Starbucks barista points out flaw in the new 'writing on cups' rule (2025)

A Starbucks barista revealed a major flaw in its newly revived rule forwriting on customers' cups.

An employee of the coffee chain expressed frustrationin a Reddit post that workers are not permitted to use common abbreviations in the messages they scrawl on drinks containers.

Some of the popular terms include YOLO (short for 'You Only Live Once') and GOAT (for Greatest Of All Time), the employee stated.

The person said workers cannot include such shorthand because the company believes 'different generations won't understand their meanings.'

The user took particular offense when noticing a Starbucks advertisement on Reddit that included 'IYKYK,' an abbreviation for 'If You Know, You Know.'

'Of course there's got to be a double standard with the higher ups,' the employee observed.

The return of the written messages is part of CEO Brian Niccol's 'Back to Starbucks' plan.

Niccol announced the plan in September after he was appointed CEO in August.

The plain aims to improve customer and worker satisfaction while boosting morale.

'We're getting back to Starbucks by refocusing on what has always set us apart—a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather, and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas,' a Starbucks spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

'Handwritten notes on our cups have proven to be a simple, yet meaningful action that fosters moments of connection with our customers.'

In response to the edict, baristas urged their fellow employees to stick it Starbucks.

'Write nothing more than a lop-sided smiley face all the time. Malicious compliance,' a Reddit commenter replied.

But even adding a smiley could carry risk, some said.

[T]hen we'll get another store meeting on how to draw smiley faces. [T]his f****** company lol,'a Reddit user wrote.

'Our district manager told us smiley faces or hearts by themselves were strictly not allowed and we had to write an "actual message,"' another responded.

No matter the message, Starbucks is expecting all of them to be 'positive and respectful,' adding the company created examples to 'serve as inspiration.'

Workers have shown disdain for the 'writing on cups' rule since it was brought back earlier this year.

The action 'has slowed down the pace and is a "forced" way to build connections with customers,' baristas told CNN.

'It's just a lot for workers to have to add to the number of things we're expected to do,' explained Amanda Rivera of Starbucks Workers United.

'It would be more sincere if I didn't seem stressed out of my mind making 10 other cups.'

One of the chain's earlier updates was the removal of surcharges for dairy alternatives.

Another was requiring that customers make a purchase in order to use the bathroom or hang out in store.

And one that's been talked about nonstop is Starbucks' new dress code policy, which will take effect on May 12.

The new code, which requires employees to only wear solid black shirts with any shade of khakis, black or blue denim pants, has made baristas threaten to quit.

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