While people tend to pop to their local Starbucks to enjoy a hot coffee or an iced latte, the popular coffeehouse has been praised for something far from beverages this week. A coffee lover took to popular social media app Twitter to praise a barista for going above and beyond to accommodate an 18-year-old customer in need.
On Monday 16 January, James Herring - who boasts more than 33,000 followers on Twitter account @itsjamesherring - praised an employee for leaving a discreet message on a customer's coffee cup. The heartfelt interaction of a barista subtly offering their help to the young teen approached by a stranger went viral after resurfacing in James' tweet.
In a bid to stay discreet, the Starbucks employee left a note for the young girl on a hot chocolate, stating that 'someone forgot to pick up' the order.
The message on the hot beverage cup read: "Are you ok? Do you want us to intervene?"
"If you do, take the lid off the cup," the barista added.
Alongside a photo of the cup, Twitter user James tweeted: "Kudos to the Starbucks' barista who checked in on a teenage girl by writing a discreet message on her cup.
"The teen was observed being approached by a stranger so the staff member passed her 'hot chocolate someone forgot to pick up'."
Brandy Roberson, explained that her daughter, who wishes to remain anonymous, was studying by herself at a Starbucks in Corpus Christi, Texas, on a Saturday night.
Once the daughter returned home from her revision, she told her mum about the incident.
Brandy told told TODAY Food in 2022: "She was holding the cup and knew that I would love that someone did that for her.
"It made me feel so grateful that the Starbucks employees were watching out for her.
"As a mom, that is my worst fear that something would happen to my child and nobody would be there to help."
Starting in 2016, establishments have heightened their support and assistance to keep people safe from sexual assault following the Ask for Angela campaign.
It encourages people who feel unsafe, vulnerable or threatened to discreetly seek help by approaching staff.
By asking for 'Angela' (a fictitious member of staff), the code-phrase will indicate that the person requires help with their situation and a member of staff will look to support and assist them.
The method is used by venues to keep people safe with a discreet codeword to identify that they are in danger or are in an uncomfortable situation.
The Mirror has reached out to Starbucks for comment on its policy.
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