Starbucks chairman: Bathrooms now available ‘100% of the time’
Starbucks Coffee Company is changing its public bathroom policy.
The coffee giant is opening up its bathroom to the public, even to those who are not customers, according to Business Insider.
According to the report, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz said Thursday at the Atlantic Council, a forum that addresses international affairs, “"We don't want to become a public bathroom, but we're going to make the right decision 100% of the time and give people the key, because we don't want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are less than.”
In the report, Schultz said the company had a "loose" policy of only allowing paying customers to use the bathroom, however the decision is ultimately left to up the store manager.
The policy change comes on the heels of the arrest of Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, both African American, at a Philadelphia Starbucks location. Both men were put in handcuffs and accused of trespassing after the store manager called police, saying they refused to order anything or leave. The men were waiting for a third person to have a business meeting. The incident sparked a national uproar around the issue of racial profiling.
On May 2, the men settled with the city for a symbolic $1 each, and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 pilot program for young entrepreneurs.
To read more, click here.
The coffee giant is opening up its bathroom to the public, even to those who are not customers, according to Business Insider.
According to the report, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz said Thursday at the Atlantic Council, a forum that addresses international affairs, “"We don't want to become a public bathroom, but we're going to make the right decision 100% of the time and give people the key, because we don't want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are less than.”
In the report, Schultz said the company had a "loose" policy of only allowing paying customers to use the bathroom, however the decision is ultimately left to up the store manager.
The policy change comes on the heels of the arrest of Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, both African American, at a Philadelphia Starbucks location. Both men were put in handcuffs and accused of trespassing after the store manager called police, saying they refused to order anything or leave. The men were waiting for a third person to have a business meeting. The incident sparked a national uproar around the issue of racial profiling.
On May 2, the men settled with the city for a symbolic $1 each, and a promise from officials to set up a $200,000 pilot program for young entrepreneurs.
To read more, click here.