nope, she doesn’t get to have her cheaper latte. If she wants more milk and light ice she can order a light ice latte, or go to the “other starbucks” if she brings that up lol

Sounds like it is time to begin forming a paper trail on this customer. You and your team have done what you can to help her understand that what she is ordering does not reflect what she wants. Despite your efforts to help her, she is continuing to order the same way knowing she is not going to be satisfied and will escalate.


As baristas we are going to make the moment right (initially) and work really hard to help the customer find the best way to order the drink they actually want. She is showing she actually wants a latte but orders it as an iced espresso. Even if we assume positive intent on her first order, she has now had enough experiences to understand her desired drink does not match the drink she is submitting.

If I were in your situation, I would have another conversation with her. When she orders and asks for a latte instead of an iced espresso, I would talk with her about the difference in what she is ordering and how it is wrong. I would offer to ring her up accordingly so it saved in her recent orders for easier re-ordering in the future, and then I would document everything I did on an incident report. The next time she came in to complain, I would remind her of our previous discussion and say that we might not be the best coffee shop to be ordering from and I would not remake her drink. I would place another incident report upon describing everything.

no this is absolutely correct bc that’s the standard. if she has an issue with it, she can take it up with corporate but we have a duty as well to stop customers who are trying to be cheapasses and ruin the standard.

>she remarked with “would you give out a half full cup?”

Lol does she see the hole in that? So by her logic, if somebody orders a tall frap in a venti cup, wOuLd YoU gIvE oUt ThE cUp HaLf FuLl? To her, even if a customer orders something in a bigger size cup that causes there to be room, u shouldnt hand out a half full cup. No miss maam if u ordered an iced latte in that size, then yes that would be the barista giving u a half full cup. But when u construct ur own drink, u cant get mad that it suddenly doesnt exactly mirror another menu item

No, not wrong at all.

Not wrong at all, people trying these TikTok hacks are getting out of hand and are becoming really disrespectful to other human beings for receiving reality checks instead of these “hack” fantasies

standard is if milk is more than 4 oz = pay for it

All the customers that mobile order a iced espresso and then proceed to add extra splash of all the milks can sincerely go fuck themselves

I’m pretty sure on the recipe card for iced espresso it says that the cup won’t be all the way full. Either way, you definitely were correct here. We had someone try to do the same thing until they realized we weren’t gonna give in.

my sm was on cafe bar yesterday and had to have this exact same argument 💀 customer was pissed

I’ve pulled the drink recipe card up on the iPad for the customer before
It is noted on it *cup will not be full*
And then suggested they might be happier with an iced latte as then they will always get exactly what they want.
I also love having the drink standards on hand that state ‘over 4 oz of milk is charged’
Happy to make you what you want, but you will be charged accordingly.

These kind of customers need to be told no. They act like they've never heard it in their life

No and thank you so much for having a backbone! It frustrates the hell out of me when people are just given into and it makes it so much more difficult for all barista who have to deal with the entitlement.

Nah. I make everything to order minus refreshers with no ice as it's no cost to add extra base(unfortunately) and a cup of ice.
I make what they order, nothing more nothing less

Nah, she a triflin', perpetratin' heifer.

Starbucks has a standard for measuring splashes - the width of a wooden stir stick is 1/4”, which is a light splash. Regular splash is the width of two stir sticks (1/2”) and the extra splash is the width of 3 stir sticks (3/4”). You can use that visual to explain to difficult customers what they are getting, and just keep repeating that you are enforcing company policy and simply doing your job. One time a customer held up our peak DT for this very reason, called corporate in line with my manager to complain, just for the rep to agree that it was company policy and they would honor her request once time but that she was flagged for this request and therefore would not be honored again since they explained it to her. Did she try it again the next day? YES lmao but relented much easier after that. Just keep stating it’s policy.

Nope. You’re absolutely right. Anything more than 2 ounces of milk is a latte. We can refuse to make it and give them corporate’s phone number. They can complain to them. They set the standards.

But they won’t complain because they’re complaining about not being able to cheat the system and mistreat workers.

I don’t understand why more barista dont use their right to refuse service. It’s literally a law. For any reason. If its an every day thing… I would tell her that after the third time.

This is exactly how the drink is supposed to be made. I’m so sick of internet ppl being like “oh here’s a hack for a cheaper latte!” Like bitch no cough up the extra change if you want a latte 🤦🏽‍♀️

My DM said that if people want their iced doppios filled up that we have to give it to them now. It’s quite frustrating.

I hate scammers. They think they're so clever getting one over on us but it just highlights that they're dishonest people and where's the clever in that??!! You are not wrong.

i used to have one of these!!! don’t give her what she wants, they will go away!! and if she says “well this store does…” it’s a quick oh… what store was that? i’ll have to let my dm know :( which will scare them from using that excuse again!!

Nope you’re totally right. People know that when they order shots it’s not a full drink. They just think they’re clever and have found some way to get a cheap latte.

It’s very confusing as to what Starbuck’s wants out of us in these situations. “Make the moment right, but don’t let them cheat us out of 30 cents worth of milk!” Well you can’t have it both ways. And frankly it’s exhausting and has created some entitled, insufferable customers. I’m on the side of malicious compliance, personally, making the drink exactly as ordered with light ice and a little milk, nothing else, until the customer gives up and orders it right.

No ure not wrong. Once or twice is ok. Not everyday.

All you gotta tell her next time is that ‘if it’s more than 4oz, policy is that you pay for it. Sorry’. 🫠

Nope!

Maybe hand her a sample size iced cup so her doppio, light ice, splash of milk can go into a “full” cup. 😅 They’re demitasse!

You are right. Don’t let her get you down, she’s just being a cheap ass

Anything more than 4oz is a latte. When this happens I take the time to measure it out and repeat the rule to the customer.
You def did the right thing

not wrong at all, people like her are the reason why I get told everywhere when I buy the exact same drink that it won’t be filled all the way up.. I know, bc I only want a little bit but I understand where the baristas are coming from.

Standard would be in a tall cold cup shots milk and ice.....its not gonna be full....normally i would fill cup with ice but if she wants light ice...cup will be empty. I love it when people order something similar at register and i let them know the cup wont be full and they ask why and i explain how the drink is built. I then suggest the actual drink they want and some are upset because they have to pay for it.....you get what you pay for.

Absolutely not. She’s trying to be cheap and save what, a dollar? And she’s being rude on top of it? Starbucks customers have gotten way too entitled and are costing us money.

If our inventory is going to be entirely automatic, standard has to be followed or else we will run out of product everyday, more than we already do.

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Just add water. Sure it will dilute the drink, but at least it will be full. Some customers are beyond pleasing.

“I don’t care, it’s not my money, I’ll just fill the cup and wait to be adjusted by my manager”