A Starbucks worker was filmed telling a man to make another purchase to stay at the cafe, even as he drank what appeared to be a Starbucks drink. The Starbucks worker seemingly believed the customer may have purchased the drink from a different location.
In a video with over 340,000 views, TikToker Daddy Milagro (@cupidsoulja) sat at a table in a Starbucks lobby in Los Angeles, Calif. A worker approached him to ask if he has “made a purchase at this location.”
“I’m just trying to drink my Starbucks, man. Can I help you?” he asks in the clip.
The worker explains, “The new store policy is that you have to make a purchase at the location in order to use our lobby.”
Milagro repeats, “I’m just trying to drink my Starbucks, buddy.”
He tells the worker that he’s unhoused.
Milagro claims another store worker told him their manager would “take one look” at him and know he “doesn’t belong” in the store.
“I want to see him do that,” Milagro says. “Are you the boss she was talking about?”
The worker reiterates the store policy, then walks away.
Update 10:11am CT, March 5: In an email to the Daily Dot, Milagro clarifies that he purchased the drink at the location in the video but suspects the workers asked him to leave because he is unhoused.
“I purchased my drink, and I was beginning to look homeless visibly,” he tells the Daily Dot in an email. “I had been wearing the same outfit for days, I hadn’t trimmed my facial hair, and although I was showering, washing my clothes, and wearing deodorant and body spray, I know I appeared homeless to others.”
Milagro continues, “He was implying that I am not a paying customer and attempting to use the new policy to discriminate against me because I appeared homeless. I am a paying customer who has patronized the establishment for a long time. I bought my drink with money I earned.”
What is Starbucks’ new cafe seating policy?
The caption reads, “Starbucks has a cool new policy to discriminate against the homeless.” But what is the new store policy?
While Starbucks implemented an “open door policy” in 2018 that didn’t require a purchase to use its stores’ lobby or bathrooms, the coffee chain recently reversed this policy and now requires a purchase to use its facilities, according to CBS News.
As Milagro points out, this action could disproportionately impact unhoused people, who may have relied on Starbucks lobbies to use the bathroom or briefly shelter from inclement weather.
Starbucks’ new code of conduct states that store workers may call law enforcement if a person refuses to leave the store—which, according to a follow-up video, is exactly what happened to Milagro.
The clip shows another man accompanying the worker from the original video, who tells Milagro to stop recording.
Milagro tells the worker that he’s unhoused and that he believes the new policy is discriminatory. The worker says, “I’m sorry for your situation.”
The worker asks Milagro to leave and tells him he’s “being very aggressive.” Then he turns to the other worker and says, “At this point we disengage and call for assistance.”
The caption reads, “Starbucks had no choice but to call LAPD.”
What do viewers think of the new policy?
In the comments, viewers share divided opinions on the new Starbucks policy. Some praised the worker, and pointed out that they likely have no choice but to enforce the policy.
“This is the Starbucks company-wide policy and the employee was doing his job. Whether we (Starbucks partners) want to enforce it or not, we are required to enforce it. He did a great job doing his job,” one wrote.
“Why be messy tho? I feel like it’s just so much easier to leave, or go back to the one you purchased it at,” another asked Milagro.
“It is our policy. If you don’t make a purchase, you can’t sit for hours and relax. Starbucks has had a problem with homeless people,” a third added.
However, others took Milagro’s side, encouraging workers to not protect the large corporation at the expense of unhoused people who come into the store.
“Taking your job so seriously is exhausting these companies don’t give 2 sh!ts about us so stop taking the job so seriously,” a viewer said.
“Just because he didn’t see you buy that Starbucks drink that doesn’t mean you didn’t purchase it, that person needs to get out of your face,” another wrote.
“That’s actually rude asf Starbucks is a public place and you have a whole Starbucks drink if anything. That place needs help,” a third commented.
@cupidsoulja Starbucks has a cool new policy to discriminate against the homeless 😎 #starbucks #homeless #fyp ♬ original sound – Daddy Milagro
The Daily Dot reached emailed Starbucks for further information.
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