Starbucks barista reveals five biggest ‘icks’ when people order coffee

A Starbucks employee has blown the lid on the worst things customers can do when ordering a cup of coffee.

A Starbucks employee has lifted the lid on the worst things customers can do when ordering a cup of coffee at the global chain.

As reported by the New York Post, Keicha Halsell – who posts under Keke Not Palmer on TikTok – revealed in a viral video the most annoying “icks” that people give her when they come in for their daily caffeine fix.

The Florida native – who has nearly 20,000 followers and more than one million likes on the platform – began her clip by saying: “I’m pretty sure I can get in trouble for this video – but I’m gonna do it anyways.”

She went on to state her five biggest grievances when whipping up caffeinated beverages.

Her first pet peeve is when people have waited in line but then take “another whole five minutes to tell us what they want” by the time they get to the cashier.

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Barista Keicha Halsell detailed the things customers do that grind her gears. Picture: TikTok

Ms Halsell said she also despises those who order milk alternatives such as almond, oat and soy products, but then proceed to ask for sweet cream cold foam – which is a dairy product – to top the iced drink with.

She said that if people are unable to drink dairy, they shouldn’t be adding heavy milk and cream to their beverages.

The worker’s next issue was with customers who order items they have never tried before – and wind up not liking the drink.

She then has to make a “cuppa five times” until the person is satisfied.

“How is that on me? [It] gets on my nerves,” she said.

She said it annoys her when people have waited in line, but still don’t know what they want when they reach the counter. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

Ms Halsell’s next irritation was when others demand a mystery drink that isn’t on the menu or is derived from TikTok, thanks to the 32.1 billion videos labelled with the #Starbucks tag.

“They don’t know the recipe so I have to sit there for two minutes and watch a barista on TikTok do a drink that took two minutes to make and then take two minutes to write it down and five minutes to make it,” she said.

Her last annoyance is when she is brewing a latte – and then, all of a sudden, the person changes their mind and claims they “forgot to say ‘iced’”.

The barista often shares her experiences working for Starbucks. Picture: TikTok

She had a few customer gripes to get off her chest in the video. Picture: TikTok

Viewers of the clip clapped back though, taking to the comments section to say it’s workers like Ms Halsell who make going to Starbucks an uneasy experience.

“This is why I have ordering anxiety. That’s why I’m staying home to make my own coffee,” one user wrote, while another said: “This is why I just get my coffee at Speedway. Starbucks is just too much pressure.”

But there were a few fellow baristas who came to the TikToker’s defence with their own customer horror stories.

“My favourite was always, ‘Is this mine?’ ‘No ma’am. That hot coffee with the name Brian on it is in fact NOT your frap,’” one said.

Another commenter wrote: “I use to have a lady who would tell us we weren’t making a drink right so she could get a free drink coupon from whatever store manager was working.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission