Barista and TikToker Alyssa Baker (@theyluvvlys) demonstrated the crafty way she decided to maximize her coffee shop’s one free drink per shift rule: getting a bigger cup.
And technically, a pitcher could be considered a cup, right? That’s what Baker thought, and she prepared her monstrous cup of caramel iced coffee for other folks on the platform, who had some thoughts on the humongous beverage.
@theyluvvlys She didn’t clarify what size drink…. #foryoupage #fyp #dailycoffee #makecoffeewithme #morningcoffee #coffee #icedcoffee #coffeelover #thebusybean #busybean #justkeepbuzzing #youarebeeutiful ♬ Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO
“Pov: your manager says 1 free drink per shift,” Baker writes in an on-screen caption. The clip itself is a sped-up time-lapse of the barista preparing her massive beverage.
She begins by drizzling the inside of a drink pitcher with caramel syrup. Then, she pours in two large cups of what appears to be cold black coffee. After that, she dumps what looks like an entire quart of half-and-half into the pitcher, followed by two large cups of ice. She then tops it all off with a hefty serving of Redi-Whip whipped cream.
When the concoction is finished, she grabs a straw that’s way too small for the pitcher, swirls it in the drink, and then takes a sip. She looks up to the sky as if to exclaim that the iced coffee beverage is too delicious to comprehend before the video cuts out.
“She didn’t clarify what size drink….,” Baker adds in the video’s caption.
One commenter thought there was one way she could’ve improved the mondo iced caramel coffee: “Ma’am you forgot the caramel on top!!!”
The TikToker agreed, responding, “I’ll do a remake.”
Someone else was shocked that Baker put so much cream into the pitcher, writing, “Girl the whole thing of half & half nooo.”
Another viewer boasted that they are allowed up to three separate drinks throughout the day at Starbucks: “At the siren we get 3 free drinks,” they wrote.
Starbucks’ website doesn’t indicate that there is a limit to the number of beverages employees can consume while on shift. However, it does specify that employees are allowed up to 7 free pastries or “ready-to-eat” food items per week.
One Dunkin’ employee said they’re allotted one donut a day, but they’re only allowed free coffee if they bring a cup from home: “hell nah at dunkin we only get one free donut a day (but free coffee if we bring our own cup).”
Dunkin’ writes on its website that workers can have “coffee, breakfast, lunch and snacks on us while at work,” but the restaurant does not specify a limit or bring-your-own-cup rule.
Based on the variety of responses to Baker’s post, it would seem that the specific rules on how much free food and drinks employees can have at popular coffee chains can vary based on the preferences of whoever is in charge at each particular store. For example, one commenter wrote: “starbucks is legit cancer for that. I work at dunkin and my franchise owner told use we can drink unlimited drinks and food for free. cheap a** owners.”
The Daily Dot contacted Baker via TikTok comment for further information.
