Starbucks barista claps back at co-workers who criticised her for helping a customer save money

Who said Starbucks' employees can't help out customers get more bang for their buck with drinks?

Mandy, a woman on TikTok who goes by the handle @thebudgetingbarista, took to the platform to call out Starbucks baristas who seemed to get upset at workers who try to help customers save some money.

She began by telling a story about a regular customer who orders the same drink every day at her Starbucks location.

Because Mandy realised that the woman ordered a beverage that contains very little milk, she shouldn't be charged for that milk.

So to help, she showed the customer how to order the drink on the Starbucks app - and the little bit of customization helped her save a couple of bucks.

The savings that the customer received ended up becoming tips to the baristas on the shift.

However, Mandy said the baristas weren't pleased.

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"Why are some of y'all [baristas] so set on making sure customers spend as much money as possible?" she said in the video.

"The other day there's this regular that comes in. Super nice, she always tips. I've been trying to catch her for months because she always mobile ordered."

Mandy then showed a screenshot of the order that the customer in question made every time she visits the Starbucks, which is a "Grande Iced Quad Mocha with extra extra ice…caramel drizzle" that doesn't have much milk and is "mostly ice and espresso shots."

"I showed her how to order on the app an iced white lightning, and she's like, oh this is great I prefer it with less milk in it anyway…saved her a few dollars," Mandy added.

But the, the co-workers were a bit upset that she decided to go and try to save the woman some money, even though she's a good tipper who goes out of her way to leave a decent amount of money for the employees.

"Why did some of my co-workers jump down my throat? She tips us on the difference. I'm making the exact same thing. Why not let her save some money?" Mandy continued.

People took to the comments section of her post to share their sentiments which were similar to Mandy's.

One person wrote: "I mean, I'm going to get paid the same regardless of what they do but might as well save them some money while I'm at it. ik we're all struggling rn."

"I would do anything for my customers, and it doesn't count if it's only hurting corporate (:," another added.

A third, who said they got help from baristas to make a drink cheaper, wrote: "My Starbucks baristas did the same thing for me! Showed me how to get my shaken oat espresso cheaper, and now I tip more. win-win."

Someone else who claimed to be a Starbucks worker added: "When I worked at Starbucks, I was explicitly told that if there was a cheaper way for the customer to order their drink, we should show them."

Mandy herself added a few comments to her post, which read: "MY BIGGEST COFFEE MONEY SAVING TIP: BE NICE TO YOUR BARISTAS."

Indy100 reached out to Mandy and Starbucks via email for further comment.

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