jars and started telling me about how her friend worked for the biebers & hated them. I was quite interested.”
