I work at Costa – the five annoying things people always do – please stop ordering whilst on your phone for starters

The Irish Sun

20-06-2025

A WOMAN who works as a barista in Costa has revealed the most annoying traits of customers.
Lauren Taylor, from the UK, took to social media to inform people about what they shouldn't do when ordering a coffee.
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A Costa barista has revealed the worst things customers do to them
Credit: Getty - Contributor
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Lauren Taylor didn't hold back
Credit: tiktok/@laurenjtaylor
The first annoying thing many customers do is simply forget their manners.
Lauren will greet customers with a 'hello' but instead of saying it back, many bark their drink order at her.
"A simple hello goes a long way," she reminded them.
Another grievance of Lauren's was that customers would not pick a size for their drink, instead insisting they wanted a 'normal' size.
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She urged them to simply look at the available sizes and pick one.
The barista was also fed up with customers thinking she was a mind reader when it came to what coffee they wanted.
Many would ask for 'just a coffee' despite having twenty different ones to choose from
Lauren would often suggest a classic Americano with milk, but would be corrected by the customer that they wanted a latte.
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The barista was often stuck calling out the coffee order to the customer standing in front of them with no reply in return.
She said it seems like customers often forget what they ordered or choose to blatantly ignore her.
Huge coffee chain with over 1,300 shops to close high street shop
Last but not least, Lauren was sick of customers ordering their coffee while being busy on the phone.
Not only was it rude, but customers often order the wrong drink as they're preoccupied and then blame the barista.
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"Somehow, this is still my fault," she said.
The video has since gone viral on her TikTok account @
Costa Coffee loyalty scheme perks
COSTA Club members can get early access to new menus among other perks.
To join download the Costa Coffee app, it's free to download via the Apple app store or Google Play store.
Stamps can be collected in any of the chain's 2,800 coffee shops, as well as around 12,000 machines in petrol stations and convenience stores.
You can get stamps for spending in store and using a reusable cup.
You get a free drink after collecting ten stamps, or beans as they are called.
For a small latte, at £3.50, it's £35 to get a free coffee.
Those going to a Costa store can earn an additional bean with a reusable cup, so that cuts the outlay down to £17.50 or buying five coffees.
How it works: 1 drink purchased = 1 bean, 10 beans = free drink
Small latte cost: £3.50
Number of drinks to hit target: 10
Cost for a 'free' coffee: £35
Reusable cup bonus: Yes, one extra bean
You also get free cake on your birthday.
Plenty of people who work in hospitality took to the comments, sharing their own stories.
One person wrote: "I work at Greggs and I feel your pain."
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Another commented: 'I had a woman last week ask me for a normal coffee… she wanted an oat milk flat white."
"'Regular latte' 'Ok medium' 'No?? Small,'" penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: "I work at Costa and can confirm all these things are 100% spot on."
"As someone who works in a cinema I totally understand this! No one ever tells you what they actually want,' claimed a fifth.
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Someone else added: ''Can I get a white coffee' then proceeds to argue with me that a white coffee is a latte and there's no such thing as an americano with milk.2