❘ Published: 2022-10-02T21:31:18
❘ Updated: 2022-10-02T21:31:37
A TikToker’s “random act of kindness” goes up in smoke after their viral Starbucks tip video gets exposed as fake by the actual store employees – and the viewers slam the creator for not tipping the actual baristas.
Big tip videos have received a lot of mixed reception in recent years as viewers take to the comments, vocalizing a desire to remove tipping for more sustainable pay. However, this hasn’t stopped TikTok influencers from creating videos showing off big random tips as “acts of kindness”.
In one of these videos, shared by TikToker alohaocean, viewers are provided a scene from inside a car as two Starbucks patrons wait for drinks outside a local shop. A barista in a green apron comes out carrying a teetering stack of drinks, carefully passing them through the window.
As he finishes, the driver hands him a thick stack of twenty-dollar bills, and the Barista exclaims that he is “so behind on bills”. He awkwardly thanks the patrons in the car before walking back to the door, jumping into the air exuberantly as he steps up onto the sidewalk.
TikToker exposed by actual Starbucks employees
However, the kind gesture isn’t what it appears to be. In a Twitter post shared by yungmoneymal, the poster states, “They filmed this in front of my store (the person with the apron on in the video does not work here) And they did not actually tip any of the baristas”.
Viewers in the comments immediately railed against the TikToker, with GarryKardassian stating “He’s bout to get DRAGGED in them comments on the video” and Sherwoah adding “I knew this was fake AF the moment he walked over without one of these” with a picture of a drink carrier.
Meanwhile, users in the TikTok video comments have called the makers out, with one viewer saying “The manager of that Starbucks said that the apron man doesn’t work there and they in fact did not tip the actual baristas” and another adding “they filmed this in front of my store (the person with the apron on in the video does not work here)”.
Many other viewers vocalized their embarrassment for the group, commenting “wow great acting …” and “is everyone involved not embarrassed” in many other responses.
Unfortunately, it seems the TikToker alohaocean is known for these types of videos. The main TikTok account shows a variety of strange “comedy” acts in which the lead is seen impersonating doctors, people with disabilities, and other controversial situations.
Hilariously, another staged video on the account takes place outside the same Starbucks as the tipping video, with a different “barista” seen drinking the patron’s drink as a prank before handing her another hidden in his apron. Whether these staged videos are meant to be comedy or not, it is clear viewers don’t find them funny.