Starbucks, other businesses are forced to become social service providers in hard times

The problem of homeless people hanging out at Starbucks has been discussed on this site before, but I'll share some observations from a Syracuse columnist and Starbucks customer:
* The regulars are nowhere to be found after dark, and the number of homeless and the mentally unstable people increases in numbers.
* "This issue has become so dire that Starbucks has found itself in the unlikely position of the primary comfort station. You can't really blame Starbucks, since every person deserves to use a clean restroom. Nevertheless, the store's hospitality has caused a dilemma for paying customers who do not want to be hassled at their tables for spare change and fraudulent credit card schemes."
* Under the stress of these trying times, Starbucks as well as other businesses on the street have been forced to become social service providers, while their customers face potentially dangerous encounters.

I'm sure these points aren't new to Starbucks regulars and employees in other cities. The sad thing is, the problem is bound to get worse as an economic rebound is far away, I'm guessing. || Read "When poverty, Starbucks clash"

Comments

[Beantown Bearista]

We had a regular homeless gentleman spending his days in our store. At first it was an occasional cup of coffee when we were about to dump an expired batch. Then it was can I get a venti and an extra cup for my buddy?? He bought a Starbucks card and I took it home and registered it for him so that he could get free refills, but he stopped loading it after a while. Then he just got totally out of control, asking for free coffees five,six times a day. Constantly asking partners for cigarettes, and getting in the line during the rush for free coffees and to bum a cigarette. Finally we cut him off and informed him that we just couldn't do it anymore. Thats when he started to rifle through the trash to get cups for refills, and getting snippy and rude with all of the partners when we told himn that he would have to pay. Finally my SM told him not to come back, it was our own fault because we kept giving him free stuff.

[Bearded Barista]

I hate to sound a little crass, but my experience with homeless people at Starbucks has been if you give them an inch, they'll take a yard.

[drive]

My Starbucks used to be open all night. It was a homeless ghetto. There were the same regulars there night after night after night. Some bought food and drink, some got cups of water, some just slept, sometimes the shift called the cops. Being open all night is a dumb idea.

[Yep]

Helping someone out is okay, but drawing a line from the get go is the best thing to do. It's that or you continue to enable their behavior. I'd never fault someone for helping, but I would be quick to step in and make sure the line is drawn.

[Ryan]

I don't understand the issue here-these freeloaders are trespassing and Starbucks has every right to call the police to have them taken off the premises, especially if they're disruptive to paying customers either in an active (e.g. asking for spare change) or passive (e.g. they haven't bathed in weeks and stink) manner. I wouldn't blame them one bit for doing so. Not to sound insensitive but just because someone is homeless doesn't give the right to do whatever they please. Political correctness should only go so far. I obey the laws inthis country; so should they.

[Richard]

"I hate to sound a little crass, but my experience with homeless people at Starbucks has been if you give them an inch, they'll take a yard."

I was walking home with a coworker the other night when a homeless man came up to us and BEGGED for money because he was starving. I didn't give him anything but my coworker gave him $20! The first thing out of his mouth wasn't thank you, it was "Can I have more?"

[drive]

If I remember correctly, the right of homeless people to hang in places of public accommodation, like libraries, has been tested in the courts. But I don't remember how far these rulings went or whether they apply to retail establishments.

Can any lawyers help us out? Melody?

[Thought of the Day]

Many moons ago I tried helping a "homeless man" by bringing him a bag of groceries, I even bought dog-food for his dog...Believe or not he was mad...he wanted "money" not a "bag of groceries" ....And the very last time I gave money to a begging homeless woman she called be a "cheap bitch" Ah, yeah "your welcome".... that was the last time I've given money to anyone that solicits money. I've been jaded! With all that said .... Retail establishments should cater to their "paying" customers comforts first; even if that means not allowing "beggars" at the doors or inside.

[I'm here too.]

Coffee is the least someone should need. I do not mind a cup of water however.

