When someone puts their life on the line for you every day, that person should be treated with respect.
When you may have to depend on the police for your own safety due to your job, you surely donât want to do anything that would upset them.
That, however, is not how a Starbucks barista in Oklahoma approached the situation when a local police officer came into the coffee shop on Thanksgiving to get coffee and snacks for 911 operators working that day.
My Cup Says What?
When the officer was handed the order, âPIGâ was written on the cup where the personâs name is traditionally placed.
When Attorney General William Barr told Americans we need to pay more respect to our police officers, this is exactly what he was talking about.
Starbucks, for its part, issued a statement after the incident went viral.
The statement read:
“This is absolutely unacceptable, and we are deeply sorry to the law enforcement officer who experienced this.
âWe have also apologized directly to him and connected with the chief of the Kiefer Police Department, as well, to express our remorse.”
It further stated, “The Starbucks partner who wrote this offensive word on a cup used poor judgment and is no longer a partner after this violation of company policy.
“This language is offensive to all law enforcement and is not representative of the deep appreciation we have for police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.”
The following day, Starbucks and the Kiefer Police Department issues a joint statement, which read:
“Starbucks and the Kiefer Police Department are committed to using this regrettable incident as an opportunity to leverage our shared platforms to promote greater civility.
“In the coming days, Starbucks will be meeting with the Kiefer Police Department to begin discussing ways to work together, including a jointly hosted Coffee with a Cop event at Starbucks where local law enforcement can meet with baristas and members of the community to discuss the critical role dispatchers and police [officers] play in keeping our communities safe.
“Together with law enforcement agencies, Starbucks will jointly look for educational opportunities for our partners across the United States to promote better understanding and respect.â
Remember, this is the same company that required its managers to have sensitivity training after a couple of minorities were booted for sitting at a table without ordering anything at a Philadelphia Starbucks.
The police officers that asked the customers to leave were wrongly accused of being racist!
Yet, its workers continue to insult police officers.
Remember the Starbucks in Arizona that refused to serve six officers in July?
The company promised to address the issue then, so I guess this barista missed that day of training.
Kiefer Police Chief Johnny OâMara, on this latest incident, stated, âWhat irks me is the absolute and total disrespect for a police officer who, instead of being home with family and enjoying a meal and a football game, is patrolling his little town.â
He also stated that when Starbucks was first alerted to the situation, it was not an apology the officer received but rather an offer to âreplace the coffee with a correct label.â
That really does not sound like a company that has addressed this issue at all but rather like that provides us all with lip service and continues to allow this disrespect to continue without penalty.