Yeah, Starbucks Knows You’re Scamming Them With This Beverage Hack — And They’re Not OK With It

Sure, everyone wants to save a buck — but scamming isn’t the best way to do so. Take Starbucks, for example. The coffee chain  has noticed more and more customers ordering a strange drink concoction to shave off some of the cost. But just FYI, they’re in on the hack, and no, they’re not cool with it.

Here’s what the “hack” is — instead of ordering a green iced tea, which would price out at $2.75, customers are ordering ice water with two scoops of matcha, which typically rings up at 80 cents. This practice went viral awhile back, and Starbucks tried to put an end to it by calling it a “custom iced tea,” which would cost scammers the same as if they ordered the standard drink.

But still, there’s a lot of turnaround at a place like Starbucks, and 27,339 Starbucks locations in the world, as of 2017. So it makes sense that a few new baristas might not think they’re being scammed and charge just 80 cents for the concoction. Based on the size of the company, it’s mighty tough to have every barista on board with a plan.

That’s where Reddit comes in. Known as the front page of the internet, baristas worldwide have talked about the hack on the Starbucks subreddit, and they’ve shared some insane stories.

One of the best ways customers try to scam the baristas is by saying another store honors the request. “Oh, thanks for making me aware —which location is that?” Redditor PantheraTigris95 wrote. “We can give them a call to ensure our prices are consistent!”

Baristas who are happy with the company don’t know what drives people to try the hack in the first place. “I just don’t understand why people don’t want to pay for their drinks,” sonothipster wrote. “Just pay for what you’re ordering and if you can’t afford Starbucks prices then don’t order anything from Starbucks!”

Long story short? Don’t do it. Just shell out the extra cents for the drink made the right way.

Look, we get it. Coffee shop coffee is expensive. Why don’t you just brew your own? Here are 12 delicious DIY coffee ideas that are totally doable in your own kitchen.