Audio By Carbonatix
A Starbucks customer says she felt “scammed” and “bamboozled” by a cashier, who, in an apparent move to upsell, convinced her to add an extra shot to her coffee.
In a video posted on July 10 by Oklahoma-based TikToker Gillian (@nochillgill13), she says she ordered her regular drink, a Venti iced white chocolate mocha with no whip, from Starbucks during her lunch break.
However, before she could pay, the barista asked her an odd question.
Did The Barista Change Her Order?
“The guy asked me, ‘Hey, are you tired?’” she says.
When she confirmed that she was “exhausted,” she says that the cashier offered her an extra shot of espresso. She says she accepted, thinking it was a nice gesture from the worker.
“I was thinking he was just going to be nice and give me an extra shot in my drink,” she explains. But when she got to the pickup window, her mood changed.
“I go to the window, and I look, and I paid for that extra shot. If I wanted an extra shot, I would’ve asked,” she says.
Gillian questions whether Starbucks baristas get commission for upselling customers after the misunderstanding.
“I’m too nice to say, ‘No thanks, I don’t want to pay for the extra shot,’” she says. “It was just $1.25, but still.”
The caption reads, “Did I get scammed? If that’s what he’s doing, bro was missing his calling. It’s sales for sure.”
In an email to BroBible, Gillian expressed her frustration with being upsold, citing her previous experience as a fast-food worker.
“I understand upselling, but I would never do it like that. I would warn the person that I was gonna add an extra onto their already expensive drink,” she shared. “I was just baffled that that’s how he did it, and it seemed kind of shady.”
Do Starbucks Workers Make Commission From Upselling?
In the comments, Starbucks workers clarified that they don’t make commission from upselling customers. However, many said their managers still encourage it.
“Ex Starbies barista: We’re told to upsell to customers like this, so he probably asked you to get their sales up. If someone asks something like that b4 you’ve paid, it’s safe to assume they’re charging you for it,” one wrote.
“Been with Starbucks for almost 13 years now. We are supposed to try and upsell whenever possible, so I’m sure that’s what happened. Don’t be afraid to tell your barista no, or that you don’t want to pay for something they rang you up for. Starbucks is expensive, and we know it,” another said.
“It definitely was a manager who did that to keep their sales good. We’re told to upsell, but I never do bc I don’t get paid enough,” a third suggested.
Starbucks workers on Reddit said they’ve noticed increasing pressure to upsell. In a post on r/starbucksbaristas, one said their manager told them, “Upselling is no longer an option,” and would go through the line each day to ensure workers were doing just that.
Others offered Gillian ways to distinguish between a genuine gesture and an upsell.
“This is a very common practice. General rule for all stores: If it’s the cashier asking, it’s an upsell. If it’s the person down the line making your drink, it’s a free throw-in,” a commenter said.
Gillian replied in a comment that “they’ve tried to upsell me before too, but this guy was sounding like you just wanted to give me an extra shot being genuinely nice.”
BroBible reached out to Starbucks for further comment.
Content shared from brobible.com.