Why Starbucks Baristas Hate Writing Cute Messages On Your Cup

Back in the day, a personalised message on your coffee cup in the morning was a treat. It meant you were a regular the barista liked seeing, you'd had a good chat, or, occasionally, that you were in the first scene of a real-life Hallmark Movie. These days, those little marker-scrawled messages have lost their shine. At least, they have for Starbucks employees.

Recently, there have been a lot of changes at Starbucks. Since the new CEO, Brian Niccol, took over as head of the company in the middle of  2024 he has changed how custom orders are priced, introduced green-apron service, and cut standard menu items while launching new seasonal items like this month's Valentine's day offerings at a rapid pace. Behind the scenes, even more has shifted. Starbucks partners (baristas, if you don't speak corporate) were told early last year that they would be writing messages on all disposable cups as well as making sure only paying customers get bathroom access and water. 

Abigail Covington, spokesperson for the brand, has claimed these policies are designed to make the world's largest coffee chain more welcoming for customers. According to Business Insider, Covington said, "We believe in the power of genuine human connection — and we know that even the smallest gesture, like a handwritten note on a cup, can spark joy for our customers and partners alike." The employees she's speaking for don't agree. They're complaining the new policies have resulted in more work and more micromanagement at a job that's already tough. For many of them, the worst part of it is writing on every single cup. 

Starbucks employees on the Starbucks subreddit are reporting management pressure to be original with every message they write despite often having to scrawl several-hundred every day while sticking to the coffee-giant's four-minute drinks rule. Many of them have also posted about being asked to stick to rules that seem to be changing constantly, and are, at times, hard to interpret. Overall, none of it screams "genuine human connection."

Although rules seem to vary from store to store. One Reddit user said, "If we write 'thank you,' it has to be "thank you, [customer name]." Another said that stars and hearts had been banned across the country. A third Starbucks employee added, "Our Dm told us we can't write simple stuff like enjoy, hi, hello, nice no drawings either no smiles cats nothing." For now, they were getting away with writing "yum" and "love" on every cup.

Another barista mentioned being told in training, "You're not supposed to write pop culture references on cups or meme-y stuff." They also noted that this is a harder rule to follow than it might seem, as almost anything that's not a basic message can be misunderstood. These misunderstandings do happen, and they aren't limited to pop culture. One Redditor said they were fired for a nonsense word that was interpreted as an insult by customers and management. Baristas were also told that messages including "slay the day" and "nooooooo.... snow" were too aggressive to go out. 

This might all seem like a storm in a teacup (which probably has "you rock!" written on it) to some, particularly people who haven't worked in retail. But for a staff that's already striking over working conditions, additional day-to-day tasks and changing requirements could create an even more hostile workplace while also making jobs less stable, offering more excuses for dismissals.

Yet another Reddit-loving barista confirms that, at their store at least, not writing on a cup is "a firable offence for some reason." This is backed up by other reports of firings, as well as write-ups and coaching for not writing on cups. Several supervisors have explained that writing on the cup is one of the "Five Key Moments" as well as part of the "Beverage Routine" and that baristas can be disciplined or let go for missing any of these prep steps.

For now, Starbucks employees are helping one another out by offering lists of message ideas that have worked for them and sharing updates on rules. While the best thing you can do for Starbucks workers might be deleting the app and avoiding the store until they get a deal and a fair contract, those of you who can't live without specific coffee drinks could take a moment to contact Starbucks' corporate team. This move by a customer, who posted about it on Reddit, was well-received by employees and customers alike. Surprisingly enough, they all seem to agree that additional stress for everyone working isn't making Starbucks a more welcoming place.