A woman went viral on TikTok after warning viewers against buying from certain Starbucks locations. In short, she said to avoid buying from Starbucks within grocery stores because there are always various issues with her orders.
Anne Stewart (@realestatewithanne) said she “know[s] better” than to buy from these locations, but relented a few days prior out of desperation. “Ever since then,” she said, “I’ve had the worst experience. And I’ve been kind of mad about it.” As of Sunday her clip had amassed over 13,500 views.
Stewart then dove into her story-time.
“Let me tell you what happened,” she started.
Stewart said she had just finished an appointment and was craving coffee. On this particular day, she said, she was “jonesing for a cold brew.” And the closest Starbucks, she said, was attached to a grocery store.
“So I walk in [and] it’s completely dead,” she said. “There’s two girls working behind the counter. There’s nothing going on.”
What’s the problem with grocery store Starbucks?
When she ordered her drink, however, a sweet cream cold brew, she said she was told by the workers that they were “out” of that particular item. Stewart noted to viewers that this was Starbucks’ first “strike.”
Stewart said she ended up ordering a double cappuccino instead, and decided to buy a pastry with it. But when she asked the workers to warm the pastry up, Stewart said she was told the store “didn’t have the microwave or the heating equipment” to do so.
“Strike No. 2,” Stewart said.
Stewart said she, again, had to buy her second choice option. So, after buying another pastry that didn’t need heating, she waited for her drink.
“This is when things get really cherry-on-top bad,” she said.
When Stewart finally picked up her drink and took a sip, she said all she could taste was the foam from the cappuccino. She said she couldn’t taste or smell any espresso in her drink. When Stewart asked the worker whether she forgot to put it in, the worker responded that the espresso was at the “bottom of the cup.”
Stewart then said she had to leave, but as she continued drinking her beverage she said she noticed that there was no espresso.
“I stop, pull over, dump the entire thing out,” she said. “It’s only foamed milk. There is not a stitch of espresso in there.”
Stewart said the entire ordeal made her “boiling mad,” and wrote in the accompanying video caption that she’s still not over it. “I’m still boiling mad,” she said.
And this, she told viewers, was “strike three.”
Stewart ended her video wondering if the workers were messing with her, but said she learned her lesson.
“I’m never going to a Starbucks again that’s attached to a grocery store,” Stewart said.
Stewart isn’t the first Starbucks customer to say that standalone locations offer better services than those found inside other stores. One barista, however, previously noted that any perceived difference in quality has more to do with the quality of the store’s management and staffing. He defended Starbucks, which he said utilizes the exact same training module for all workers and said, in theory, there shouldn’t be any difference in the service that is received.
But that didn’t stop viewers from agreeing that something is off with Starbucks’ located inside other stores.
@realestatewithanne I’m still boiling mad about my Starbucks attached to grocery store experience from a few days ago after I left an appointment what are your thoughts? #Starbucks #ListingAppointment #Portland #Beaverton #Tigard #Wilsonville ♬ original sound – Anne Stewart
“I avoid them like the plague,” one viewer said.
“If the Starbucks is connected to a grocery store or target then run,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Stewart via TikTok comment and to Starbucks by email.
