If Your Starbucks Frappuccino Order Takes Too Long, Blame The Dome Lid
Ever found yourself waiting way too long for one Starbucks Frappuccino order? If there's no rush or other issue waylaying your baristas, it's probably the dome lid that's keeping them from being able to hand off the drink. According to viral TikToks and other social media posts from employees, the round plastic lids that usually go on Frappuccinos — or any other iced drink with whipped cream — are the bane of a barista's shift.
The problem comes from the fact that, for some reason, a great deal of dome lids are slightly too small for ease of use. While they can be fixed onto the cup, doing so requires a great deal of force that risks bending or squashing the cup itself in the process. Baristas have to exercise enough care to fully secure the lid without spilling or otherwise making a mess of the Frappuccino, often going through multiple lids for one cup. With so much effort involved in what should be a simple finishing touch on a Frappuccino, you can probably see why one unlucky Frapp order might end up taking twice as long as usual to arrive.
The problem has been getting worse and worse
You can see the issues in action in a viral TikTok uploaded by user emmalaflair. She takes about 30 seconds to finish assembling a Frappuccino, then spends the rest of the video struggling to attach a dome lid with the help of a coworker. You can actually hear the straining plastic as the lid refuses to clip on, even bending at the rim from the force of the baristas pressing it.
@emmalaflair If you see your local baristas struggling, it's the dome lids @starbucks #help #fixit #starbucks #sos #fypage
She's not alone in this struggle — another TikTok from user pinknuckles shows that even when the drink is double-cupped for stability, attaching a lid is still an extended and messy affair. Complaints from baristas and customers alike are littered across social media, sharing stories of how Frappuccinos have folded in half, been dropped, or even exploded during the herculean struggle with a dome lid. "[It's] so embarrassing when you try to put it on and the whole drink goes flying across the counter and goes everywhere," u/self1shmachin3 posted on Reddit.
Unfortunately, it seems that poorly made dome lids have been a worsening problem at Starbucks in recent years. According to Insider's correspondence with Starbucks employees in January 2023, badly manufactured lids became an overwhelming problem from 2021 and onwards. The issue isn't limited to dome lids, either — from almost every kind of cup and lid to even the food, baristas have been noticing a sharp drop in quality control in recent years. Whether or not the new CEO's plans for cheaper cups will resolve or exacerbate the issue remains to be seen.