Starbucks BOGO Deals Are Breaking Baristas Across the US

Starbucks is facing allegations of verbal abuse, staffing shortages, and working overtime at its drive-thru locations. The company’s buy one, get one deals (BOGO) are going viral on TikTok and have made headlines across the U.S. Despite these deals being around for at least nine years and being immensely popular, baristas have told SFGATE that the company has become more aggressive about pushing them in the past several months. Despite high demand, workers say Starbucks isn’t adequately staffing stores, wreaking havoc on employees and leading to burnout. As a result, many of them are quitting at locations across the country.

Hailey Catlett, a student who works as a barista trainer at a Starbucks in Arlington, Texas, told SFGATE that BOGO deals have led to pandemonium at her store. At one point, four night crew members quit within two weeks, leaving them critically understaffed. Though she believes her co-workers complained to corporate about it, she has seen little improvement. The only time that they had enough baristas was because my shift had somebody come in without permission.

The BOGO deals happen at least once a month, sometimes more, and she was only recently able to receive a calendar that warned her about these promotions in advance. Out of all the company’s in-app deals, “BOGO is definitely the worst,” even compared to the 50% off deal. High demand and limited resources have left employees scrambling amid a chaotic, negative atmosphere. Rushed, exhausted night crew employees who take on the bulk of BOGO orders are unable to do dishes or other prep work until much later in their shift, causing them to miss important details.

Nick Delaney, a former barista and shift supervisor at multiple Starbucks locations in Virginia, has reported that BOGO deals have significantly increased in the past year, leading to decreased employee morale. The company’s flash deals where customers could earn rewards have intensified since people began boycotting Starbucks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Sales at Starbucks have slumped ever since, with analysts attributing the slow-down to ongoing calls to boycott the brand.

Starbucks tries to provide stores notice up to four weeks in advance and adds incremental hours to the forecast for promotional offers when possible. As of May 2024, a new series of protocols, called Siren Craft System, was implemented in 1,160 U.S. locations to improve operations and better support workers. However, until then, baristas on the sales floor are struggling to keep up with the company’s rigorous demands.

Delaney experienced an endless barrage of drink orders coming in, with no limit on the number of drink orders that customers could order, but the shop was chronically understaffed, and multiple employees quit as a result of these flash deals. He also felt completely out of the loop, and customers knew about the offers before his own co-workers did. Starbucks representatives told SFGATE that it has a long history of offering promotions, but declined to say when the next deals will drop. Schedules are made three weeks in advance, and stores have the opportunity to bolster staff in order to keep up with consumer demand.

During these deals, tensions were high and morale was low, leading to arguments among baristas. Customers were more aggressive, but employees were also at a “breaking point,” so they lashed out more. Customers would verbally abuse or try to lie about when they placed their orders to get them faster, even though employees can clearly see the time stamp on their iPads.

Overall, it has created a tense, stressful working environment, with co-workers sometimes calling out or requesting time off on BOGO days, leading to staff shortages. Frappuccinos, which take longer to make than the average Starbucks menu item, are one of the more popular drinks on deal days. At her current store, which is already high-volume, they are sometimes so backed up that the wait will be 30 minutes, as a result. As a result, night crew members clock out around half an hour later than normal.

Delaney, who now works in communications for a tech startup, wishes that the company would do better to support its workforce. He believes that Starbucks is a wonderful company, but “the third place aspect of Starbucks has virtually disappeared.” He suggests that service workers should have empathy for service workers, as there is only so much they can do with the resources that they have, and they are still people, and they can only do so much.

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