fbpx

What This Starbucks Policy Change Means for Your Next Coffee Stop

Photo from AK via Unsplash

What This Starbucks Policy Change Means for Your Next Coffee Stop

By Movieguide® Contributor

Starbucks just made a change to how it will take care of its customers, updating its “Open Door” policy to prioritize paying patrons.

“We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores. Implementing a Coffeehouse Code of Conduct is something most retailers already have and is a practical step that helps us prioritize our paying customers who want to sit and enjoy our cafes or need to use the restroom during their visit,” Jaci Anderson, Starbucks’ director of corporate communications, told GOOD MORNING AMERICA.

“This means our cafes, patios, and restrooms are for customers and partners,” she continued. “By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone. These updates are part of a broader set of changes we are making to enhance the cafe experience as we work to get back to Starbucks.”

Before this, Starbucks followed a “Use of the Third Place Policy” which allowed anyone “to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase.”

The policy went into effect after “Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested and removed from a Starbucks location for trespassing in Philadelphia in April 2018. The incident sparked national outrage and protests, including calls to boycott the coffee chain, and led Starbucks to shut down 8,000 company-owned stores for a mass employee training on combating racial bias,” GOOD MORNING AMERICA reported.

Now, when visiting a Starbucks, guests are asked to follow the coffee giant’s code of conduct:

  • No misuse or disruption of our spaces   
  • No discrimination or harassment   
  • No violence or abusive/threatening language   
  • No consuming outside alcohol  
  • No smoking/vaping or drug use  
  • No panhandling 

This new change will go into effect on Jan. 27 at over 10,000 Starbucks across North America.

READ MORE: STARBUCKS AGREES TO BLOCK PORNOGRAPHY ON WIFI IN ALL STORES


Watch BLUEY: Season One
Quality: - Content: +3
Watch THE ULTIMATE GIFT
Quality: - Content: +4