The Sketchy TikTok Trend That Has Starbucks Baristas Seeing Red
Look, we all love free stuff, but if it comes at the cost of getting someone else in trouble or possibly even fired, it really isn't worth it. According to Yahoo!, Starbucks baristas have been reportedly getting in trouble due to a new scam that appeared on the social media platform TikTok. In two posts on the Reddit message board r/starbucks baristas are claiming teens are coming in trying to request free drinks using other Starbucks employee's partner numbers.
The short video uploaded to TikTok, which has now been deleted, allegedly told users to ask for a receipt with their order, which has the partner number attached to the employee who served them printed at the top. They were then instructed to request free drinks, food, and other perks associated with being a Starbucks employee. In The Know spoke to one Starbucks worker from Arizona who requested to remain anonymous. They claim a co-worker had seen the TikTok video and warned them about the scam, stating that this freebie trick isn't as harmless as it appears, saying, "Corporate has a whole group [that] monitors partner numbers and if you use them too much or they're in different locations every time ... they will fire you."
There is a fix to prevent the scam coming, but no word on when
The initial Reddit thread that brought attention to this scam was posted by user dbadefense1990, sharing an experience they had while working at a Starbucks drive-through ringing up a large order for a family who paid cash. The Reddit user states that generally they don't give receipts with cash orders, but as they were handing out the last drink to the car one of the teenage children asked their parents to get a receipt. The Starbucks employee, having been warned of the possible scam, printed one but scratched out their partner number. After seeing this, the teens, looking annoyed, threw the receipt back at the drive-through window.
In a second post on the scam, Reddit user fluffycakes222 shared an image of a Starbucks receipt showing how they blacked out the partner number and location, requesting other Starbucks employees reading the thread to begin asking for an ID when giving out discounts to team members they don't recognize. While this is technically already company policy, many employees appear to not bother asking. Another user and Starbucks barista, Aurone16, suggested that if they do not have an ID, you can always ask for the full name associated with the partner number. Further down in the discussion, user vkapadia stated that this issue has now been fixed and an update will soon be released that prevents customers from seeing Starbucks partner numbers in the future to prevent any fraud.