[@P@P]

The worst is when I'm opening or closing, this lady comes in and goes straight to the restroom...She ends up shaving her legs, mustache, etc...then she leaves the razor on the floor, with the sink full of hair. Then I proceed to see a used tampon all bloody and nasty on the floor. I look right and their's dookie all over the seat and walls, c'mon REALLY!! :(

After she goes into the garbage, she grabs a cup, asks for a refill like she bought the coffee (in case we don't give her the refill, she grabs one out of the garbage that still has some coffee left inside of it) Then she will ask for a cup of hot water, she proceeds to make a ghetto Americano with the garbage coffee.

She then invades the third place with her suitcase and proceeds to grab ALL the used Newspapers (She used to grab fresh ones from the rack until we had to step in) takes the largest table, spreads all her stuff around, eats god knows what food and leaves all the garbage for us to clean up after...Oh an occasionally she gets customers to give her money and purchase food. When we start cracking down on her she will then PURCHASE something so that she can say she is a "paying customer". There seems to be a rise in this behavior and it is definately not what I signed up for when applying for my position...

[SPORK]

It's posts like these that make me happy I live in a neighbourhood that isn't affected by this.

[Richard]

@P@P,

just tell her she is never allowed in your store ever again. if she comes back, call the police and have her charged with trespassing. there is nothing wrong with making this woman never come back.

[is it so hard to be civil]

I've seen people "move in". They spend all day. Never buy anything. Take up space that real customers would like to use. They also smell. Our SM and DM won't do anything about it. There is a difference between kindness and weakness.

[@P@P]

@Richard

You can't tell her "she's never allowed in" when she makes a purchase just to abuse the facilities, our SM and DM don't want to deal with a lawsuit, so the partners are left to suffer as usual...If we do call the police I will be contacting them every 15 minutes, cause this lady is just one of many cases we deal with on a daily basis...makes work REALLY suck.

[@P@P]

It's posts like these that make me happy I live in a neighbourhood that isn't affected by this.

Posted by: SPORK

Some of us aren't as "Fortunate" to live in a all Yuppie-Rich Upper-class neighborhood Sporkie, so this is where the real Baristas/SS work and I guess you are where they "PLAY"!!!

[Richard]

Yeah, SPORK is a bad person because they don't work in a bad store. If only we could all be surrounded by poverty and homelessness all day, then things would be fair.

[Richard]

@P@P,

No way that it's illegal to ban a person who begs from your customers, roots through your garbage and leaves bloody tampons and feces all over the bathroom.

Also, man! Don't let this lady walk all over you! Who has given her the right to demand things from you? She goes through the garbage, finds a cup with some dregs in it and you fill it up with water? WHY! You're just making your life so much harder by catering to this person.

The fact that your SM and DM will not do something about this woman and others like her shows that they are not willing to stand up for you partners or for your store. I am not a lawyer, but it is NOT ILLEGAL to ban someone from your store that flings poo all over the bathroom.

[@P@P]

@ Richard

I agree with you 100% but some partners sympathize for her and others and instead of banning them they just feed their need...It causes tension in the store, on the floor, between partners and Management. Management also turns a blind eye to this problem due to the overwhelming amount of work/issues they deal with, so like I said it's the partners on the floor who get to share the abuse, very unpleasent.

[@P@P]

If only we could all be surrounded by poverty and homelessness all day, then things would be fair.

Posted by: Richard

I am not saying SPORKIE is a bad person, and I am not saying there aren't GREAT stores in troubled areas, but there is a big difference from a lot of you who work in "Fairy-Tale" Starbucks and the real grimmey Bux that is so prevalent in every major and urban city.

[@P@P]

We had this homeless Shift Supervisor who was living out of our store, had all her belongings down in the basement. She would eat whatever and whenever she felt like. Other partners were stuck between reporting her or sympathizing for her. This went on for a long time, until she admitted to stealing tips, those were the ending days of her ride on our ship...So homeless people are difficult to deal with but homeless partners are even worse and a more difficult issue to handle. This goes on around a lot of stores.

