Have you ever gone to a Starbucks Canada location, ordered a drink and then wondered if you were ordering the wrong way and annoying the baristas?
Well, Narcity spoke to a Starbucks employee to get all the details about how customers order wrong when it comes to customizations, TikTok drinks and secret menu items.
Laura Mannion, an actor and model from Montreal who is currently in Toronto, used her experiences from working at the coffee chain to reveal the mistakes people make and what they should do instead.
"When ordering drinks, please tell us what drink you want before all the customizations," Mannion said.
"I can't start ringing in a non-fat, no foam, extra hot, double blonde, one pump hazelnut caramel macchiato if I don't know that you're ordering a caramel macchiato to begin with," she continued.
Mannion noted that ordering your customizations first before telling the barista what drink you were getting was "fine" to do when they used to write everything on the cups at Starbucks.
"Now everything is printed through our POS system, so it's best to start with the drink name and then give us all the customizations you want," she said.
Also, in her experience at Starbucks, most baristas don't mind if you have a lot of customizations for your drink as long as you're specific.
"It's annoying when there's a huge rush and your drink has 10+ customizations and when we hand it to you, you say 'oh, I forgot to say I wanted oat milk.'"
Then, when it comes to ordering TikTok drinks, Mannion said that they're fun to make but customers could be ordering them wrong without even knowing.
"We don't know all the TikTok secret menu recipes by heart. They're not official menu items, they're made up by customers," she continued.
When you find a drink online that you really want to try, be sure that you know the recipe when you go into Starbucks.
Then, tell the barista specifically what needs to be in the drink to recreate the one you saw on TikTok.
"We're happy to make it for you," Mannion said.
Not only is all of this true when you're ordering at Starbucks locations in Canada but the same also goes at Tim Hortons.
Back in 2021, a Tim Hortons employee told Narcity how customers order wrong — including using the names of TikTok drinks instead of just saying what's in them — and how customers are using the drive-thru wrong.
Next time you go on a coffee run you can use these tips to make sure you're not the person who annoys employees by ordering the wrong way!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
