My first and last trip to Starbucks

[ripcord]

I don't drink flavored or iced coffees like Starbucks serves so I have never had a reason to go there but a friend wanted his usual morning coffee so off we went. I ordered a large plain coffee and got a snide comment from the worker about cheap customers who don't tip, when did a tip become required for simply doing your job and pouring a coffee?

[Elessar Zappa]

1. I usually tip them because I assume they earn poverty wages.

[zentrum]

9. Yes. We should all do that.

If you can afford a Starbucks coffee, seems to me you can afford a tip of some sort.

Starbucks is a corporate giant that has destroyed local coffee shops. The Amazon of coffees.

[brooklynite]

74. "...that has destroyed local coffee shops."

When they started out, maybe. And maybe still in Nebraska. In NYC (and ironically in Seattle) there are hundreds of neighborhood coffee shops where people have discovered that they can actually get good coffee.

[hlthe2b]

2. You can...

Notify the manager or go online and file a complaint with the corporate group... I'm not saying go overboard and become a "karen," mind you, but such rudeness is not something I'm sure they want to promote.

My guess is that they will care about this rudeness and no one deserves to be publicly embarrassed like that.

[Rorey]

10. I'm not so sure they would these days

Before the pandemic, I'd agree, but food service employees seem to be in short supply.

Personally, if I owned a business, I'd fire them no matter how desperate I was for employees.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

3. Starbucks has always had a tip jar out

That said, I rarely tip and would get offended if someone made a snide comment about me not tipping.

[obamanut2012]

4. ......

.......

[Sanity Claws]

5. Seems like that employee needs to find a new job

You can help him look for another job by talking to the manager.

[Agschmid]

22. Unrec...

[Sanity Claws]

25. Unrec...

[Rorey]

6. I do leave a tip, but

I resent that I feel like I must. As another poster said, they earn poverty wages. Like you, I just have plain coffee. Their prices are ridiculous for just a plain coffee, IMO, and I don't even like their coffee. I only go when I'm with others who want to have it. That doesn't happen too often these days.

[liberal_mama]

44. I always leave a tip too, but their drinks are so pricey that my husband and I only get Starbucks

when we are on vacation or it's a special occasion. With the prices Starbucks charges, you'd think they could pay their workers a decent wage.

[PatSeg]

7. Employees making snide remarks about tipping

is not acceptable. It is not restaurant sit-down service. I've tipped at Starbucks, but many times I have not. I've never had anyone imply that it is required or expected. They are not paid $2 an hour like wait staff in sit-down restaurants. Their salaries may vary according to location, but it is always considerably above minimum wage, plus benefits.

"Along with health coverage, your benefit options at Starbucks include life insurance, disability coverage, vacation, tuition reimbursement, employee assistance, commuter benefits, adoption assistance and more."

That employee was out of line.

[Rorey]

12. On the Indeed site, it says $11.49 per hour is the average for a barista

Maybe it's more these days.

I couldn't pay my bills on that.

[PatSeg]

27. That is starting pay, plus benefits

I'm not saying that is a lot of money, but it also is not a traditional tipped employee job. Though tips should be appreciated, it should not be expected and no employee should berate a customer who does not tip.

In a sit-down restaurant, tips are expected for full service. Counter service, it is rarely expected and often isn't even an option. We don't tip at McDonalds or Taco Bell. Meanwhile, it appears that Starbucks lost a customer because of one employee's poor judgment.

[Demsrule86]

67. Starbucks doesn't pay that well. My future daughter in law works there...they suck on all levels.

she made $9.00 an hour and they actually give 25 cent raises. Walmart pays better. And the managers used to help themselves to the tips too.

[PatSeg]

72. Yeah, I think that pooled tip thing

is an invitation for some managers to take advantage. Starbucks should just ban the tip jars and then pay their employees more. I have worked as a tipped employee, but I cannot imagine it for working the counter and then trying to share the money equitably with others.

[Demsrule86]

64. My future daughter in law made 9 something an hour in Ohio...she is making a bit more

in Cleveland. But they rarely give full-time work and are generally a crappy company. People think they are so great, but take it from me...they are not.

[LisaL]

8. I have never tipped in Starbucks.

Granted, it has been more than a year since I've been there.
There are not a sit down restaurant.

