A Starbucks employee shared what it’s like working the drive-thru during heavy storms.
In a video with over 952,000 views, TikTok user Maria (@marlaabee) shows a Starbucks employee opening the drive-thru window. As they do, water and wind blow into the restaurant.
“When there’s a flash flood warning + hail but customers still need their coffee,” Maria wrote in the caption.
@marlaabee When there’s a flash flood warning + hail but customers still need their coffee 🫠 #starbucks ♬ The Barista Was Too Stunned To Speak – ashton ツ゚
According to Maria, the storm got so bad that, at one point, the store faced a power outage.
“The power went out and we gave them their drinks for free,” she detailed in a comment.
Furthermore, she says that the storm came on suddenly while many customers were already in line.
“It came out of nowhere tbh and I felt bad they had to drive back home in these conditions,” she wrote in another comment.
Still, that didn’t stop users from making jokes directed at seemingly inconsiderate customers in the comment section.
“Then they ask ‘they still got you working?’ sir I’m here because of people like you,” stated one user.
“Then they get mad at you that the rain is getting in their car,” offered a second.
“The coffee will be 90% water by the time it gets from the store window to the customers car window,” noted a further TikToker.
Others offered tales from their own similar experiences working the drive-thru in a heavy storm.
“One time I was working at Mcallisters and there was an actual tornado outside and people were still pulling up to the window for their food,” recalled another.
“I had a table once want me to serve them in the rain cause the umbrella was keeping them and the table dry,” alleged a third.
“People would be ordering shakes at sonic in the middle of a blizzard and make me walk it out to them,” recounted an additional TikToker.
Starbucks Workers United has cited the alleged poor working conditions at Starbucks as one of the reasons stores should unionize. The collective of Starbucks baristas working to unionize stores across the U.S. uses its TikTok account, in part, to share negative experiences Starbucks partners say they have working for the company. Many baristas in those videos have made allegations of poor working conditions. For example, in one of its earlier videos, a barista claimed she suffered second-degree burns on the clock and “had to return to work right away.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Maria via TikTok comment and Starbucks via email.
