Starbucks Employees Challenged To Serve Even Those Who Arent Buying

(Bloomberg Quint) Jordyn Holman & Jeff Green January 25 2019 3:36 PM The young man walking back and forth from his seat to the packaged food section in the Starbucks store looked suspicious recounted a store manager. In the past she said she might have asked him to leave. Instead of confronting him or calling the police the manager talked to the man -- who said he was hungry and homeless. She said she then gave him and a friend breakfast. The anonymous incident was recounted in a much anticipated report released Wednesday as Starbucks Corp. seeks to mend its reputation after a highly publicized confrontation in Philadelphia last April where a store manager called police on two black patrons who later said they were waiting for a business meeting to start before ordering. In response to the Philadelphia uproar Starbucks now is training employees to treat anyone who walks in the door as a customer whether they intend to make a purchase or not. The fresh take on Starbucks long-time goal of creating a third space" -- a public place for interaction and leisure away from home and work -- offers a fresh set of challenges employees said in the report prepared for Starbucks by a law firm to measure progress on diversity and inclusion.