[@P@P]

How about all the people who come in before you are closing and ask for "Markouts" of RT&E and Pastries...I like to tell them the only thing we have left is the Velencia Orange Cake...(If you give them the display one that has been sitting out for weeks it's ROCK Hard!!)

They usually don't come back after I give them such FRESH!! Goodness!!! LOL!

[STANKONYA!]

passive (e.g. they haven't bathed in weeks and stink) manner
Posted by: Ryan

Does that apply to partners as well?? Because I work with a few who stink worse than the homeless people who shower in my sink...SO how do we ban them from showing up to their shift smelling all NASTY!!

Can I send a partner home for "Not smelling proper"?? Is there a "Proper" way to smell??

[Starbucks Gossip webmaster]

>> Is there a "proper" way to smell?

Yes there is a proper way to smell: Not bad.

[nycstoremanager]

i have been struggling with the homeless problem for years in my store- the cops rarely show up when called and if they do it takes them over an hour and the offending person is usually gone- the cops dont want 2 deal w/ a homeless person anymore than we do and they make that clear w/their actions

It got so bad that my old DM had all the SMs in her district meet w/ the community outreach officer- things improved for a few months but that meeting was many DMs ago and things are back to normal

[Ex]

be kind , some of those homeless could be partners that Starbucks layed off

[Blackcoffee]

It really sucks when you, a paying customer, want to use the restroom and a homeless guy has been hold up in there for 45 minutes washing himself or more likely sleeping.

[anonymous]

can i just say that those bashing spork need to stop.

im sure their comments were harmless and did not mean to offend anyone but rather make themselves appreciate their store more.

I also have to add i dont have to deal with this issue in my store but by no means are we a "fairy-tale" starbucks either.

I do feel for thos who have to deal with this, really. I am just in shock with the things that you guys have to deal with. I personally would not have any idea to deal with homeless people. Part of me would still feel bad if i have to tell somebody to basically piss off.

[North Star Barista]

At my SBUX the neighborhood kids walk in, look you in the eye, pick up the tip jar and run out.

I'd rather lose my tips, than deal with the bathroom any day.

[dah]

I work every single Sunday. And every single Sunday, for the past 6 months, WITHOUT FAIL this homeless man is sitting outside. Now, this is a nice, friendly, not-stinky homeless man so I never told him to get off the property.He asks people for money and comes in an buys a coffee and goes back out to his post.I never give him anything for free.

But the fact that he is there every single week, like it's his job, is starting to really piss me off. If he can come here at exactly the same time each week why can't he get a real job? He watches me go to my car to take the deposit. He knows who my boyfriend is, who my friends are, and the times I come and go. It really creeps me out.

The stinky, mean ones are easy to deal with. The nice ones however, are really not so simple!

[Des]

During my tenure at the BUX I was very lucky to have a local police department that made a great effort to watch out for us. We were near the county jail and I think that helped. They dealt with these people like we did. If they were gone from the store by the time the cops got there, all I'd have to do is point in a direction and sure enough, they'd pull up with the offending party for us to serve a trespass warrant out on.

Just reading the comments, why not issue a trespass when someone gets out of hand? There's borderline customer then there's crazy. If someone is shaving their legs in your sink, that's a game over buddy.

Here are examples I've dealt with, and yes, they all received a trespass. I was a SS that watched out for my crew.

*The guy that peed all over the bathroom. ALL over. Told the cops that he was marking his territory so that everyone would know he'd been there.

*Kelly, the guy that would try to buy 1/2 a lemon pound and a water. When you'd turn your back to get the water sans pound cake, he'd rifle the tip jar and deftly come up with enough to get a whole slice. He got the heave ho when a SM on break at the back desk watched the scene unfold on the security monitor in the back.

*The smelly dude standing next to me when I was stocking the CD rack. Turned around and four Radiohead CD's were gone.

*The MD20/20 guy who liked to rearrange the tables out front then bark at customers that tried to sit down.

