Starbucks Is Really Sorry That This Employee Flipped Out On Customer (And That It Was Caught On Video)

There’s a widely held misconception that customer service used to be perfect “back when,” and every retail transaction was straight out of a 1960s sitcom. The fact is that customers and store employees have been going at each other since the first paleolithic entrepreneur tried to upsell his neighbor on a thrashing stick to go with his bludgeoning stone. But now we all get to see and hear about these retail rows and foodservice fisticuffs — and companies are often compelled to apologize for them — thanks to social media.

The latest incident comes out of a New York Starbucks, where a customer shot two separate videos of an employee unleashing a torrent of anger at a customer — all over a cookie straw:

According to the customer’s Facebook post, she ordered a Frappuccino and a cookie straw. She then claims the employee tried to get her attention by saying “helloooo” with a “very bad attitude.”

The customer says she responded with “sorry I don’t hear you but you don’t have to yell.”

That’s when the employee allegedly refused to let the customer pay, told her to leave and never come back.

“I was trying to ask other employees who I can speak to,” writes the customer.

But the employee apparently thought the customer was trying to leave with the cookie straw she was still holding.

The customer says there was no one in the store for her to complain to because the woman yelling at her was apparently a manager. She said that other customers started telling the employee things like “you need to get fired.” Another customer shot the above videos and sent them to the woman being yelled at.

Starbucks replied to the Facebook post, saying that the incident “is not reflective of the service our partners provide to our customers every day. Someone from our leadership team will be reaching out to you shortly to apologize and make this right.”

“We take this issue seriously,” reads another comment from Starbucks HQ, “this experience does not represent the high service standards we set for ourselves. This partner no longer works for Starbucks.”

[via Eater]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist