Starbucks’ stock took a hard hit this week after the company announced its plan to close over 150 stores across the United States; plunging by 10% and reaching its lowest point in a year after the company shut over 8,000 stores for ‘anti-bias’ training.
According to the Washington Times, new CEO Kevin Johnson sought to ease shareholder worries following the sudden drop; saying the coffee giant had an “unplanned initiative driven out of the Philadelphia incident.”
“In this current quarter, certainly we had an unplanned initiative driven out of the Philadelphia incident, we closed all our stores for training, we had to delay some marketing, but none of that is an excuse,” said Johnson.
“The fact is the way I think about a growth company at scale is we’ve got to deliver consistent growth, month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year. And we have not done that,” he added.
The negative news comes after the global coffee chain unveiled its “open bathroom policy,” permitting anyone to use the restroom facilities without purchasing a product; a move many critics claim turned their local cafés into “homeless shelters.”
h/t Washington Times
STARBUCKS SHUT DOWN: Coffee Chain to Close ALL STORES for ‘Racial Bias’ Training
Nationwide coffee retailer Starbucks announced Tuesday its plan to shutter all of its 8,000 locations on May 29th, vowing to educate their employees about “racial bias” after the public uproar over the arrest of two African American men who asked to use the bathroom.
The “racial bias” training will be provided to all of the coffee giant’s 175,000 employees; educating the workers on sensitivity, bias, and the appropriate methods for contacting local law enforcement should they need to do so.
“I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it,” Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement.
“While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution,” he said. “Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.”
“The two men entered the Starbucks on Thursday and asked to use to the bathroom,” writes Fox News. “An employee told them it was only for paying customers. When they then sat in the store without ordering anything, the manager called police, and the men were arrested for trespassing. No charges were filed.”
COFFEE CHAOS: Starbucks' 'OPEN' Bathroom Policy TURNS OFF Customers
Coffee retail giant Starbucks announced earlier this month their new policy allowing “anyone” to use the store’s restroom facilities; sparking a fierce backlash from customers who claim the new rules are turning coffee shops into a “squatters” paradise.
According to CBS Los Angeles, the worldwide chain revised their “bathroom policy” just five weeks after two African American men were arrested in Philadelphia while waiting for a friend.
“If you go into a business and you just sit there and you don’t buy anything you are taking up space at the table,” said one frequent Starbucks drinker.
“You could end up having a squatters problem where you just have people coming and staying. I mean if they are going to do that they need to limit how long people can stay in there,” added another.
Even some employees are complaining about the new policy; saying “we get attacked a lot.”
“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 use the bathroom,” said a statement from the company.
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