Starbucks barista left a flirty 'secret message' on woman's cup — ended up going viral for all the wrong reasons
A Starbucks barista's 'secret message' has sparked a viral debate on the internet
We’ve all been there, half asleep at the counter, desperate for that first hit of caffeine to start the day. Usually, the most interaction you’d expect is a misspelled name on the cup. But imagine reaching for your beverage and realizing the barista didn’t just make the drink but also a move. This scenario is exactly what happened with a TikTok user, Ari Chance (@chance_twins), a social media influencer who was offended by the message a barista wrote on their cup.
While writing sweet messages has been a trend that baristas have been following for quite some time now, this one seemingly crossed a line. It all started when Chance headed into her local Starbucks branch for a simple cup of joe, which she got, only to head back to her car and find a secret message scribbled on her cup. The barista apparently left a message intended for her on one side of the cup by scratching off some of the pre-written text from the line: “Careful, the beverage you're about to enjoy is extremely hot." With "the beverage" and "about to enjoy is" struck out with a black marker, the message read: "Careful, you're extremely hot."
Chance wasn’t impressed by this flirty gesture from the barista, as she decided to take matters into her own hands and make a video regarding the incident. “What just happened at Starbucks? Never going back there.” She posted this clip on her TikTok account, which she shares with her twin sister, boasting a massive fan following of more than 700,000 followers. As you’d expect, as soon as this clip hit the internet, it started garnering a lot of attention, with the audience being divided regarding the whole incident.
Although Chance was not happy with the Starbucks barista’s seemingly romantic gesture, the majority of the people thought it was harmless. One of them even wrote they'd be happy if they were in Chance’s place: “Ok but this is cute, and I would be so happy, not gonna lie." Others also shared similar thoughts: "If this happened to me, I would never stop talking about it." However, that wasn't it; a few also believe that this was just a trick to gain views by Ari Chance.
This, of course, comes on the heels of Starbucks having to cough up a whopping $35 million for another incident. Nonetheless, despite Chance's claims, she seemingly hasn't taken any legal action against the company or its employee. Moreover, Starbucks themselves are yet to comment on the matter, even though it has crossed millions of views on TikTok alone.
Amidst all this, it might be fair to note that not all baristas tend to be friendly with their customers, as it's considered part and parcel of their job. In fact, in an article published by FoodBeast, many baristas revealed they do practice it (flirting) to help the business. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise given just how big the coffee market is within the U.S. According to Balance Coffee, nearly 400 million cups are consumed every day across the country, with about 36% of Americans visiting a coffee shop at least once a week.
Nonetheless, as things stand right now, there's no evidence that it was certainly the barista who wrote the text on Chance's cup. But if that's the case, it could be considered a violation of personal space. That's because while the barista might not have intended to make her feel uncomfortable and unsafe, he didn't have any reason to make that gesture. That said, it could all just be a gimmick from the popular brand, but even that seems pretty unlikely as the video continues to do the rounds on the internet.
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