A barista says a customer stood outside her café with her arms crossed at 4:34 AM, then started calling the store when nobody let her in

A TikTok creator says she ignored a customer who tried to get into her café before opening hours and then repeatedly called the store. The creator, Jordan, who posts as @jorlala, shared the encounter in a video that has drawn nearly a million views.

As reported by The Daily Dot, Jordan and her team arrived at the café at 4:30 AM to begin their morning prep. They typically have a 30 minute window before the doors unlock at 5:00 AM, and they keep the lobby lights off while using only the lights behind the bar.

Jordan said the dim lobby is meant to signal to passersby that the shop is not open yet. Despite this, she noticed a woman standing at the front door just four minutes into their shift.

Jordan says the posted hours should have made it obvious

At 4:34 AM, Jordan spotted the woman standing outside with her arms crossed, staring directly into the shop. The customer eventually began pulling on the locked door handle, according to Jordan.

Jordan said the store hours were clearly posted on the door, so there should not have been any confusion about when the café would open. With 26 minutes of prep work still left, she kept the door locked and continued working.

The customer then began calling the café phone repeatedly. Jordan said that because the business had not officially opened, she did not feel obligated to answer, as she needed to focus on getting the shop ready for the 5:00 AM start time.

The response online has been largely supportive, especially from fellow baristas, whose TikToks have also covered issues like a customer insisting on Starbucks items at an independent shop. One person wrote, “I never had a problem ignoring customers before open and after close.”

Another user said they do not acknowledge early customers at all until opening duties are done, writing, “I pretend they don’t exist.” Some commenters suggested Jordan was more polite than necessary, with one joking that she could have picked up the phone while making eye contact through the door and left it off the hook.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the events described, as this account originates solely from Jordan’s TikTok video, and the customer’s side of the story is not known.