‘Defund the police’ message on Starbucks cups gets barista fired in Texas
A barista in Texas was fired after a customer received his Starbucks order with an unexpected message on the cups: Defund the police.
Raseac Eibbed posted photos of the cups to Facebook on Sunday, explaining that her ex-husband had taken their three kids to a Houston-area Starbucks before returning them home.
The group ordered three drinks, and the order appears to have been named “Defund The Police.” The message was printed on the order label on each of the three cups, photos show.
Eibbed called the store to tell the manager what had happened, but she said the manager “acted like she couldn’t care less,” according to her Facebook post.
Eibbed told KRIV that her ex-husband is not a law enforcement officer and wasn’t wearing any kind of uniform.
“This s--- has to stop,” Eibbed’s post said. “We can’t even get a cup of coffee without worrying about being poisoned or worse. Wtf is wrong with America???”
A Starbucks spokesperson told McClatchy News that the company apologized to the customer and launched its own investigation into the incident. The company also commented on Eibbed’s post and apologized, calling the incident “unacceptable.”
The employee who entered the message has been fired.
“Every customer should feel welcome and treated with respect when they visit any of our stores — especially our first responder community and their families,” the spokesperson said in a statement to McClatchy.
“We have reached out to the customer involved to apologize, and the partner (employee) involved has been separated from the company. Any behavior from our partners that doesn’t aspire to be a positive experience is unacceptable.”
Ray Hunt of the Houston Police Officers’ Union told KRIV that he was offended by the barista’s actions.
“I think most people who go to Starbucks go there to get a cup of coffee, not to hear about the barista’s political views,” Hunt said, according to the outlet.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the Houston Police Officers’ Union said it looks forward to the conversations that could blossom from the incident.
“We definitely understand that one employee’s actions does not represent the entirety of an organization or profession,” the union said. “We look forward to the positive dialogue that comes out of this recent incident at a local Starbucks. This further discussion and growth is what makes our community #HoustonStrong, and we can take this opportunity to lead by example.”
