A woman was tossed out of a Glen Ellyn, IL Starbucks after being mistaken for homeless. From the Daily Herald:
The 70-year-old Lisle woman was kicked out of the Starbucks in downtown Glen Ellyn a few weeks ago. She claims it was because employees mistook her as a homeless person, part of a purge the store waged to mollify customers who complained that the coffee shop was overrun with the homeless.
Despite an apology from the Seattle-based coffee giant, Kilborn says she isn’t looking for one. She wants something done to address the circumstances that prompted her removal in the first place.
“The issue here is not that I was asked to leave Starbucks,” Kilborn said. “It is the treatment of the homeless who are singled out.”
Some downtown merchants, though, are defending Starbucks, saying many homeless people linger around the business district waiting for nearby overnight shelters to open.
More inside…
Louise was singled out because she had been talking to a homeless person whom she recognized from her volunteer work. Louise used to be homeless herself, but now spends her time helping others.
Kilborn knows what the homeless are going through; she used to be one of them.
Since finding a place to live in September, she’s devoted Sunday afternoons volunteering at Glen Ellyn’s Welcome Center, a site offered by First United Methodist Church.
About 1:15 p.m. Feb. 25, she prepared for her shift in the same way she’s done many Sundays before: enjoying a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
“I cannot tell you how much I love Starbucks,” she said. “It’s the world’s greatest coffee.”
But on that particular Sunday, Kilborn broke from her usual routine. Instead of sitting alone, she went to sit with a homeless man she knew from the Welcome Center.
The man immediately told her he wasn’t staying – that he had been told to leave.
Kilborn was trying to ask the man why he had to go when a Starbucks employee tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to leave.
She wasn’t given a reason.
But Kilborn believes it was because the employee mistook her as being homeless. Several homeless people have been told to leave the Starbucks in recent weeks, she says. In some cases, police were called.
When Kilborn refused to leave, police officers responded to make sure she left.
By the time it was over, Kilborn recalls standing outside the Starbucks – fuming.
“I had my coffee in my hand,” she said. “It’s still too hot to drink – that’s how little time passed.”
Starbucks has apologized for the incident. —MEGHANN MARCO
Booted from Starbucks [Daily Herald via BoingBoing]
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@Jess A.:
I agree to what you say.
Even if a store has the right to kick you out, they shouldn’t just abuse the right because you don’t “look profitable”. And altough the store did make an honest mistake, or so they say, there are places where they do abuse the right, and i find that unfair.
And yes, if they are bothering other customers or not paying, then kicking out is fair.
@Jess A.: Oh.. and I hit “submit” too soon, because I meant to mention that I do feel that if people disagree with Starbucks’ stance on this, then they should vote with their pocketbook and go elsewhere. I don’t go to Starbucks, and I don’t drink their coffee — in part because I don’t like the product, and in part because I find some of their business practices to be… eh… let’s just say that I value the independents.
A business has a right to do whatever they damn well please to their customers, including refusing to cancel an account without running you through a ridiculous spiel, putting Nazi symbols on t-shirts and charging ridiculous fees for “early termination.” Does that mean that we, as consumers, have to just sit down and shut up about it?
I think making a policy to kick out “the homeless and anyone who looks like them” is a grave mistake on Starbucks’ part. I can think of many reasons why a homeless person may be disruptive of paying customers, but shouldn’t that be dealt with on a case-by-case basis? If they’re disruptively panhandling, escort them out for bothering paying customers. If the place is overcrowded and paying customers want to sit, ask them to clear the space for paying customers. But pre-emptively shooing them out because “people complained” and “they MIGHT cause a problem” seems like excessive snobbery on their part.
People don’t lose their dignity as human beings based on economic bracket. At least, they bloody well shouldn’t.
@Jess A.: hear hear
@AngrySicilian:
My husband’s from Lisle and works in Glen Ellyn, so I’m in that area frequently too. It’s a small world!
In any case, the Glen Ellyn shelter is one of a very few permanent shelters in DuPage county, so of course there are going to be more homeless people around there. Maybe that Starbucks manager should poke his/her outside the doors and take a good look at everyone around – not just the yuppies.
I agree that in general people who loiter should be dealt with on a case by case basis. However; specifically this is indicitive of a much larger issue.
