Starbucks digital orders temporarily printed in French in stores across the US on Thursday due to a tech glitch
McKinsey Whitaker
- Starbucks mobile orders were printed in French due to a tech glitch on Thursday.
- English was restored after a brief time, Starbucks said.
- Workers shared photos and videos of the mishap online.
Mobile orders at some US Starbucks locations began printing in French on Thursday, Starbucks confirmed to Insider.
Starbucks workers across the US took to social media to post the unusual receipts, and check if it was happening at other locations. Three workers in New England, Pennsylvania, and California confirmed orders showing in French in their stores. Workers were scrambling and trying to recall high school French classes, the California barista said.
McKinsey Whitaker, a Starbucks employee in Florida, also experienced the glitch. She told Insider this was the "weirdest, yet funniest thing to ever happen to me in the three years I've been with Starbucks."
Orders were also showing up in French on the drive-thru screen, and customers were very confused, Whitaker told Insider.
One barista posted a video on TikTok showing the orders, saying the system turned French and "we can't turn it off."
Starbucks said that the mishap was due to "a temporary error with the label printers," but "all functionality has been restored." The coffee chain declined to share what locations were impacted, or how long orders were printed in French before they were restored to English.
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