After a major policy change, everyone can use Starbucks’ restrooms and sit in the cafes even if they don’t buy anything. The company unveiled the new rules on Saturday.
Unpaying customers can now use the restroom or stay in any Starbucks location as long as they behave properly.
The policy change was spurred by a major scandal after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks more than one month ago. The manager called the police on the two men after one of them wanted to use the restroom. He was denied entry because he hadn’t bought anything.
The manager reportedly no longer works for the company after she was accused of racially profiling the two men.
- The two African Americans agreed to a settlement with the company, in which each of them received $1 in damages.
- In addition, Starbucks agreed to pour $200,000 into a program that teaches black students entrepreneurship skills.
Starbucks Restrooms Open to Everybody
The incident led to several days of protests outside the Starbucks shop in Philly. Later this month, the coffee chain will temporarily close 8,000 locations to retrain its employees on racial matters. The coffee giant has 175,000 workers in the U.S.
CEO Kevin Johnson said that the company has learned a lot about what it did wrong and found some solutions to fix the problem.
While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being part of the solution,
Johnson said.
The employees will be trained on how to spot their own racial biases before they express them in public. The goal is to prevent visitors from being racially discriminated against.
Before the policy change, there wasn’t a common rule on how people should be using the coffee chain’s restrooms. In some shops, people were allowed to use the toilet or stay even if they didn’t order anything.
Image Source: Wikimedia
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