‘I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t know the difference’: Barista urges customers to ‘be nice,’ says she has power to swap coffee for decaf

A barista is reminding people that if you're not nice to your barista, you may end up with decaf instead of regular coffee.

TikToker Talia Rae (@xtaliarae) took to the platform to share her video PSA.

The text overlay reads, "Remember to always be nice to your barista. We literally have the power to ruin your morning by swapping out your coffee for decaf."

In the caption, Talia added, "Studies show Karens are tired again by 9:30am."

The video has received 1.2 million views as of this writing and users had a lot to say about Talia’s tactic.

A couple of fellow baristas felt the same way as the TikToker and co-signed the move. One person remarked, "Also a barista and can confirm I did this."

"I did that A LOT when i was a barista," added another, before cautioning, "Treat people like human beings."

@xtaliarae Studies show Karens are tired again by 9:30am #baristaproblems #trendingsound #comedy #rudecustomers #hospitalitylife ♬ I was ruined when she bought it - golbetty

One person confessed to serving decaf to everybody in a store. "When I used to work at Dunkin we once ran out of regular coffee beans so we just served decaf and told nobody," that person said. "I still wonder if anyone noticed."

Another person confessed, "I gave an old man regular instead of decaf kinda late at night and realized an hour later and cried."

Someone else offered a less aggressive option: "Or making a single shot instead of double lmao."

The video also drew considerable debate from users on whether they'd notice if their regular coffee was switched out for decaf.

"I'd know just cause I'd get the caffeine withdrawals," someone said.

But another contended, "I feel like a lot of people wouldn't know the difference."

The barista’s PSA led at least one person to worry about receiving decaf in the future, saying, "Me with social anxiety now worried i’ll accidentally be rude and this will happen to me even tho i try really hard to be polite."

But Talia reassured that commenter, "Those who are rude are not trying to be polite at all, you’re good."

This isn't the first time someone on TikTok has suggested switching out decaf for regular coffee. The Daily Dot has previously covered a barista on the platform who joked about doing the same thing, and another who was deathly serious about it, and boasted of her reign of decaf terror while working at a coffeeshop.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Talia via TikTok comment.

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