By Heather Haddon

When Conor Ireland picked up his cold brew at a Starbucks in London, Ontario, last month, he discovered a drawing of a sausage-shaped creature saying "neigh."

"Why is there a salamander neighing at me," the 32-year-old truck driver posted on Reddit, where his query drew thousands of responses. "I fear my baristas have reached mandatory cup-message psychosis."

Starbucks baristas are indulging their inner artists, drawing smiley faces, dogs and other doodles on cups and scribbling "Have a great day!" They aren't just in a good mood. They're following direct orders.

The Seattle-based coffee chain this year instructed its cafe workers to write messages on every to-go cup possible across its 11,000 U.S. and Canadian locations, as new CEO Brian Niccol hopes to recapture the cozy coffeehouse vibe that built Starbucks into a global brand.

The doodles have drawn delight, confusion and shrugs as baristas play Picasso. They've also prompted the company to take steps to rein in some of the artistry and rebuff baristas who take shortcuts.

"Every time I go back, they are trying to up the ante," Ireland said. His local baristas have continued to add neighing horses to his drinks orders, including one cup featuring a dozen of the animals.

For regulars like Hayley McLean, whose Venti Strawberry Açaí Refreshers have come with depictions of her dog on the cup, the doodles are next level.

"These initiatives are super cute and honestly always make my day," said McLean. The 28-year-old medical student from New Jersey, who visits Starbucks daily, has even photographed the most artful renditions of her dog.

The Sharpie edict went out earlier this year as part of a bigger overhaul at the world's largest coffee chain. New chairs and ceramic mugs are being deployed. Busted outlets are getting fixed for laptop-touting cafe dwellers. The chain even brought back self-service condiment bars last fall, allowing customers to doctor their own drinks.

Niccol believes the handwritten, personalized messages will ingratiate Starbucks with coffee-drinkers and hark back to the company's past, when many cups had customers' names handwritten on them.

"Our customers are surprised at how meaningful a little smiley face is, or 'Have a good day,'" Niccol said in an interview. He's received notes from some, including one woman in Arizona who bonded with a barista over their shared fondness for horses.

The policy unleashed some baristas' expressive side, yielding bunnies, leaf-laden trees, hat-touting cats and other creatures dancing across cups. But after a few months, Starbucks decided more order was needed and the chain last month issued updated guidelines to U.S. stores.

Well wishes, smiley faces and references to seasonal promotions are in. Animals, slang and pop-culture references are out, according to a message to baristas viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

"Write a simple affirmation (e.g., 'You're amazing!' or 'You got this!'), " Starbucks said.

Customers who have gotten to know their baristas say the messages can carry meaning.

After a Sarasota, N.Y., barista started cheekily calling Gino Caliendo "Gramps," she also took to writing it on his cups. The gesture confused other patrons, including one who recently asked Caliendo if the barista really was his granddaughter. He laughed it off.

"It's just friendly banter," said the 67-year-old former Hyatt hospitality manager.

The drawings and messages aren't everyone's cup of tea.

Jim Merritt, a 54-year-old investment officer from Palm Beach, Fla., is a regular smiley face recipient. "It's OK, I guess," he said.

Fred McGregor also counts himself among "the nonplussed camp." Earlier this month, the 66-year-old Richmond, Va., voice actor smiled at the cat face doodled across the top of his Grande Latte cup, alongside a "Happy Spring" message on the sleeve. Then he went back to his caffeine consumption.

For customers like Merritt and McGregor, their main concern is getting in, getting their order and getting out. Baristas acknowledge that doodling can tack on minutes of work across the course of a shift, and Starbucks serves millions of customers each day.

To keep orders moving, some baristas developed a hack: batched cup writing.

Richard Hulnick was confused by the smeared Sharpie greeting on his Starbucks coffee the other day -- until he saw a stack of cups at the ready with prewritten remarks.

The 56-year-old events producer said the bulk treatment underscores the inauthenticity of the whole idea. "They are busy, I'm busy, I'm not friends with them," said Hulnick, who lives in Manhattan.

Starbucks isn't fond of the premade messages either. As part of its updated guidance, the company forbade baristas from "proactively" writing messages on cups, citing contamination concerns.

Ireland, the recipient of the horse drawings, says he prefers the artwork over just his name. But he feels for baristas trying to churn out personalized cups in busy stores.

"If you are aware of the policy being forced, it's like opening a fortune cookie," he said. "There's no feeling behind it."

Suzanne Leger, who frequents a Starbucks drive-through in Knoxville, Tenn., said her coffee still comes with only the printed labels, no handwriting. And she's just fine with that.

"I don't know how they will deal with writing things for every customer when they have a line out the block with cars," said Leger, 77.

One thing that hasn't changed for busy baristas: The struggle to spell customers' names. Stewart Falso, a 25-year-old Manhattan consultant who goes by "Stewy," delights in the hearts, happy faces and "Have a great day!" notes that now decorate his latte cups -- even though they are often made out to "Stewi."

"I get it, it's a unique spelling," Falso said.

Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2025 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

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