A Starbucks barista racked up over 50,000 likes on TikTok after claiming that the espresso machine at her location was out of operation for 2 months.
User Toree (@toreeisnotdead) shared the post Feb. 23, and it received hundreds of comments, many of which were posted by other baristas who expressed similar shortages in their own locations they work at.
@toreeisnotdead Im tired of being a disappointment at work too now #starbucks #espresso #coffee #trending #viral #cafe #mentalhealth #foryoupage #fyp @janaehayy ♬ vecna clock x in my room – moony🌙
A text overlay on the clip reads, “Happy 2-month anniversary of still no espresso.” The camera then pans on a motionless barista’s face as she stands behind the camera, peering into the lens while the doom-filled score of Stranger Things plays in the background.
Toree then shows tally marks drawn on the side of an espresso machine, with a note that reads, “omg it’s still broken?”
The barista also showed a whiteboard that states, “We’re out of: Espresso, Dignity, Cinnamon.”
On the countertop in green marker, Toree writes, “Help” and decorates the word with two tiny hearts.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @toreeisnotdead via TikTok comment and Starbucks via email for further information.
TikTokers who saw the post remarked that they too have seen beverage machines out of order at the Starbucks they either frequent as patrons or work at as employees.
“Our machine would pull 70-second shots and they still made us serve it,” one person wrote.
Another added, “If a Starbucks doesn’t have what I want, I thank the employee for their time then walk out. sometimes tip a dollar or two as well if I have it on me.”
One Starbucks employee highlighted that the brewer at their location wasn’t operational for two weeks, effectively turning their location into a coffee shop that doesn’t serve coffee. “Our brewer was down for like two weeks. a coffee shop. no coffee. A COFFEE SHOP. NO FRICKIN COFFEE,” they wrote.
Others stated they too have experienced a scarcity of available products for customers. “We are currently out of cold brew, hot lids, strawberry açaí, mango dragon, frapp base, matcha, lemonde, and food :),” one commenter claimed.
In recent years, the international coffee chain has purportedly experienced supply chain shortages, like many other businesses, that affected the availability of items in various locations. As recently as December 2022, the The Common Scale reported that the brand was “running out of coffee,” which is concerning considering the nature of its business.
However, some commenters attributed the hold-up to maintenance issues.
“Tarbucks hatessss replacing/fixing machines, ours was just fixed after i think almost 3 months,” one user wrote.
Another claimed, “Bro… we didn’t have an ice machine for 4 weeks. And still had to stay open. Like WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE BUCKS??? R u kidding me.”
