A woman who took to TikTok to call out a Starbucks barista for what she felt was an inappropriate “secret message” on her coffee cup has found that the internet isn’t quite on her side. Ari Chance shared her experience online, expecting widespread agreement, but instead, viewers offered a mixed bag of reactions, with many actually praising the barista’s bold move.
Leaving a personalized message on a coffee cup has long been a fun tradition for baristas, much like an artist signing their work. Usually, these messages are simple, wishing someone a good day or just making sure your name is spelled right. However, one Canadian Starbucks barista seemingly took this custom a step further, crafting a coded message for Chance that left her declaring she was “never going back” to that particular coffee shop.
According to UNILAD, Chance posted a video to the TikTok channel she shares with her identical twin, Noe, showing a large coffee cup with the words “SECRET MESSAGE” scrawled on the side. A prominent black arrow pointed directly to the very bottom of the cup, right where all those tiny, usually unread details about ingredients and safety warnings are printed.
All she wanted was her regular caffeine fix
This barista had circled the first sentence of that small print and then cleverly blacked out certain sections of the text. The original warning typically reads: “Careful, the beverage you’re about to enjoy is extremely hot.” But with a bit of creative editing, the message was transformed into an apparent attempt at flirtation: “Careful, you’re extremely hot.”
While some might find this subtle romantic gesture charming, Chance was clearly not amused. She shared her “horror” at receiving this unexpected dash of passion with her coffee, asking, “What just happened at Starbucks? Never going back there.”
However, the internet, with its 2.9 million viewers on Chance’s TikTok, had a different take. Many thought the gesture was actually pretty sweet and romantic, or just a cute, unexpected moment in an otherwise ordinary day. One user commented, “That was smooth, not going to lie,” which is a fair assessment of the barista’s creativity. Another added, “It’s cute, girls say guys never do anything. He just put his heart out to you,” suggesting a more sympathetic view.
Of course, not everyone was convinced by the barista’s smooth approach. Some users wondered if this wasn’t a one-off, but rather a perfected technique. One person pointed out, “I’m wondering how many other girls he did that to.”
In today’s world, where everything on social media is often scrutinized, a healthy dose of skepticism also emerged regarding the entire story’s authenticity. Many viewers questioned whether a barista even wrote the message in the first place. Someone speculated, “Imagine if she did that by herself just for the TikTok.”
Others found it strange that Chance waited until she was in her car to record the video about the allegedly flirty cup. With no definitive proof that a barista was behind it, another commenter simply stated, “She definitely wrote that herself.”
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