Cup Labeling Joke at New Hampshire Starbucks Leads to Customer Refund

Starbucks Social Media

It's generally something we see on the regular while scrolling through our social media feed: a lighthearted post from a customer of any coffee shop with an interesting, unique spelling of their name presented on their coffee cup.

And while a cutesy, clever message was clearly the attempt that a barista at a New Hampshire-located Starbucks made, a special circumstance threw a wrench into everything.

Popular Memes

Whether it's written on a graphic or typed out on a blank background, there's no denying that popular, funny memes have been going viral in multiple ways for a while now.

And even though it's been a popular meme for a while now, one that's still making the rounds is based on the spam calls that we've probably all received based around our "car's extended warranty."

And that was the topic of the Starbucks barista's wit and cleverness to one customer, who asked to remain anonymous.

Under normal circumstances, a customer would probably be overjoyed to be handed a venti coffee with "We've been trying to contact you regarding your cars extended warranty" written down the cup and would appreciate the humor.

In this case, it's not even that the humor was lost on this customer, it was just an issue of a special circumstance.

Common Food Allergies

It just so happened that this Starbucks customer is allergic to tree nuts. Not the type of allergy that gives you a stomach ache or relegates you to the bathroom for a few hours, but the kind of allergy that can trigger anaphylaxis, close your throat, and ultimately kill you.

Once the initial laughter of reading the message on their cup had passed, the customer realized that was the only thing written on the cup -- no mention of any particulars of their order. What the drink was, what was in it, and that's when the panic set in.

What if they got the order wrong? What if instead of cream, half-and-half, or soymilk, they added in almond milk by mistake?

Starbucks Customer Service

In this situation, some customers may have done one of three things: 1) Hoped for the best and drank it anyway, 2) Given the coffee away or dumped it out and moved on, or 3) Brought it back to Starbucks and explained the situation. The customer went with Option 3 and was met with complete understanding by the coffee shop.

"It wasn't to be a Karen at all. I told the manager that it's because of my allergies and they were great about it and refunded me. Which they didn't have to do."

And anytime you mix wit with amazing customer service -- that's exactly how you keep customers coming back.