"Is This Starbucks Employee Mocking Customers?" Controversy Over 'Teokbyeolhi' Written on Cup

Employees write 'Teokbyeolhi' and 'Trante' on cup holders
"Phrases provided randomly... No intention to mock"

A controversy has erupted among netizens after a story surfaced about a customer being mocked for their appearance by a staff member at the coffee specialty store Starbucks.

A cup holder with a mocking comment written by a Starbucks manager to a customer.
Photo by Online Community Archive

On the 21st, an online community post titled "Is it true that a Starbucks employee mocked me?" was published.

According to the story, the author, Mr. A, recently had an unpleasant experience at a Starbucks store. He said, "My husband has a prominent chin. I went in 30 minutes before closing time, and they wrote a comment like that," attaching a photo of the cup.

On the cup holder in the photo, there was a message from the employee that read, "'Takbyeolhi' drinking Trante," with dots under the word 'Takbyeolhi' presumably for emphasis. At the end of the phrase, there was even a smiling emoticon drawn.

Mr. A said, "I received the drink without any conversation, but the emphasis on 'Takbyeolhi' felt very strange," and questioned, "I did mistakenly say 'Trante' when ordering the drink, but why would they write that down?"

'Takbyeolhi' is presumed to be a play on words combining 'tak' (chin) and 'byeolhi' (especially), and 'Trante' appears to be a misspelling of 'Trenta,' which is Starbucks' largest drink size. The Trenta size is 1.5 times larger than the Venti size, corresponding to 30 ounces (887 ml).

Mr. A posted on a community forum claiming he was mocked by a Starbucks manager.
[Photo by Online Community]

However, Starbucks reportedly explained to Mr. A that there was no such intention.

In an additional post, Mr. A said, "I met the regional manager a day after filing a complaint," and added, "The employee apologized, saying 'There was no intention to mock,' and explained that it was a word meant to be funny and that they were writing the product name differently because they didn’t know it well."

He continued, "Although I disliked that employee, I thought it might be their livelihood, so I considered accepting the apology," but also said, "To me, it sounded like an excuse. They brought a tumbler as compensation, but I refused it. I’m disappointed with Starbucks’ response."

Regarding the controversy, a Starbucks representative said, "We sincerely apologize that a small event where we wrote more than three different phrases on sleeves (cup holders) to provide a new experience to customers ended up causing misunderstanding and discomfort."

The messages change daily and often include playful expressions such as 'Wolyo-tingipnida' (Monday fighting), 'Fighting,' and 'Takbyeolhi.' Therefore, the phrase 'Takbyeolhi drinking Trante' was also just a playful expression and was not intended to mock the chin or the customer’s appearance, the company explained.

They also stated, "To prevent similar cases, we will do our best to avoid misunderstandings or discomfort through company-wide partner retraining."

Netizens who read the story mostly criticized the Starbucks manager’s careless behavior. They responded with comments like, "I don’t think joking about someone’s appearance is acceptable," and "It clearly shows they wrote that because it was near closing time." There were also criticisms of Starbucks’ inadequate response, such as "I don’t think a tumbler alone can resolve this," and "Was it really necessary to excuse it as a random event?"

On the other hand, some said, "It seems like an overreaction to a meaningless phrase," and "It looks like they are seeking financial compensation by making this public."