If you're lucky enough, you can find the one homeless person in the area that is a maternal or paternal figure to all of the rest. He or she has staked the area out many moons previously. Now for that guy, I made sure he had breakfast and coffee, and gave him abundant markouts. He in turn kept some of the others in line. He fixed the tables for us one afternoon. . . the ones that literally swayed in the wind. I saw him cut a look at the barking dude one time. . . I swear the guy shrank in size.

Guys, don't fool around with your safety or the safety of those you work with. Trespass when it gets out of hand.

[Sandra Meyer]

Unrelated to the topic of homelessness and Starbucks, please take a moment to remember the 3 slain Starbucks partners. Murdered on July 6, 1997 and discovered on July 7th, Mary Caitrin Mahoney, Emory Evans, and Aaron Goodrich were shot to death in a failed robbery attempt at their store, Located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C. They are missed. Very much.

[Dan]

You go Des. Great rational recommendation.

[inopethflames]

if u work at a sbux in a pretty bad area it would be a pretty tricky situation. many of the sbux workers/managers may not realize that 99% of homeless are literally insane and or addicted to drugs. i would think u could figure that out pretty quickly though if ur dealing with it everyday and learn not to give out free things. if you do that ur just encouraging them to come around more.

i think that sbux can ban anyone they want or report trespassing for probably any reason they want since its a for-profit store. in the case of homeless people they could certainly come up with numerous reasons.

if u were a regular barista it would probably be really tiresome if u were working in a bad sbux with a homeless person problem, or local 'wild teenager' problem, or anything like that, ud have to be legitimately worried about ur safetey everyday, and ur dealing with that for less than probably $10 an hour.

i used to work as a cashier at hardees and there werent homeless people or anything, but at any fast food restaurant u get regular customers, usually older people, who are probably on the line of somewhat crazy or have an altered reality or are basically just very lonely where they have nothing else to do but drink coffee & read the paper for a few hours everyday and make weird comments to the staff. like talking about some news item to a bunch of teenagers who clearly dont follow the news.

i think if u were a manager at sbux ur best bet would be calling the police any and everytime a situation with a homeless person occurred and talking to your higher ups about it every chance u got, at least u wouldnt be accused of negligence that way. not in the legal sense but in the sense of them possibly not promoting u because of your stores situation, u could say u did ur share to prevent problems.

[short drip]

This is not a homeless problem. This is a management problem.
This is an example of a lack of leadership and concern for customers and partners.
By saying "yes" to the homeless, the manager is saying "no" to the customers and employees. Weak.
Our tax dollars (and too many of them) go to providing social services for the homeless. Now I have to sit next to a snoring, sleeping, body-oder-having, begging homeless person while I enjoy my coffee?

This is a hillarious twist of fate for Starbucks. To be know as a safe haven for the homeless. Got to be great for business.

[J. H.]

Posted by: STANKONYA!
Can I send a partner home for "Not smelling proper"?? Is there a "Proper" way to smell??

Yes you can just check you Partner Handbook under personal grooming...partners must shower, wash hair, and not wear strong smelling perfume scents.

If you ask me its a crying shame when a company has to tell their employees to clean their bodies before coming to work!

[Clarence Ewing]

I'd always wondered why more Starbucks don't stay open later in the night. I'd never thought about the homeless situation and how the workers have to deal with that.

The store I frequent is busy enough and in a type of neighborhood where only a few transients come by. When they do, people notice, and the partners aren't shy about telling someone to beat it if they start approaching other customers. I'm sure other locations have more to deal with.

[SPORK]

@@P@P

Just so I set the record straight, I do work in an 'urban' city (one of the largest in Canada actually), and I have worked in a Starbucks in the poorest postal code in Canada, so I do sympathize, however attacking me because I happen to commute (by bus because, no I'm not a yuppie, however much I'd love to have such a disposable income) to a store that needed me, and doesn't have a homeless issue is insane! Apparently the fact that I work at a store that happens to be in a nicer neighbourhood won't make me a 'real barista' (and I quote directly).

