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Starbucks staff share TikTok video of store overwhelmed with orders

“Oh my God...” said staff as orders flooded in

Helen Elfer
Thursday 29 July 2021 17:14 EDT
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Sympathy for Starbucks workers after TikTok video shows an avalanche of mobile orders moments after opening
Sympathy for Starbucks workers after TikTok video shows an avalanche of mobile orders moments after opening (Photo courtesy of @a_problem_like_maria/TikTok)

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A TikTok video of Starbucks orders piling up as soon as the store opened has gone viral.

A barista posted the clip of more than 20 order stickers lined up right along the counter, explaining: “This was literally 10 minutes after opening,” reports Business Insider.

Barista Ria, who goes by @a_problem_like_maria on TikTok, posted the video last week with the hashtag #ihatecapitalism.

She added in the comments that her store had opened at 8am because it was operating reduced hours during a staff shortage. Starbucks stores typically open at around 6am.

Ria also told TikTok users in the comments that she had to pull all the stickers out of the machine “because our other sticker machine was down,” adding that the stickers were for both mobile and in-store orders.

She can be heard laughing on the video, while someone says “Oh my God” in the background and more orders continue to be lined up.

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Starbucks did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

As Covid restrictions lift, US customers are flocking back to Starbucks and other cafes and restaurants. The F&B giant has reported more, bigger and more expensive orders, as it recently posted its highest-ever quarterly revenues.

Drive-thru orders make up almost half of Starbucks’ transactions, while more than a quarter are placed via the Starbucks app, which lets customers order in advance and avoid face-to-face interaction – a popular option during the pandemic.

Some baristas previously told Business Insider this had left them overwhelmed and unable to keep up with demand.

At the time, a Starbucks spokesperson said that this was “not illustrative of the customer and partner experience in a majority of our stores.”

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