There simply is not enough support apparatus for the homeless. I live in LA and even though there are less visible homeless here than there was in Boston it seems to be a much bigger issue. Any place that becomes ‘Homeless friendly’ can kiss some business good by from affulent customers. They become mini shelters. Then from the homeless the beggars move in. Beggars will sit around all day asking your paying customers for cash with some kind of sad story. They are also bad for business. I understand there is tragety in life, some people are telling stright stories of trouble. Then sometimes I spot katrina refugee driving to or away from the begging spot in a Lexus.I can’t afford a car.
I do not want to be in the position to potentially turn away another human who may need help. I also don’t want to have to figure of if I’m just being scammed when I go to buy coffee.
@Techguy1138: Unfortunately, I know what you mean. Every once in a while I take my kid to whatever animated trainwreck is in the theater and we sometimes go to McDonald’s after (yeah, I know – but it’s a very occasional thing and on the plus side I get my coffee from a guy in a cart). Well, the McSpew a block away from the theater was apparently close to shelter/center/clinic of some sort, and there were a lot of people in there with big problems. Homeless? Don’t know. Let’s call them “cool people” and I’ll call everybody else “squares”. The cool people asked for money and food, slept or passed out at tables, argued (this involved saying “motherfucker” and using racial epithets a lot), jabbered to themselves, left messes at the tables when they did leave (big pet peeve, as I used to be the dude that got to clean that mess up) and yeah, rendered the can pretty much unusable. I should note that some of the cool people were polite enough. The squares pretty much just wanted to eat their craptastic meal and split. Ya know what? After a few visits, I caught on that the joint was always like that. I also found another McD’s 5 blocks away that was pretty mellow so I just started going there. Did the franchisee care? Tough to say. Cool people obviously made up a really good chunk of his clientele. If that weren’t the case, would squares make up the difference and then some? Maybe, maybe not. He or she has no doubt done the math.
Hey I know someone will likely pipe up to the effect that such a gritty experience is something to be valued, good for the soul, whatever. And if that’s your cup of tea, totally fine with me. But my standards are different when I got the kid with me, so I had to walk.
Sorry for the long post, got a bit carried away.
That woman needs to stop dressing like a bag lady if she doesn’t want to be treated like one.
Yes, the Partner made a mistake asking her to leave, but they had grounds to. In my experience, what people will do is get a cup of ice water, and grab tons of sugar and fall asleep on the couches. There isn’t much of a problem with this, except it affects the other guests who wanted to sit there. Arguably, anyone who walks into starbucks, uses supplies, and doesn’t pay for anything should be asked to leave. Regardless of if they’re homeless or not. Anyone who creates an unpleasant environment in starbucks should be asked to leave. Unpleasant as defined by the other customers, not by the corporation. This should be Especially true in an environment where people have been complaining about starbucks not being like their goal of the third place. Out here, a tall cup of coffee is 1.50, so 6 bucks a month isn’t that much, she probably saves that on gas alone. -This point doesn’t matter, we should not be judging the lady.
As someone who works at a homeless shelter in Illinois (though not in Lisle), this story is hard to read, emotionally. Yes, there are problems everywhere with the homeless loitering in businesses – and business owners are entitled to ask them to leave. But when someone buys a drink, regardless of whether they are homeless or not, they are entitled to all that comes with it – in the case of Starbucks, a cushy seat at the shop.
What I’m seeing is that there are a lot of people who say it’s ok to kick a homeless person out of a business because they’re stinky or look to be the wrong store demographic. Well, sorry. Homeless people are responsible for the choices they make, but society is responsible for the choices they have. The fact that someone who “looks homeless” can get kicked out of a store when she is a paying customer means that we as a society have a serious problem addressing perceptions of class and wealth.
The homeless are, by and large, trying to get by. When I have a bad day and need to treat myself, maybe I’ll get a manicure. Maybe a homeless person will get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. That’s ok. You do what you have to do to get by.
If you’re feeling a little miffed about a homeless person buying coffee in your Starbucks with the dollar you just gave him, maybe you should consider contributing to your local non-profit organization serving the homeless so they can emerge from the trauma of homelessness and afford their own coffee one day, just like you.
