This post first appeared at Fellowship of the Minds
Here’s another reason not to go to Starbucks.
Starbucks employees are having a hard time with the company’s new “inclusive” public restroom policy, having to contend with blood-spattered walls, used drug needles, and poop outside of toilet bowls.
Starbucks issued a new inclusiveness policy after a store manager in Philadelphia called the police about two black men who asked to use the bathroom without purchasing anything and refused to leave when asked. Officers arrested the men.
After the MSM blew the incident into a race issue, Starbucks executives apologized to the men and settled with them for an undisclosed amount. Then Starbucks issued updated procedures instructing employees how to identify and handle disruptive guests, including those who are smoking, using drugs or alcohol or using restrooms improperly. Employees are instructed to call the police only if the situation becomes unsafe — whatever that means.
Julie Jargon reports for the Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2018:
Now that Starbucks Corp. has decided to allow anyone to use its restrooms, it faces the critical task of keeping them clean and safe.
That job was a nuisance even before the coffee chain …said it would allow all guests in its U.S. company-operated stores to use its cafes, including its restrooms, whether or not they make a purchase.
Managers and baristas regularly deal with a range of problems in the restrooms, from drug use to defecation outside the toilets, according to some current and former employees.
Darrion Sjoquist, 21, who worked as a barista at a Seattle Starbucks two years ago, said drug use happened once a week and “cops were called a lot.” Once, when he was taking out the bathroom trash, Sjoquist was pricked by a hypodermic needle. He and other Seattle baristas even asked Starbucks to install Sharps containers—the kind of locked boxes found in doctors’ offices—in the bathrooms, to encourage drug users to properly dispose of their needles.
A current barista in New York City also said drug use in Starbucks bathrooms is a frequent occurrence.
A former Starbucks facilities manager said employees often found small drops of blood splattered across the toilet and walls. While there are special kits on hand with rubber gloves, tongs and a box to dispose of needles, employees aren’t expected to clean up bodily fluids and drug paraphernalia. They can call a Starbucks facilities hotline, which in turn can dispatch a local third-party hazardous-materials service to clean up. It is up to local stores to determine their needs.