++++++++++++++++++++

@STANKONYA!

Actually, you CAN send them home, because they aren't following dress code, where it blatantly states that partners must be showered and use deodorant. Call them out on it and write them up for not following our dress code!

[R.J.]

Propping them up with food, coffee, cash, or even well-intended tolerance does nothing but enable bad and useless behavior. It ultimately drags your store, community and even your country down.

US citizens ought to know, we created a whole generation of dependents who now vote for whoever promises to give them the most. I'm glad to see so many of you are seeing reality for what it is. Please take a moment to consider that the very same thing applies on a national scale too.

Best of luck to those who are dealing with the problem. I did my time in a deli in Philadelphia 25 years ago.

[hmm]

I used to work in Times Square, and we called 911 on homeless people at least twice a day when they refused to leave because they were so smelly that customers were leaving. Originally, I thought it was inappropriate to call 911, but the local police told me it was better that way. Also, we had to remodel our bathroom when we found out homeless people were hiding crack in our ceiling tiles. Thanks for all you do! Onward!

[LV]

Granted we shouldn't put up with instances of drug use, loitering, stealing, etc, and we have the right to ask that these people leave in these cases, or to ask to be protected from it, but the attitude in here toward the homeless in general really sucks. The fact is that the homeless are most often mentally ill, and though social services might be available to them, they might not understand them, be eligible for them, or realize that they need them. Especially in this kind of economy, mental health services and social services are first to receive cuts. Next time you have a homeless person ask you for five cups of water, beg for money for as seemingly un-useful a thing as a cup of coffee, or ramble on to you about random things, have some compassion for someone who is likely lonely, depressed, and probably tormented by a mental imbalance which prevents them from being hired or being able to keep a job.

If someone homeless smells funky, it's because they don't have a constant place they can go where they can wash up. It's not pleasant, but imagine how embarrassing it is for them. Now imagine how embarrassing it is to know that people think less of you for it, as many of you clearly do when you use the fact that they're "smelly" as a reason why they should be kept away from your Starbucks.

I'm not saying you should put up with harassment or badgering, or excuse any stealing or bad behavior. But I've seen enough people react badly to merely annoying behavior, like asking for multiple cups of water, that I think talking about them like they're ONLY pests which need to be run out is damaging to the way we look at other human beings. I've encountered some homeless people who ask us continually for favors, and we can and do say no, but I think it's important to emphasize that we don't treat them disrespectfully unless things get out of hand.

[Judge Roy Bean]

All you whiney, cluless idealists: Welcome to the Republican party....

[Caramel]

We have a homeless man @ our store also. Its not like he cant afford anything, its the simple fact that he LITERALLY sits in the corner all day, with his laptop, occasionally with go outside, used the bathroom(doesn't flush) and then stays until we close. he is there from open to close, EVERY day, and the corner he sits in, its permanently going to smell like him. We have to buy air freshener for the Closers so that they can get it calm down. Its so bad that we can smell him @ the bar.

Dont get me wrong, he's a very nice guy, but when it comes to store business and the need for a decent "Customer Voice", our store manager wonders why its as low as it is...

[...]

@Judge Roy Bean
not all of us are American ;)

[SBUCKS DRONE LOS ANGELES]

A situation regarding this subject matter:

