Woman reclaims hefty tip at Starbucks after order mix-up, asks the internet if she's in the wrong

Bad service can put customers off from paying tips. While most servers carefully listen to their visitors’ requirements, others lack attention to detail. The same happened to a Starbucks customer following an unusual encounter with a rude barista at a drive-thru. The non-coffee drinker, Lucy Pearl—who goes by @lucypearl726 on TikTok—opened up about her bittersweet experience during a recent takeaway process when she specifically ordered a Crème Brulée Frappé (Caramel Brulée Crème Frappuccino). Despite her repeated requests not to add coffee to her drink, her requests were not met, prompting her to demand her hefty tip back. A widely circulating video showed Pearl narrating the sequence of events that transpired at the renowned coffeehouse chain’s drive-thru.

The Starbucks customer began by sharing how she likes to order her favorite seasonal drink with a crunchy caramel brulée every winter. However, this time around, something unusual occurred when the barista decided to add coffee to her order. According to Pearl, she tried her best to lay down the terms of her purchase before making the payment.

"When I pulled up at the drive-thru speaker, I said it twice: no coffee, cream base, because I don’t drink coffee. I don’t like coffee at all," she explained, adding that the server present agreed to her request. Apart from paying for her order, Pearl also extended the courtesy of leaving a generous tip. However, as she continued waiting for her drink, the server returned and asked if she had already received it. After about five minutes, the Starbucks customer’s order arrived, but it had some coffee in it.

“When he handed it to me, I immediately noticed it was dark—it had coffee. I said, ‘No, sir, remember, I asked for no coffee, cream-based.’ He responded with, ‘Oh,’” she recalled.

Upon hearing the feedback, the curbside attendant turned to another barista beside him and asked whether Pearl's drink had coffee in it. "Does this have coffee in it?" After the female barista confirmed the presence of coffee, the attendant said, "Well, she wanted it cream-based." She responded, "Oh, well, there's no more Crème Brulée left."

The Starbucks customer witnessed this back-and-forth before she was finally informed about it. "We can't make you another one. Can I get you something else?" asked the man when he returned to the window. Upon hearing Pearl say there was nothing else she was interested in, he initiated the refund process.

“When he takes my card to do the refund, he gives me a receipt. Well, I can immediately see he refunded me for the drink, but he didn't refund me for my tip. So, I politely said, ‘Sir, can I have the refund of my tip?’” Pearl recalled in her three-minute-long video.

“The server was like, ‘Huh?’ And I said, ‘Can I have my tip back?’ He agreed to process the refund with one condition: ‘I need to get someone else because I've never had to refund a tip.’” It turned out that the man brought the same barista into the conversation, who had initially been very rude about not getting her order right. “The server goes to get this same woman, who was very rude and nonchalant about putting coffee in my drink. And she was like, ‘You want a refund of your tip?’” Pearl continued.

The Starbucks customer explained, “Tipping is for good service, and I did not receive that.” She added, “I didn’t even receive a drink.”

This prompted the woman server to inquire further about the amount of the tip Pearl had given to her male colleague. "Did she really tip that much?' the server asked her coworker, seemingly questioning whether the customer had been so generous.

"I got really irritated because now you’re questioning me. You’re trying to throw shade. You were already incompetent when I asked you not to put coffee in my drink," Pearl concluded, demanding her tip back. The server seemed irritated and allegedly threw money from the cash jar at her.

"I took my tip and left, but I thought about it. I felt bad because I am normally a tipper. I know that people who work in certain industries depend on tips," she said. "These individuals support their families, and I feel bad, but tipping is for good service," added Pearl.

The footage shared by Pearl drew widespread attention on social media, including a variety of reactions. Among them, a supervisor at Starbucks, @kaylawilburn1, remarked, “You were totally right for asking for it back. They should have offered you an acceptable alternative if they couldn’t remake it. As a bonus, I usually offer a recovery card for $4 off the next order for the inconvenience if there isn’t a suitable alternative drink.” @sonnykashiandsnickersmom reaffirmed, "As a restaurant regional manager, you should have been refunded the full amount and given an apology.”

You can follow Lucy Pearl (@lucypearl726) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.