When someone goes to Starbucks, they expect to get some great coffee and excellent customer service. That wasn’t the case recently, and it was all caught on video as a Starbucks manager totally lost it on a customer, and in front of dozens of others. Apparently, it was all over a Frappuccino cookie straw.
According to Grub Street , a customer by the name of Ruby Chen walked into a Queens-based Starbucks (Elmhurst location) and was treated horribly. She ordered a Frappuccino with a cookie straw, and that was when things got ugly.
A barista called out Chen’s name, but the customer was apparently fiddling with her cellphone and didn’t hear her name called. That was when the Starbucks manager, Melissa, got upset and began going off on Chen.
One bystander decided to film it, as everyone does nowadays, and caught Melissa yelling loudly, gesturing with both hands, and not allowing Chen to pay for her items. She then began accusing Chen of stealing the 99¢ cookie straw.
“Now give me the straw, and leave,” the manager of the Queens, New York, store is heard shouting. “You’re not gonna be served here. Bye.”
Soon, Melissa turned toward a co-worker inside the Starbucks and ordered them to call the police. At this point, even more people began gathering around the freakish situation, watching.
Chen has since said that she was trying to open her Starbucks Rewards app on her phone, according to Yahoo! Finance . The customer wasn’t entirely sure why the manager began yelling at her the way she was, and she even told Chen not to come back.
Ruby Chen took to Facebook to voice her displeasure for the Starbucks store, and manager Melissa.
“Terrible experience: In 5/12/2015, 86-51 Broadway, Elmhurst store, manager Melissa seems to have the anger management issue.
“she took my order of one frappuccino and one special straw. I didn’t hear her coworker asking my name to put on cup at first because I was opening my reward app on my phone to pay, then melissa started to shout at me saying hey helloooo with very bad attitude. The only thing I said to her is “sry I don’t hear you but you don’t have to yell.” And till now, I haven’t figured out which word aggravated her. Then She took the scanner away as I was trying to pay then told me to leave and never go back. I was trying to ask other employees who I can speak to. She thought I am leaving with the straw on my hand (I picked it up before everything happened), she said I am stealing the straw.”
Starbucks did respond to Chen and said the service was “not reflective” of what they normally do in their establishments. They also said that someone from their leadership team would be reaching out shortly to apologize and “make this right.”
It appears as if Starbucks really is looking to make this right as the publicity isn’t the best. Someone posted the video on their Facebook page, and they responded with a message stating that Melissa has already been fired.
The Starbucks manager meltdown video over a Frappuccino cookie straw has gone viral and is making the rounds. It’s obvious that the company isn’t happy and is focusing on the customers to make this go away.
[Image via YouTube]