Not everything is what it seems—even if it looks like there might be something wrong with your beverage.
A Starbucks customer has taken to TikTok to share how a potentially embarrassing situation was handled in a very kind way by an employee after she noticed something odd about her drink.
In a video that has drawn over 566,000 views, stay-at-home mom and content creator Hannah (@hannah_ratliff) says she raised a concern about her Starbucks drink to an employee—something she never does—and found it to be an embarrassing mistake that was met with kindness.
Woman finds blue object in Starbucks drink
“I just embarrassed myself at Starbucks and I will probably never go back in there, but I ordered a drink and whenever I got it, it had something blue on the lid,” she says in the video. “I’m like, OK, that looks a little weird. It looked like it was paper, maybe something like that. So I just wiped it off, and I’m about to drink my drink and then I look inside of it and I’m like, wait, there’s something on the inside too, like that’s weird, there’s something on the outside, something on the inside, and I just had this bright idea. I’m just going to go back in.”
Raising concerns with Starbucks employee
Being someone who never complains about her beverage order, Hannah said she was a bit nervous to go in and point out that she thought something was wrong with her beverage. However, it turned out to be just her straw, visible in her coffee.
“I never go back in, OK, you could spit in my cup and I could see the spot and I’d be like, it’s fine, but for some reason today I’m like OK I bought this drink, I’m going to go back in and I’m going to tell them that there was something blue on the inside and blue on the outside,” she says. “So I get up there, I’m talking to the cashier, and I’m like, ‘There’s something in my drink.’”
She continues, “And he says, ‘I think it’s your straw.’ I said, ‘Sir, you’re absolutely right, it is my straw, and I’m so sorry.’ I left, and I’ll never go back in there again, because that’s embarrassing. I literally thought there was something in my drink, it was just a straw. He was very kind about it though, but I’ll never stop thinking about that, so that’s how my day is going.”
What is Starbucks’ policy for drink replacements?
So what is the company line when it comes to remaking beverages, if a customer finds an additional ingredient or that their beverage is not to their liking?
Luckily, Starbucks employs the no-questions-asked returns policy. The company will take back any drink or food item that a customer doesn’t like.
If there had been something wrong with Hannah’s drink, they simply would have been able to remake it for her.
Viewers weigh in
Some viewers related strongly to Hannah’s struggle as an introvert who would rather not complain about her beverages at Starbucks, even if there is something wrong.
“Every introvert’s nightmare,” one commenter wrote. “Been there done that so many times. This is why I don’t people lol.”
“Finding the courage to go back in only to find out this… I swear this is me!” another commenter wrote.
“I’m actually crying because this is absolutely something I would do,” a commenter wrote.
Others shared experiences they have had from the other side of this interaction, as a barista serving confused customers.
“As a barista I would giggle and tell you you probably just need to have a little more of the coffee,” one commenter wrote.
“I’ve been on the other side as a barista, and I promise he probably just giggled a little bit after the confusion wore off,” another commenter wrote.
“You made his day. I bet he told all his coworkers and friends and family,” a commenter wrote.
@hannah_ratliff I am embarrassed #storytime #embarrassing #starbucks #sahm #fyp ♬ original sound – 💖🫶🏻 Hannah Ratliff 🫶🏻💖
The Daily Dot has reached out to Hannah via email and TikTok direct message regarding the video, as well as to Starbucks via email.
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