Was working at a Drive-Thru store a couple of years ago and out of the blue, a bearded homeless man starts hanging around. Take into account that our store was brand new and we tried our best to keep it as clean as possible. Well, this man starts hanging out and about, taking naps in a little lounge area we had and taking his sweet time in the bathroom (by sweet time, I mean he was in there for 20 minutes at one time). I didn't want to be an arse because it's not part of the job description, but I wanted to act. The catch though was that he actually bought things. Tall drip here, pastry there. He wouldn't peddle outside the store (we kept an eye on him), so naturally he would pay with with money he earned by peddling elsewhere. My SM at the time didn't want to deal with the guy cause he was a paying customer and ALWAYS asked for a receipt. All of us at the store became increasingly disgusted as the days went by because we all knew the guy was a paying customer, but he reeked so badly and disrupted the whole environment. So one day, I finally had it and decided to keep tabs on him. I just knew in the back of my head that this guy was taking the space for granted, almost thinking that he was living there, and was becoming too comfortable. I also knew that there had to be one day where he wouldn't buy anything. That day finally came and I had no choice but to call the cops. The shifts (I wasn't a shift at the time) wouldn't do it, my SM wouldn't do it, so I decided to do it. I felt bad inside, but it had to be done by someone. The cops came and they took him away. Never saw the guy again. Times are tough, but enough will be enough. If you're homeless and start taking advantage of the space (even if you are a paying customer), you're not going to get away with it for a long time.

[SBUCKS DRONE LOS ANGELES]

Another story:

I've been at my new store for a couple of weeks now and I am incredibly shocked at the number of mentally unstable people that come in. These people happen to be regulars, they come in everyday. There is one gentleman in particular who comes in and buys a Venti Earl Grey Tea and a box of the same tea. I am talking about everyday here. Well, a couple of days ago, the same guy came in, orders his drink, no big deal. I happened to be on my ten, just hanging around outside in the patio area when I spot this guy a couple of tables down from where I am sitting. Talking to himself. Just talking away. He began to laugh and began shouting, all while he had his tea. I wouldn't have guessed the man was mentally unstable from the way he carries himself when he orders.

Anyway, a few days later I notice the same guy outside talking to a couple of regulars. I wasn't sure if they were having a conversation with him or if they even agreed to have one in the first place. Then I notice one of the regulars come inside towards my direction and asks me that the man is being obscene and behaving badly. I go outside and ask him if everything was okay and he starts rambling some obscene racial remarks at me. At this point, I proceed to ask him to leave and if I saw him again during my shifts, he would have to go. The guy gets upset and tries to actually push me, but I was fast enough to get out of the way. I had enough, told him I was going to call the cops. I did, they came, but he was gone.

The same guy comes back in again TODAY and sees me there. He appeared to be in a normal condition, but I refused service to him. He was confused as to why I was refusing service and I told him why. HE THEN SAYS THAT HE DIDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING. Wow. I am sorry that you're unstable, but if you're disrupting my customers and don't remember anything that happened, you will not see service coming from this Shift Supervisor. The welfare of my store, my partners, and my customers is first and foremost. I don't feel like I am discriminating. If you're this unstable, you shouldn't even be on the streets to begin with. Some will say "Shame on you!", but I am sorry. If you try to attack me and don't remember it, again, you will see no service from me. BTW, My SM has also agreed to bar this person from the store.

[ex-sbuxmanager]

@LV -

It's all well and good to have empathy for homeless people - but imagine if you had to put up with this sort of nonsense as you were trying to work.

Try to imagine doing your job while someone who hasn't showered for days is asking your for a cup of water. Try to imagine using your office's bathroom, but you use up your entire lunch break just waiting to get in and when you finally do get in, the toilet is smeared with dookie, there is blood on the walls from someone shooting up, urine on the floor, and/or the entire place reeks of B.O. from a "homeless shower."

Imagine going to work and having to put up with threats (and sometimes acts) of physical violence from a clearly mentally unstable person.

Now try to imagine that, but also add in getting paid close to minimum wage and having to clean up all that shit because its your job.

Now, maybe you can imagine why some Sbux partners are a little intolerant of homeless people. Store employees are not social workers. When I managed stores, my position was that the store was private property and I asked anyone to leave who wouldn't behave as well as your average pre-schooler. You crap on the floor, goodbye. You beg for change, goodbye. You throw a tantrum, goodbye. You stink, goodbye.

Now I remember why the best stores I worked at were in office buildings that didn't have Sbux bathrooms. Not only did you not have to deal with 80% of that stuff, but snapshot scores were also much higher.

