Starbucks Barista Shares PSA for Drive-Thru Customers

A Starbucks barista has gone viral on TikTok for making a public announcement to drive-thru customers: Don’t place mobile orders on the speaker.

The video was uploaded by TikTok user Danielle (@thehighbarista). As of February 1st, the video has been viewed over 45,000 times.

Danielle began the video by addressing Starbucks customers, reminding them of the practice, which baristas on TikTok have repeatedly said they don’t appreciate.

“I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of baristas on here saying how much they don’t like it when someone plugs in their phone just before they get to the drive-thru, or in the drive-thru queue,” Danielle said.

She went on to explain that while it may seem “silly,” baristas don’t like it when customers do it because it disrupts their flow.

According to Danielle, baristas prepare drinks and baked goods while customers place their orders. When a customer places a mobile order right in front of the speaker, baristas have less time to prepare the order before the customer gets to the window.

“So if you come to the speaker box and say, ‘I just placed my mobile order,’ and we see it coming through, we don’t have that much time now to get that going and get it going You go and get everyone else out of there,” she said.

Additionally, Danielle explained that Starbucks sets drive-thru goals so customers can get taken care of and on their way as quickly as possible. She made it clear that helping baristas achieve these goals is not the customer’s responsibility, but she expressed that achieving the goals is beneficial to both baristas and customers.

@thehighbarista do I make sense or did I explain that poorly? 😅 #baristas #barista #baristalife #baristatok #lasvegas #vegas #serviceindustry #baristaproblems #starbucks ♬ Original sound – Danielle | thehighbarista

In the comments section, fellow baristas reinforced Danielle’s message.

“Also, your mobile order is hard to find because it’s behind all the other mobile/cafe orders,” commented one viewer.

“Especially when they’re backed up on cell phones and then let us pull a lot of tickets to get to them. You can’t always force printing from the DPM,” wrote a second.

“Not to mention cellphones usually pop out of the same machine as a coffee shop and when busy you may have to pull the stickers for MULTIPLE orders to be found,” echoed another.

However, Danielle’s explanation left some Starbucks customers confused.

“So it’s better to just skip the app because it makes the window order faster?” asked a viewer.

“But isn’t that the same as ordering at the window?” asked a second. “You all don’t know our order until we finish at the window, like placing a mobile order at the window.”

@thehighbarista In reply to @courtneyemyers can you imagine if everyone orders on mobile? I’m in heaven #baristas #barista #baristalife #baristatok #lasvegas #vegas #serviceindustry #baristaproblems #starbucks ♬ Original sound – Danielle | thehighbarista

In response to comments from confused viewers, Danielle released a follow-up video. The TikToker explained that ordering in advance only bothers her when “it’s done at the speakerphone” or “while you’re in line to order at the speakerphone.” She said she prefers customers to order on mobile and closed the video by encouraging customers to keep doing so.

“Personally, I wish everyone would order on mobile,” she said. “It would create so many solutions for my work and customer experience and that’s just my opinion.”

The Daily Dot has contacted Danielle via TikTok comment and Starbucks via press email for more information.

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