Starbucks has always been concerned with staying hip with the times, but it seems like they may have bit off more than they can chew. Starbucks was recently scrutinized for having two Black men arrested. Over waiting around? What was their crime again?
Starbucks claims that the men had wanted to use the restroom and had been denied as they are supposedly for patrons only. The men then allegedly loitered at the Coffeeshop? The men claim that they were waiting for a friend to show up. Their friend, Andrew Yaffe, did show up but it was too late as the Police were already there to arrest them.
“Why would they be asked to leave?” Yaffe says. “Does anybody else think this is ridiculous? It’s absolute discrimination.”
Watch The Video Of The Incident Below.
@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci
— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018
The CEO Of Starbucks responded to the incident.
“Starbucks was built around the concept of a third place where we create a warm and welcoming environment for all customers. What I do know is that did not happen in this instance. And that is what we’re focused on.”
We apologize to the two individuals and our customers for what took place at our Philadelphia store on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/suUsytXHks
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) April 14, 2018
After a damaging boycott that hurt the Starbucks brand, a new policy was formed in an attempt to remedy this overreaction. Starbucks, of course, made things right with the wrongfully arrested men for an undisclosed amount, and then issued the following policy.
“We want our stores to be the third place, a warm and welcoming environment where customers can gather and connect. Any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase.
When using a Starbucks space, we respectfully request that customers behave in a manner that maintains a warm and welcoming environment by:
Using spaces as intended
Being considerate of others
Communicating with respect
Acting Responsibly”
The policy has some people concerned that regular Patrons will be pushed out by people that are not intending to purchase anything.
“Views over the last few days ran the gamut. “It sounds like Starbucks is turning their stores into homeless shelters. Their coffee is strong but their management is weak,” said Ron Raduechel, a 64-year-old retired supply chain executive from Waukesha, Wis., who said he would no longer go to Starbucks.”
There have also been other concerns about the new policy as James Woods pointed out with this tweet.
“We haven’t been allowed to change our bathroom codes since April. So almost all the junkies and homeless people know the code now. About once a week we find needles, drug baggies, blood all over the toilet or walls.”- alleged anonymous #Starbucks employee https://t.co/Ka4QAGbFFi
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 22, 2018
So the new policy may have some downsides. But according to some Starbucks employees, the store was in the wrong as it was company policy to leave guests be for the most part. Unless they were harassing other Patrons or damaging the shop. So all of this could have been avoided if the employees would have just shown some basic human decency.
In another addendum to the story, Starbucks has made adjustments to further clarify their open door “Third Place” policy. They felt the need to tell guests of the Coffee shop that they are not allowed to sleep there or use/sell drugs. I Guess that “Third Place” policy invited some interesting new guests.