@superlayne: Scared of the homeless? WTF?!? If you are that sheltered and narrow minded, then haul yourself over to the local homeless shelter immediately and do some volunteer work! Because you need a heavy dose of reality, quickly. Scared? They’re people! People JUST like you! If you’re going to be scared of something, be scared of our McPresident and his cronies, who are doing their best to make sure that even more Americans become homeless.
And back on topic – it seems really strange to me that here in Houston (which everyone knows is the boil on the butt of America), I have seen Starbucks employees giving homeless people free water and coffee, and smiling and being courteous while they do it. And in return, the homeless go outside and drink their drinks, and are careful not to disturb anyone else.
Who’da thunk?
@biggeek: In Chicago, probably half the white women over 45 are wearing the same outfit as this lady. She looks exactly like the entire female staff of my elementary school.
I’m not saying that’s a good thing. But just to give some context, the hat, the gloves, the down jacket–this is standard winter wear for the older midwestern lady. More common even than the oversized Bears jacket in Forest Park, or the full length mink on Michigan Ave.
I will refrain from deningrating homeless people, because I’ve seen specials about them and it’s a difficult life. Some are homeless due to extreme circumstances. It’s a really difficult situation, and I have no problem being around a homeless person or vagrant. However if anyone were to possess any odors, it’s difficult to enjoy a meal.
I don’t like Starbucks, because they allow people to sit all day drinking the same four hour old cup of joe. Everytime I go in one, I can never find a seat. The same with Barnes & Noble (or any business that allows free loaders to lounge around all day). I don’t like people laying on the floors reading “new” books and magazines, it’s inconvenient whether homeless or not. I don’t bother half the time since you can never get a chair, even at the cafe.
As if I needed another reason to hate Starbucks.
This is sad, to me. Not only because of the woman who was a paying customer being treated with disrespect, but also because of the idea that homeless people would be treated with disrespect as well.
I live on a college campus in Philadelphia, so I’m no stranger to the homeless. Quite a few of them I’ve encountered have mental disorders (I can imagine the stress of being homeless doesn’t help). I try to treat them with some sort of dignity, regardless of whether or not I’m going to give them any money, because the fact that they’re human trumps economic status or appearance.
I work at a Starbucks in Bloomington, IN. We have a sizable homeless population in this town, sadly. Most shelters are just day shelters, and the overnight ones fill up quick. We are a twenty-four hour Starbucks, and we have a few homeless people come in overnight. They usually buy just a cup of coffee, and we usually try give it to them for free or just the 53 cent refill price. The only problem is when a homeless person tries to sleep on one of our couches nearly every night. My manager has to let him know he can stay if he stays awake, or he has to leave. If we allow him to sleep on the couch overnight, then we have to allow everyone to sleep in Starbucks. But that’s our managers policy, and usually the overnighters just leave him be. Even the manager turns the other way when it’s really cold out.
@n1ckel5: I’m overgeneralizing? I’m not the one who booted an elderly woman out of a coffee shop because she was speaking to a homeless person and was dressed for cold weather. And apologizing doesn’t cut it, either. Firing someone, issuing a company wide policy regarding under what situations a person should be asked to leave – those are appropriate reactions. Starbucks isn’t sorry that they did it – they’re sorry that the incident received so much attention.
The cup of coffee should have been a tip off that this woman was not homeless but….
I am 100% in favor of kicking the homeless out of starbucks (and public liabrarys for that matter).
Now if only Starbucks would start kicking out Soccer moms who bring there 3 screaming kids to run wild while they sip their coffee.
I work for starbucks, and homeless people are one of the biggest problems at my store. the story isn’t clear whether the woman or the man she was with were disturbing other customers, but if they were, then i am with starbucks on this. this woman should be more pissed at the people who ruin starbucks for everyone else (i.e., the people who come in and bother customers, take advantage of free samples, and take showers in the bathroom sinks). they shouldn’t have kicked her out if she wasn’t bothering anyone, but i can definitely understand why starbucks would have been wary of her. it’s impossible to try to weed out bothersome people without making mistakes sometimes.
@bdgbill: Maybe the government should stop funding public libraries in your neighborhood, so they can better afford decent schools and libraries in the neighborhoods that most homeless people come out of and decent mental health treatment and affordable housing. And maybe the government should stop paying for your toys, like concert halls and sport stadiums.
Oh, and I think Starbucks has the right to discriminate, within the law.
Get a job, Grouch!