And this one is no exception.
On the 4th of July in Tempe, AZ, six officers were drinking coffee at a local Starbucks, when a barista asked them to leave because "a customer did not feel safe" with their presence in the store. The barista asked them to "move out of the customer's line of sight or to leave."
Subsequently, the Tempe Officers Association took to Twitter. Here you can see that communication. Please scroll past it to see my comments.
Of course, the Twitterverse got into it, full-tilt boogie; soon #DumpStarbucks was trending. So, working for The Plaza in Coffee Paradise myself, you knew Your Crusading Blogger had to weigh in.
I'm not sure why the customer felt uncomfortable, although I may hazard a guess. I have no idea why the barista didn't let his/her manager handle the matter. It puts me in mind of a time two acquaintances and I were having dinner at a local Eat N Park restaurant, when some bikers came in, and my acquaintances became rather uncomfortable. I told them to cool it, that they were being silly. (OK, Your Crusading Blogger was 23, and not known for her tact. Come to think of it, I'm still not.) Soon, sensing the tension, one of the bikers came over, sat down and asked if we were alright, because the two other gals seemed uncomfortable. I began talking to the biker, and he asked me why I wasn't afraid, and I told him about the father of a friend of mine who was a biker. We talked awhile, and my cohorts began to relax, and we ate uneventfully. I'm not saying it was incumbent upon the police to defuse the situation, but surely someone should've been able to?
What I need to say to all of you is this, though: the police understand that this was a situation between six officers and one barista, also that that barista doesn't represent all of Starbucks. And though normally I don't seek to mention this because I don't like a big deal to be made out of it, I want to tell you all one thing: no police officer has paid for a drink in Coffee Paradise for years when I've been on duty. Nor any member of the U.S. Armed Forces, nor any clergy member, nor any nuns. I doubt that I am the only one. So I dare y'all to #LoveStarbucks! Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water, OK?