[TrogL]

11. Their coffee is undrinkable

They buy cheap beans then burn them to cover up the poor quality. I'm not paying that kind of money for something that tastes like burnt toast.

[USALiberal]

21. Lol, ok! Nt

[LanternWaste]

54. Sounds serious, mes ami!

[Peacetrain]

80. Yes they do over-roast.. and their coffee is garbage..

could not agree more!!

[Skittles]

81. it was banned from our work coffee club

too many complaints

[GulfCoast66]

89. I don't know about their beans. But they way over roast it.

I assume it encourages people to put all those expensive flavors and shit that cost more money.

What ever happened to drinking a coffee black! If in a hurry I’ll thrown in some whole milk too cool it enough to allow quicker drinking.

Personally we drink Community Coffee from Louisiana. Serviceable. Like a medium roast.

But I occasionally make a pot of coffee with chicory and warm milk to have a New Orleans style cafe Au lait. Taste of childhood as it’s the first coffee I drank as a kid.

[Tommy Carcetti]

13. I always tip my barista.

My sister once managed a Starbucks. It can get very intense during the morning rush and you have a lot of customers with very long specialty orders who throw a fit if one little thing is off.

Those people work hard, for a low wage, and the ones I deal with on a regular basis are always friendly and remember my name and regular order.

Don't know why tipping them so ridiculous to you.

[ripcord]

14. I have never tipped for counter service

I didn't order some fancy drink, all he did was pour coffee into a cup and put a lid on it, I thought that was the job he was getting paid for. His thinking customers owe him a tip shows that not only is he very entitled but doesn't understand the concept of tipping.

[Tommy Carcetti]

15. Well, clearly it had a significant emotional impact on you.

I'm sorry for your pain.

[ripcord]

40. Sometimes you are forced to deal with entitled people

[Sympthsical]

16. Yep, this.

A work location my partner oversees is located next to a Starbucks. Sometimes, when he has to go in person, I'll tag along and sit in the Starbucks with my laptop doing work. As a get out of the house thing pre-pandemic if I was working from home that day.

The shit customers put baristas through is unreal. Sometimes I wouldn't get any work done. I was too rapt listening during the morning rush.

I'm a coffee drinker but keep it simple. Americano with four shots (I likes me my caffeine). But some of these orders are just . . . yikes. "Yes, there are ten people in line behind me and twenty in the drive thru, but let me over-complicate your morning and then just be a complete asshole about it." And the way the requests are made. All condescension and sneering.

It's totally fascinating to watch.

I believe starting is $14/hr by me. Those people are not paid enough.

The barista shouldn't have commented like that to the OP. But who knows. Maybe he was having a morning and snapped a bit.

[smirkymonkey]

38. I know, some of these orders are just downright obnoxious!

When I do go there, I either get a Venti black iced tea or a Venti iced coffee, no sugar. All they have to do is pour it over ice and it's done.

But some of these people are just crazy, ordering drinks like a Trenta Soy Salted Caramel Iced Cold Brew with 6 pumps of pumpkin spice syrup and 10 pumps of hazelnut syrup with extra-whip and extra caramel crunch topping, etc. And that is not even the craziest drink I have ever heard of. I swear, that place is just a magnet for narcissists and special snowflakes who have to have their precious needs catered to by someone making minimum wage.

These people are just horrible. It takes every ounce of self restraint that I have not to reach out and choke them.

[Sympthsical]

42. My favorite Starbucks moment ever

I had an ex who liked his SB. He'd go every single day. Sometimes multiple times a day. Anyway, he had this drink. I can't remember it entirely, but it was this half-strawberry, half-some other fruity iced tea with syrup, coconut milk, strawberry bits, and something else. Delicious, but I'd never put someone through making it. Also, calories.

It was his "Secret Drink" and a whole production. I'd always sigh when I was with him and kind of pleadingly apologize to the barista using only my eyes.

Anyway, we were in Australia one time for whatever reason. He goes into the Starbucks there and tries to order this drink. The baristas all take a beat and just stare a bit before turning their backs to us and conferring with one another in heavy whispers laden with thick Melbourne accents. Finally, they say, "I don't think we have any of that, mate."