[Corbo]

These stories are all so interesting! I think that I am particularly fascinated because this issue has never become a problem at my store. Perhaps not even my old store in Pittsburgh, as far as I can remember...

Anyway, I had a question regarding the "trespass" that Des mentioned. How exactly does it work? At my store, one of my shift supervisors wanted to ban a customer from ever coming into the store because she became verbally abusive to him. It seemed like a long, drawn-out process that involved approval from the DM. Months later, our acting store manager told me that we could politely tell someone to leave if he/she was being abusive (this was in reference to someone else, who was rude to our customers and was not a customer himself). Additionally, if the person did not leave, she said that it was best to call the police.

So, what does banning or serving a trespass entail? I don't think that I have ever seen reference to this in safety and security, so I am just curious.

[BumsInBallard]

My local Starbucks in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle has become nothing more then a shower for the local trash. None of the Barista's there have the balls to run them off. I just stopped giving them my business and money. The bums are apparently more important then paying customers to Howie.

[Kathy]

I was a SM for one of Starbucks' competitors, and I had to deal with this sort of thing all the time, and I sympathize. Been there, done that. But, there seems to be some sort of misapprehension on the part of some of the people in the comments: where the law is concerned, you always have the right to refuse service to anyone. I've denied people service before for many reasons---shoplifting then trying to return the item for cash, intentional and habitual check bouncing, and because people were abusive to my staff and customers---and suffered no legal ramifications. The key is just making sure that your management knows precisely what the deal is. If they've got their heads on straight, they'll back you up, because they don't see what you see.

I had one particularly abusive customer, my staff called her "Crazy Cocoa Lady" who was always kind and polite with me, because she knew I was the manager, but who harassed my staff like you wouldn't believe. She knew my car and would, after a time, only come in when she knew I wasn't there. She obviously needed some outlet for abuse, and she decided my staff would be it. I had a hard time swallowing all of her various sins when they asked me to ban her, not only because my experience had been different, but because I had a staff comprised of mostly suburban teenagers who were prone to exaggeration. But, on a day I hadn't driven to work, I watched her approach once, and hid so she wouldn't see me, and, yes, it was as bad as they said. I stepped out and very politely asked her to never come to my store again, and if she did, she would be refused service. She left in a huff, of course, but she never showed her face again. If she had showed up again, I would have called the cops and had her removed, but fortunately it never came to that.

When you approach your SM about a problem such as this, have evidence (use your cell phone camera to document any damage or misuse of the store's resources), explain the situation clearly and without prejudice (just objecting that someone smells is not going to work, because there are plenty of regular customers who are manual laborers and don't smell so fresh.) and that should be enough. And if it isn't, go above their heads. If you've got a homeless person who is scaring you or the other customers, or who is just driving them away with their non-paying presence, it's in the company's best interest to back you up. That's money lost from other customers, who don't want to deal with it and who will go elsewhere.

I'm not saying it wouldn't cause hard feelings to go above your SM's head, but your safety needs to be foremost in their minds. If it isn't, then go to someone who will listen. Starbucks needs to keep their employees happy, and the turnover to a minimum---it's in their best interest to listen. What's worse? A highly-unlikely lawsuit from a homeless person for discrimination, or a lawsuit from a staff member who was abused---and possibly harmed---by a homeless person because management refused to do anything about it? The EEOC has rules about this sort of thing, as does OSHA. Look them up and use them to your advantage.

[Dunkins for me thanks!]

I honestly have to ask if anyone has taken the lessons learned (freebies embolden freeloaders, system being abused, etc.) and applied them to life on a larger scale?

Not to put to fine a point on it, but what you are seeing here is a microcosm of the real world.

You folks are all working hard, trying to get ahead, asking for nothing more than to simply be left alone to get your job done. But you are constantly having to waste time with losers that won't work, feel entitled to something for nothing and behave like the world owes them.

In short, you folks are REPUBLICANS and you're having to deal with DEMOCRATS!

Hows that hope and change workin for ya?