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It only requires one gesture of kindness to lift someone's spirits. When you pop into coffee shops, it's quite typical for baristas to scribble a brief note on your coffee cup, generally encouraging you to "have a good day" or to "keep smiling". It's frequently a straightforward act that can add a bounce to someone's stride, particularly if they're feeling a bit low.

However, one Starbucks barista has discovered that these notes aren't always interpreted as intended, after he left a customer feeling mortified - and even prompted her to announce she's "never going back" to the outlet where she collected her coffee, due to the "secret message" he scrawled on her cup.

In a TikTok clip posted by identical twins Ari and Noe Chance, one of the sisters held up a coffee cup that had the phrase "secret message" written at the top, with a large arrow directing downwards to the small print at the bottom that cautions customers that the beverage inside their cup is hot.

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At the bottom, text was circled, which would normally inform customers: "Careful, the beverage you're about to enjoy is extremely hot."

But the Starbucks employee had crossed out several words, so the message now stated: "Careful, you're extremely hot."

The woman was left utterly embarrassed by the incident, and indicated in the caption of her clip that she wouldn't be able to return to that Starbucks branch again because of how humiliated she felt.

She penned: "What just happened at Starbucks? Never going back there." The woman's footage, uploaded in 2022, rapidly amassed over 2.9 million likes after going viral. Opinions were divided amongst viewers regarding the romantic gesture, with some calling it "cute" while others wondered how many fellow customers had received identical messages from the barista.

One person said: "That was smooth, not going to lie."

Another person added: "It's cute, girls say guys never do anything. He just put his heart out to you."

However, a third expressed cynicism about the note, commenting: "I'm wondering how many other girls he did that to."

Numerous sceptical commenters also suggested the woman might have fabricated the footage purely for TikTok engagement and scribbled the message herself, given she only filmed the cup after reaching her vehicle and didn't capture the barista presenting her with the beverage, leaving no evidence that a staff member genuinely penned it.

One person pointed out: "She definitely wrote that herself."

As another mused: "Imagine if she did that by herself just for the TikTok."

Starbucks was previously contacted for a response.