Ex is flustered. Starts doing that thing where you talk slowly, as if they didn't understand you the first time. (I was quietly cheering for a slap fight at this point). "Sorry, mate." He was fuming. I was epically straining not to fist pump.

Yeah, we didn't last, lol.

[smirkymonkey]

52. LOL! I love this story!

Especially the fact that he was fuming over them not having his special "Pink Drink" (I think that is what they are called)

[Sympthsical]

53. OMG, it is Pink Drink!

I never knew it was a thing. I always thought it was just some random thing he made up.

Today I learned.

Still never ordering it, lol.

[DiverDave]

62. It's about attitude

Not the tip.
Treat me like that and the manager will hear about it.
That server is an asshole. And I won't take that from anybody.
Fire his ass.

[paleotn]

17. I always tip

They make crap wages doing a difficult job. I’d last about 5 minutes before I’d do a Fast Times At Ridgemont High, kick 100% of their butts. I’m not cut out for customer service and respect those having to do it.

[obamanut2012]

55. Same, and I tip a little more now

And have since they reopening in late Spring 2020. I buy Starbucks once to three times a week, and budget in a buck on top of the latte cost. It's a hard job, especially the last few months, and the pay is only so-so, and almost no one gets FT and the FT benefits.

I rarely eat fast food, but we stopped at the big McDonald's on Disney property on our drive back home a few weeks ago, so we could eat in the car, and I would have tipped if there was a way to do it. They made us iced lattes along with the Egg McMuffins, so what's a $1 or so?

I worked many horrible food and retail jobs in high school and college, and when I was laid off once at 27, so I tip everyone that is allowed to take tips. I'm not rich, but I have a good job, great bennies, and am a homeowner. I can afford a few bucks a week in tips.

[yardwork]

69. +1

[Treefrog]

18. Funny. It was just a few months ago du was all about supporting the frontline workers.

Saying how we should be sure to tip and always say thank you.

Things I do anyway, but recently I read a rant by a poster who called a delivery person names, and that thread got dozens of recs…and now this.

Waiting for the first thread in cussing out a grocery worker…

[CrackityJones75]

30. Right?! SMDH...

[XanaDUer2]

77. I know!

What happened, lol!

[captain queeg]

19. I used to go to a nearby Peet's. I generally prefer their coffee.

They preceded Starbucks. This is back when I was working and there was one on my way that opened at 0500, I’d stop about 0530. They never had any coffee ready. Just regular coffee. I wanted to get mine for the drive to work. A couple times I got an Americano, which is just $4 regular coffee as far as I’m concerned. I quit going. I’d either stop at a Starbucks across the street or wait till I got to work and go to the Peet’s there. Peet’s had great coffee and the one by my work had a lot of people from nearby offices coming in to get their morning coffee. I hate waiting in line 10 minutes while people order exotic coffee drinks. I guess there was a different crowd at the Peet’s near my house. I usually tipped at my regular place. Always had the same workers and were fast and efficient.

[Buzz cook]

59. 1911: first espresso machine in US

Peet's is the first modern boutique coffee roaster, not the first espresso or first roaster.

West 46th Street’s Barbetta, the city’s first Piemontese restaurant, opened in 1906, installing its espresso machine—also the city’s first—in 1911,

https://home.lamarzoccousa.com/history-of-nyc-espresso/

[USALiberal]

20. I always tip! Nt

[maxsolomon]

23. Sorry the Barista was snide. I wouldn't tip that person, but there are others behind the counter.

1, you don't have to buy a flavored coffee.
2, tipping at a barista/coffee shop is normal. if there's a tip jar, use it.

I will note that tipping is not allowed at Starbucks that are INSIDE grocieries like Kroger. I've tried.

[ripcord]

26. If I had ordered something that had to be prepared it would have been different

This was no different than walking into McDonald's and ordering a cup of coffee, I don't tip there so I don't understand why the exact same transaction at Starbucks would be any different.

[maxsolomon]

33. In France, you're expected to tip the person that takes your ticket at a Cinema.

I was stunned when I learned that. There are different customs in different places.

McDonald's does not allow tipping. Starbucks has a different model that mirrors most Coffee Houses i have been to (and worked at).

