Starbucks Will Let People Sit Inside Stores And Use Restrooms Without Purchasing Anything

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Starbucks has announced its intention to be "the third place, a warm and welcoming environment where customers can gather and connect," which means, "Any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase." This comes in the wake of an April incident at a Philadelphia location, where a manager called the police on two black men who were waiting for a friend to appear.

The men, who were not disruptive, had not purchased anything yet, and the situation left the retail coffee behemoth's founder "ashamed."

Starbucks said in a press release over the weekend, "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 company added, "In situations where a customer is behaving in a disruptive manner that does not maintain the third place environment and interferes with the Starbucks Experience for others, Starbucks partners should follow the 'Addressing Disruptive Behaviors' procedure."

This move has split Starbucks customers/those who constantly seem to be studying for law school exams. A retiree in Wisconsin, Ron Raduechel, told the Wall Street Journal he'll stop going to the chain, because "it sounds like Starbucks is turning their stores into homeless shelters. Their coffee is strong but their management is weak."

Starbucks is also giving cover to the locations' managers by outlining, as the Washington Post reports, "eight examples of when employees should call 911, including a gas leak or fire, robbery, a threat of violence, the use or selling of illegal drugs and destruction of store property" and offering a "a three-step model for addressing disruptive behavior."

First, employees are instructed to assess a customer’s behavior — rather than the person alone. Disruptive or harmful behavior identified by Starbucks includes being unreasonably noisy, viewing inappropriate media, verbally abusing people, making unwanted sexual advances and indecent exposure.

Employees should then consider how any decision will affect the customer’s experience. That includes judging whether the customer or situation is safe to approach and whether an employee’s chosen response would be the same for any customer in the same circumstance.

Starbucks will be closing its 8,000+ U.S. locations for racial-bias education on May 29. The company also settled with the two men arrested in Philadelphia, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, for an undisclosed amount. The men also settled with the city of Philadelphia, giving them each a dollar and putting aside $200,000 towards a program for entrepreneurs.