Starbucks Employees Will Refuse This Drink Request

Starbucks employees are usually pretty agreeable. They'll answer your questions about drinks, ensure you've ordered something you'll like, and make it to your liking. They're also known for being pretty accommodating when it comes to the so-called "secret menu." (P.S. the menu isn't actually a secret, it's more just a series of customer-created drinks you can ask for so long as you know the recipe.)

But, there is one drink request Starbucks baristas will refuse to make for you. While it might sound strange to hear — isn't their goal to make the customer happy? — there's actually a really good reason they decline this one request. The issue isn't necessarily that the individual barista doesn't want to oblige, but that it's against company policy.

To save yourself the disappointment and your barista from having to provide an apology and explanation, it's usually easier to just avoid asking for this one thing.

According to Insider, many customers ask Starbucks baristas to blend various food items into their drinks. Cake pops, brownies, egg bites, and even items brought from home are commonly requested additions.

These, a company representative told Insider, "are not approved additions to blended beverages at Starbucks." Typically, these requests are made in-store because the app simply (and understandably) doesn't give people the option to customize to these lengths.

This is definitely not a new request for baristas to field — Current and former Starbucks employees discussed the issue on Reddit seven years ago. 

"Page 51 of the beverage resource manual ... states that no outside product or RTD&E items are to be placed in our blenders," one user wrote in the thread. Other employees discussed the reasons for this, which include everything from possible cross-contamination to accidentally damaging the blenders. But regardless of the reasoning, the bottom line is that they're just not allowed to do it.

That said, there are some exceptions. The Starbucks rep did tell Insider that bananas, blueberries, and the Evolution Fresh juices could go into drinks, but that's about it — besides coffee, milk, and syrups, of course. So, if you're looking to have a brownie blended into your favorite Frappuccino, Starbucks probably isn't the place to do it. If you really want it, purchase the items separately, and take them to your blender at home. It's the decent thing to do.