Starbucks Baristas Are Getting Really Tired Of Complicated Drink Orders
One even claims someone asked for egg bites blended into their drink.
I don't have any experience as a barista, but I'm assuming that people ask for customized drinks all day. (We even asked all of you what your most complicated Starbucks orders were, out of curiosity.) There are so many variables like flavored syrups, approximately 800 million varieties of milk and milk substitutes, styles of coffee, tea, you name it. And when the ability to customize exists, someone is usually bound to run with it—especially at Starbucks. (Remember the insanely complicated drink that went viral earlier this year?)
Turns out, Starbucks baristas are sick of it. Insider talked to a few and found that, not only are orders getting extreme, but they're screwing up customer wait times, too. Oh, and they are, indeed, judging you based off your order, because some of these requests are really gnarly.
One former Starbucks barista from Los Angeles said, "Some of the things I see are just disgusting." They went on to explain: "I've made Frappuccinos before that literally did not have room for milk in them. The modifications are out of control."Another barista mentioned that she was asked to blend egg bites into a drink. Egg bites. Other customers have reportedly asked for stuff like cake pops and brownies to be blended into their drinks, as well.
A Starbucks rep who spoke to Insider said that most customizations were reasonable, claiming that 75% of customized orders are made with less than three modifications. But, as you can imagine, complex drinks slow down order times. Starbucks' target time per drive-thru order is 45 seconds, so it's easy to see how quickly that can get derailed.
Finally, customers can get upset when they don't receive the picturesque drink they thought they ordered. "People think that the more they add, the more fancy they're being, but there's definitely a point of diminishing returns," the barista from Los Angeles said. I mean, I'm not even sure there's any returns if you plan on adding egg bites to your coffee drink.