- A Starbucks worker expects an increase in altercations with customers after a policy change requiring an item purchase before using the restroom or hanging out in stores. But the store, even equipped with a “panic button,” does not have the resources to address tense interactions, he said.
As Starbucks prepares for a sweeping policy change reversing its open-door policy, one barista warns the coffee chain hasn’t put effective plans in place to navigate a potential increase in customer altercations—even if select stores have a “panic button” preventing more customers from coming in.
The company announced earlier this month that beginning Jan. 27, customers will be required to purchase something in order to use a Starbucks restroom or hang out in stores. It’s part of new CEO Brian Niccol’s plans to get the company “back to Starbucks” by becoming a third space: emphasizing comfy seating and even ceramic mugs to encourage paying customers to sip their coffees in stores. The new policy is also a reversal of an open-door code of conduct put into place in 2018, after two Black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks while waiting for a business meeting to start, without having bought anything.
“We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores,” Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson told Fortune in a statement. “By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone.”
Starbucks employees received training on how to enforce the new policy—including being encouraged to use de-escalation tactics should regular customers insist on hanging out in stores without buying anything—but not every worker is certain the training will be enough to prevent tense moments between visitors and baristas.
One Starbucks employee in Center City, Philadelphia, said his store is “high incident,” meaning workers are subject to harassment and “verbal abuse” from customers. He anticipates not all visitors will take kindly to being turned down seating or the chance to use the restroom, even if employees are trained on how to respond thoughtfully.
“We know that these situations are going to happen more frequently in our store,” the employee said. “And we will not be able to take the measures that we need to make ourselves safe.”
Improving in-store functions
According to the employee, Starbucks has some safety measures in place, including a “panic button,” an emergency lock-down button that locks the store’s doors to outside customers while still allowing those in the store to exit. Pressing the button also alerts an internal security team. But he said he was not briefed on when it was appropriate to use the button. Starbucks has only implemented the button in about five of its U.S. locations as part of a test to optimize in-store security, the company said. There are no plans to expand the use of the button to other stores at this time.
The employee is instead advocating for an easy way to pause mobile orders during stressful customer interactions. Starbucks said stores have the ability to pause mobile orders at any time, but must first get approval to do so through a store manager. Starbucks employees have previously expressed they are overworked or overwhelmed because of the number of incoming mobile orders. One of Niccol’s reforms is to pare back the Starbucks menu and prevent ultra-customized drinks that are time-consuming for baristas to make.
Incoming mobile orders not only mount pressure on employees to make drinks while trying to calm down erratic customers; an influx of digital tickets also means a heightened risk of more customers entering the store, seeing their drinks haven’t been made, and also growing frustrated, according to the Philadelphia Starbucks employee.
“It's pulling more and more customers to this place where there's an unsafe situation,” he said.