I would suggest you don't come to eat in Seattle, where "Service Charges" are now added to many restaurant bills, and tipping is expected on top of that!

[ripcord]

36. They would hate me

I have no problem tipping well for good service but if the service isn't very good it is reflected in my tip. I will always tip harried, overworked and especially pregnant servers well.

[TreasonousBastard]

24. Being the old fart I am, I just go to 7-11 and get decent coffee for far less...

and the donuts are pretty good, although not up to a decent donut shop.

Or, I just make it myself and put it in an insulated cup that fits into the holder.

But, although baristas do put up with a lot of shit, I still haven't figured out why we don't tip the pizza guy, or the McDonald's burger maker. Or the guys at Popeye's or Taco Bell.

And especially Subway.

And for the life of me, I don't understand why anyone actually wants the overpriced burned coffee at Starbucks. But, they do, and we spent four years with President Fat Slob, so there seems to be a pattern.

Europeans don't tip anyone-- service is built into the bill and pay is higher anyway.

[Freddie]

28. Tipping at fast food seems to be a new trend

Since I pick up meals for my grandkids a lot, I use apps for Wendy’s and other places - it’s convenient and I find your much more likely to get an accurate order when you order on the app. A number of them now have a tip option. Like tipping to pick up your bag of sandwiches at Jersey Mike’s.

[maxsolomon]

34. You don't tip when you order a pie or a slice?

Do you tip delivery drivers?

[TreasonousBastard]

35. Delivery people aren't counter people. The whole tipping thing makes little sense.

[Polybius]

92. Jumping in...

I tip the pizza guy, but never when it's the owner. My mom taught me at an early age never to tip an owner, because the sale is his tip.

[ripcord]

41. Like the Doordash driver who took back food because of the tip

Seems an $8 dollar tip wasn't enough and here I thought tipping was voluntary.

&t=3s

[CrackityJones75]

29. A company that employs that many people...

A company that employs that many people worldwide and you are going to stop going there because of a comment made by someone making less than what they need to live on? Sorry I hate to say it but maybe get some thicker skin. And yeah... You should tip.

[Hoyt]

31. I order black/plain coffee too. But I do tip at most places with a tip cup. Don't go often.

[ripcord]

32. It is strange that people don't tip at McDonalds for coffee

But this employee expected a tip for the exact same service that takes seconds.

[Treefrog]

37. Mm, not really.

[ripcord]

39. Isn't it exacty the same order and exactly the same service?

[hunter]

43. That would have amused me immensely...

... and I'd have cheerfully walked out of the place enjoying my coffee and feeling happy I was not that worker or their boss.

During these harsh covid times I welcome all the little social dramas I'm privileged to experience.

And generally when I get that kind of response from front line workers I'll assume they are simply having an especially bad day.

I probably wouldn't last a week in that job.

[MineralMan]

45. I do not voluntarily ever enter a Starbucks.

Not even at the airport. The lines are abysmally slow, especially at the airport. I can get my ordinary black coffee anywhere, so why deal with the Starbucks "mystique?"

So, tipping isn't an issue for me.

[TreasonousBastard]

46. Airports and train stations have options. But my local VA...

hospital threw out the lobby coffee vendor and brought in starbucks.

No other choices but the cafeteria which isn't open all the time and sucks even worse.

[MineralMan]

48. VA hospitals have Starbucks?

Wow! I haven't been in one since my grandfather died in 1973. Hmm...

[TreasonousBastard]

50. The one I go to does. Used to be some vet volunteers years ago...

but that got unmanageable so they contracted it out

[MineralMan]

51. The hospitals where I've visited sick relatives all have

free coffee in waiting rooms. But those aren't VA hospitals. It's not good coffee, of course.

Then there's the coffee at the car dealer's service waiting area. That's either really bad or they have one of those machines where you have to figure out how to put some sort of a packet of coffee in some holder and then press the right combination of buttons to make bad automatic drip coffee. I've never seen two of those that worked the same, so it's always a matter of reading the instructions and trying to get a cup of coffee out of the thing.

Usually I just skip the coffee altogether, frankly.

