A popular WA cafe has made the hard decision to let a highly skilled barista go after her work-related TikTok content wasn’t hitting the high notes it once did. Accordingly, she was given her notice yesterday after 5 loyal years at the venue.
The business owner said she tried everything to help the talented coffee puller level up her socials game but ultimately conceded that they are in the TikTok engagement business rather than the coffee business these days. She told The Times,
“What’s the use of excellent coffee and award-winning pastries if the person serving them can’t make inane, homogeneous TikTok content to spruik the business? Sadly, she failed to keep up to date with the latest video meme trends and her stats were way down”
We spoke to the barista who said it wasn’t her fault she was on the wrong side of 25 and found TikTok content annoying. Adding,
“The boss would come up to me and thank me for a perfect job cleaning the espresso machine but ask why I hadn’t come up with 5 choreographed lip-syncing dance crazes with my fellow employees. She told me it wasn’t good enough”
To make matters worse, the decline in TikTok viewership has meant the hordes of self-professed foodies were refusing to showcase them in their own TikToks. Simply put, the cafe was no longer “hot”.
Accordingly, the cafe has made it clear in a recent job advert that the successful applicant will need at least 4 years of work-TikTok experience. A target many young people are saying is unattainable. One fresh high school graduate told The Times,
“How am I supposed to get 4 years of work-TikTok experience if no one will even look at you for an entry level job unless you have 4 years? It’s a vicious cycle”