A recent video circulating the Internet is furthering proof that America’s baristas are everyday heroes.
TikTok creator Melissa (@millenialissa) on Wednesday posted a video of what it’s like to serve coffee to employees at one of the biggest tech companies in the world. The video featured the on-screen words: “POV: You work in an Amazon building and they get a free drink a day.” The video currently has around 34,000 views as of Thursday.
@millenialissa I haven’t been this anxious since I worked at the Roastery. Please be patient with your baristas. #millenials #millenialsoftiktok #baristasoftiktok #millenial ♬ origineel geluid – Tik Toker
The video depicts a chaotic behind-the-bar scene. Stray cups and steamer mugs are gathered by the espresso machine, while another small army of empty cups is lined up, waiting to be filled. The line of customers appears to reach near the door.
“Please be patient with your baristas,” Melissa captioned the video, while also expressing anxiety.
In the comments, former Starbucks worker Melissa said the organization that runs the onsite Amazon coffee bar pays workers pretty well. She wrote, “This is just some chaos now that they’ve returned to work,” presumably referring to the Amazon employees lined up to get their free drinks.
Earlier in the year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that employees would be expected to work from the office a “majority of the time.” He wrote that the policy change would take effect on May 1. Amazon operates hundreds of facilities across the world, according to the company’s website.
It’s hard out there for baristas across the board. One Starbucks worker recently posted a TikTok claiming that baristas at their store can’t even use bathrooms because of how busy it is.
The Daily Dot reached out to Melissa via TikTok and Amazon via email. We did not receive immediate responses.
Most commenters commiserated with Melissa and other baristas.
“And I bet zero of them tip!” one person commented.
Melissa replied, “Very few do.”
“All those people look rude af,” another commented
“We have a few great regulars, but generally it’s not a walk in the park for sure,” Melissa said.
“Just let them go wild behind the counter,” one commenter wrote.
“And these lovely people make 200K plus to code software designed to collect and sell your identity and then moan about going back to the office,” another user commented.
Another person summed it up: “I would literally quit.”
It could be worse, according to one commenter, who wrote, “Listen I did the same but at Samsung…they got to have MULTIPLE free drinks a day.”