[obamanut2012]

56. Yes

[MineralMan]

57. Weird. Just Weird.

[ripcord]

47. I think that is my problem

I never tip for plain coffee at a counter or fast food place, I had no idea Starbucks workers were considered so much better than the people who work at those other places who don't expect a dollar or two tip for 30 seconds of their time.

[MineralMan]

49. They speak Italian, you know. That's worth something, isn't it?

[egduj]

58. Tipping is a catch-22

Tipping encourages employers to underpay their employees, but on the other hand, not tipping is penalizing the wrong person.

[Demsrule86]

66. It doesn't encourage employers at all. Whether you tip or not, they won't pay a decent wage.

It is who these folks are ...greedy. Now it is my opinion that if employers can't pay a decent wage then they shouldn't be in business. They are a drain on the taxpayers...as their employees must avail themselves of public benefits to survive.

[panader0]

60. I've never been to a Starbucks.

One cup of their coffee costs as much as 24 ounces of ground coffee that makes 150+ cups.
And I don't have to tip the cashier at the check out.
Each to their own, but it's stupidly expensive.

[AngryOldDem]

61. I always tip

The coffee shop where I work only had one worker for the longest time. She would take orders, make drinks, toast bagels, etc., while the line got longer. It would have driven me nuts. A tip was the least I could do.

That said, the barista was out of line with his comment, but then baristas have been pretty much shit on so it probably came out of frustration more than anything else.

[Keth]

63. Hmm...

I believe Starbucks' baristas make at least minimum wage, not $2 or $3 dollars an hour like most servers who rely on tips.

When I do see a tip jar out, I will usually throw in a buck and my coins. Sometimes. Depends on what I'm buying. However, the comment from the worker was way out of line.

[Hekate]

65. #1 I was unaware that I was expected to tip baristas. No one ever said a thing. #2 I remember...

… the world of coffee Before Starbucks, and your average cuppa from a lunch counter, coffee shop, or pancake house was on a par with battery acid when it wasn’t just old and weak. Denney’s was the worst offender.

The introduction of Starbuck’s French Roast was transformational for the entire country, as far as I am concerned. When your average housewife or college student was able to buy a pound of French Roast at the supermarket, businesses that sold coffee by the cup followed in a few years. Now the only place I am guaranteed a horrible cup of coffee is McDonald’s, and they make up for it by serving it at about 200 degrees, which is lethal.

I took up drinking coffee in college, when drinking age for booze was 21 — it’s a long time between 18 years old and 21 when you want to sit up all night socializing with friends. And of course it’s the sine qua non for studying. Coffee was cheap — 25c for a “bottomless cup” in an all-night coffee shop. The place my friends and I hung out was always open, and frankly their coffee wasn’t that bad when you poured in enough cream and sugar.

By the time Starbucks came along I had been a grownup a long time and had been experimenting with different roasts and grinds for years. Some say French Roast is “burned” but I like it well enough, and in comparison with what came before, it’s fine — but I’ll go to Peet’s if one’s available.

[captain queeg]

68. I went to a local diner last summer to meet a friend and have a cup of coffee

We were both up against the parking meter and I didn’t see the waitress so I put a $5 on the counter figuring whatever was left over would be a tip. Fortunately she showed up as we were leaving. The $5 didn’t cover two cups of basic diner coffee, I think it was about 5.50, I was stunned. I figure those specialty coffee house charge a premium but apparently even the diners have jacked up their prices.

[Decoy of Fenris]

70. Tipping for doing their job is an unreasonable expectation.

We don't tip gas station employees for running the cash register, we don't tip restaurant greeters for showing us to our table, we don't tip McDonalds employees for operating the drive through. Hell, there's a reason Dunkin Donuts has "No tipping" signs, because too many people whinged about not getting tipped for doing the bare-assed minimum they're required to do.

I've worked in guest services/service industry all my life and there's a time and a place for getting tipped. You get tipped when service is good or better, when an order/job is over the top, or when the service is beyond the call of doing the bare minimum; you earn tips, you're not entitled to them.

If I'd worked at that Starbucks, a simple black coffee wouldn't elicit a "Tip" (less than 30 seconds of pressing a button) nor should anyone feel entitled to a tip because they did exactly what they get paid to do already. Don't worry OP, that particular 'Barista' deserved exactly what they got, especially when they were being mouthy about it after the fact.

