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For the second time this year, a Philadelphia Starbucks is at the center of the controversy after a worker was accused of taunting a man stammering
Tan Lekwijit said the incident began when his friend Sam visited the 34th and Walnut Street Starbucks in University City on June 27th.
According to Lekwijit, Sam, a 28-year-old student at the University of Pennsylvania, stammered when he told the barista his name after ordering a coffee. The barista, supposedly, responded by saying, "All right, S-S-S-Sam." Lekwijit said that the mockery went further, when Sam received his coffee and saw the name that the barista had written on the glass.
"His name was written as" SSSAM ", said Lekwijit 19659005] According to Lekwijit, Sam wrote an email to Starbucks' customer service division after the incident and a spokesman responded with apologies for the way they wrote his name.He also said that Sam was offered $ 5.
"Clearly, Starbucks lost the reason, it's about how people with speech disorders are treated, not how names are written, "said Lekwijit on Facebook, stating that he wanted to sensitize people to the problems of speech disorders.
"Getting this kind of treatment, especially from service employees, only scares them, and I ask Starbucks employees to take it into account," he said.
Lekwijit also said have posted incident details on Starbucks' Facebook page but has eliminated However, Starbucks responded to Lekwijit's publication on its own Facebook page.
"Our local team approached Sam to better understand what happened and he apologized directly," they wrote. "We have a zero tolerance for discrimination and we respond immediately."
Starbucks Regional Vice President Camille Hymes also said that they were taking the incident seriously and had opened an investigation.
Starbucks said Facebook reports that the worker is no longer in the company
The National Stuttering Association also reacted to the alleged incident
"Make jokes about stuttering "Anyone, no matter the context, is incorrect and reinforces common misconceptions about people [que] stuttering," said Gerald Maguire, MD, president of the NSA. "This news not only affects the person who has experienced this level of disrespect, but also discourages countless people who stutter to feel empowered and comfortable with their way of speaking."
Our sister network NBC10 has contacted Starbucks for more comments, but has not yet received an answer.
This controversy occurs a few months after the other Philadelphia Starbucks, located in the city center, received strong criticism after a manager called the police because two African American men They were waiting for a colleague that they buy nothing
The viral video of the arrest caused national indignation and major changes in Starbucks' policy, including an unconscious training on prejudice and a new policy that allows people to sit in their cafes even without the need to buy anything.
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