November 14, 2026 at 7:35 am

She and Her Mom Ordered Two Holiday Drinks at Starbucks but Got One Free Cup. After Calling Customer Service, the Daughter Got Frustrated and Hung Up

by Heather Hall

Person holding a holiday Starbucks cup

Pexels/Reddit

It can be really hard to keep your patience on a customer service call when you have to repeat yourself over and over.

That’s where one woman found herself on the phone with Starbucks after a holiday promotion didn’t go as planned.

It all started when she and her mom ordered two holiday drinks and expected a free reusable cup with each one. But the barista gave them one cup and insisted the other drink didn’t count.

Frustrated by the whole thing, her mom wrote to Starbucks about the missing cup. However, the company needed details from her daughter’s rewards account. So the woman went over to her mom’s house, and they called customer service together.

Unfortunately, that didn’t go any better, and when the rep asked her to start over because she hadn’t been listening, the woman hung up. Her mom heard the whole call, but she thought her daughter should’ve asked for a supervisor instead.

Read on to see how it all played out.

AITA for hanging up on a customer service member

The other day, Starbucks had free reusable cups with a purchase of a holiday drink.

My mom, who lives in the same town as me, wanted a cup, and I met her at Starbucks since I have a rewards account. We both ordered drinks that were on the list of drinks that counted as a holiday drink.

However, the barista only gave us one free cup. I brought this up, and she claimed we only ordered one holiday drink. I tried to argue with her, but she wouldn’t budge.

Frustrated, her mother emailed Starbucks about the incident.

Apparently, my mom wrote to Starbucks about the incident, and they asked for the Starbucks card number that was used.

I gave my mom the number, and she relayed it to the person she was in contact with. However, apparently, he needed my account information as well.

This morning, I went over to my mom’s house to take care of everything, and we called customer service.

Apparently, the customer service employee was extremely rude from the start.

The lady on the phone was really rude, saying things like, “It’s too early to have two people talking in my ear,” and not really paying attention to what I was telling her.

She asked for the reference number, and when I gave it to her, she said, “This can’t be right. Give me the right number.”

And when I gave her the number, she said, “I asked for the card number. Give me the card number.” And I told her she had asked for the reference number.

At this point, she couldn’t deal with the woman’s disrespect any longer.

She then said, “Okay, then give me the reference number again.” Halfway through giving her the reference number for a 3rd time, she said, “Wait, start over. I wasn’t listening.” I was fed up and, without thinking, hung up on the lady.

The lady had been on speakerphone, and my mom was listening to the conversation. She had been writing down rude quotes from the woman on the phone. When I hung up, my mom told me that

I had been rude to hang up on her and that I should have asked for her name and to speak to her supervisor instead. She then told me to figure out the situation on my own and told me to leave.

AITA?

Yikes! There’s a lot to unpack here.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit think about what happened.

This person thinks she has problems communicating.

Holiday Cup 3 She and Her Mom Ordered Two Holiday Drinks at Starbucks but Got One Free Cup. After Calling Customer Service, the Daughter Got Frustrated and Hung Up

Here’s someone who thinks she was wrong to do her mom like that.

Holiday Cup 2 She and Her Mom Ordered Two Holiday Drinks at Starbucks but Got One Free Cup. After Calling Customer Service, the Daughter Got Frustrated and Hung Up

According to this comment, she let the employee get away with being rude.

Holiday Cup 1 She and Her Mom Ordered Two Holiday Drinks at Starbucks but Got One Free Cup. After Calling Customer Service, the Daughter Got Frustrated and Hung Up

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who is upset that her neighbor’s aggressive dogs are ruining her enjoyment of her outdoor space.

And this reader thinks they should’ve just bought another drink if they wanted it that bad.

Holiday Cup She and Her Mom Ordered Two Holiday Drinks at Starbucks but Got One Free Cup. After Calling Customer Service, the Daughter Got Frustrated and Hung Up

Imagine going through all of that just to get a free cup.

For starters, they could’ve asked for a manager while they were still at Starbucks and saved themselves a phone call.

Most likely, the deal was limited to one free cup per purchase, because that’s usually the case.

Next time, they should just do two separate transactions and move one with their day.

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Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

Connect with Heather on Facebook and LinkedIn.