[meadowlander]

79. Also, you're already paying $5 for $1 worth of coffeee.

Starbucks makes $29 billion in revenue a year. They can afford to pay their workers more. If this particular employee is not satisfied with what they are being paid, they should take it up with their manager, not the customers.

I would 100% support them striking for better working conditions like better pay, health benefits or being able to sit down while they work. I'm not going to get guilt tripped at the counter into doing what their boss should be doing in the first place.

And I absolutely despise the servile, fake cheerful culture tipping promotes. It drives me bonkers when random people ask prying questions about my day because they think chirpy small talk is going to prompt me to tip them more.

Is there anything more depressing about a total stranger who could absolutely give less of a shit asking you about your plans for the day or whether or not you've had a busy day so far at 6:30 in the morning when you all want is a shot of caffeine and some peace and quiet to finish waking up? This is why I haven't been in a Starbucks in 25 years.

[onethatcares]

71. I don't drink their coffee

but I do stop there to buy a slightly warm danish when I ask if they have any coffee grounds that need removing. I use them for my garden compost so a dollar tip on a three dollar bun doesn't hurt at all.


I wish I would have been there to hear somebody complain, out loud, about not getting a gratuity. I really do.

[fescuerescue]

73. I saw that their stock was down today. I wondered what had happened.

Hopefully those minimum wage workers learned their lesson about getting tipped.

[former9thward]

75. If you are too cheap to tip then stay out.

Not only Starbucks but any eating or drinking establishment.

[Goodheart]

78. I agree, and I'm frankly stunned at how many here support the OP.

[Goodheart]

76. Holy hell.

I can't believe the number of people in this thread who are sympathetic to your irritation.

No, you're not legally required to tip.

This is America. We tip food workers, bartenders, waiters. It's why they get paid so shabbily.

[Music Man]

82. ...

[Raine]

83. All the specialty coffees ☕ are made individually so that's why they get a tip. nt

[ripcord]

87. But I didn't get a specialty coffee

Just plain black, no frills no extras.

[Raine]

94. No you shouldn't have to a tip for that, there's no work to just pouring

a plain cup of coffee. It's very rude to be griping because they didn't get a tip for doing nothing!

[Tarc]

84. I have never at any time tipped at a chain fast food place

Dunks, Starbcuks, BK, McDs...? Sorry, no, they're not waitstaff on a $2.13/hr wage.

LOCAL coffee shops and pizzerias, hell yes.

[KentuckyWoman]

85. You are one up on me.

I cannot fathom paying that much for coffee. To be fair, I'm not much for eating out either. Seems like the same money spent at the grocery will feed me about 10 other people.

[Silent3]

86. I don't drink coffee

Never could develop a taste for the stuff.

I think that simplifies my life greatly.

[GulfCoast66]

90. I tip generously at sit down restaurants. But never have at counter service places.

Do people tip at fast food joints? News to me.

[Polybius]

91. Don't punish the entire company for the act of one worker

Name any huge company with more than 10,000 employees and I can guarantee there will always be some jerks who work there.

[orleans]

93. sorry you had such a crappy experience

i've been going to starbucks since one opened in my town a million years ago.
granted, i don't go there every day (years ago maybe--especially in summer for coffee fraps) but possibly a couple times a month these days.

anyway--i can't remember a single time one of their employees was an asshole (or rude).

and the first time you go to one you had to run into that jerk!

i would say it definitely is not a typical experience

[Hortensis]

95. Agree smack down the worker, don't fire all the workers. Btw, I read that Starbucks

has become a public restroom provider, up there with McDonalds etc in assumption that that's where to go for one. Just a different clientele.

Btw, I'm over tipping. (Not overtipping. ) Employers need to pay living wages and up.

[Iggo]

96. I always tip.

In fact, I overtip to make up for some of the people who never tip.

Loudly sometimes.

I’m fun like that.

[treestar]

97. I wouldn't know to tip at a place like that

I'd have to see the tip jar in front of me.

No one has ever said anything. The "rules" seem more and more unclear as time goes by!

[Hotler]

98. I never tip at 7-11 when I order

a couple of those roundy-things on the hot rolling machine behind the counter. I don't get snide remarks but, I do get the look of "are you sure you want to do this.