Starbucks apologizes after woman thought to be homeless is kicked out of store

After Louise Kilborn, 70, refused to leave the downtown Glen Ellyn, Ill. store with her drink, police were called to handle the matter. "People shouldn't be told to leave after buying a cup of coffee," she says. "No one should be humiliated like that." The Starbucks store reportedly has been responding to customer complaints that the place is being overrun with the homeless. (Suburban Chicago Daily Herald)

Comments

[Anon]

I have noticed a few homeless folks at the downtown Arlington Heights location, which is close to a church that is one of the PADS locations. But while these folks may not be dressed perfectly and they often have lots of luggage and bags with them, they are not disruptive that I have seen. They come in, buy their coffee, stay little while, read the paper and leave....just like any other customer. I think the key is compassion here. Certainly, if they reek or are loitering for hours on end, then they should be asked to leave, just like anyone else.

[Anon]

Also, it is worth noting that the MAJORITY of people that use PADS' services are gainfully employed, productive members of society, who are simply down on their luck, but are doing whatever they can to get re-established.

[chi-town's best/angriest barista]

we've kicked out or banned numerous homeless people from our store. they come in and be disruptive, demand thigns, steal things, trash the restrooms and even beg for money or someone to buy them a drink in the store. one man is the most unsanitary thing i've ever seen and drools all over the table he occupies for hours. it's disgusting and a regular customer was the one who called the police on him. we've also kicked out people who were not homeless for innapropriate behavior (throwing a tantrum -by an adult- and throwing a cup of coffee were the most recent offenses) but our location makes us a rather prime target for unpleasant people. weekend nights are the worst, we guard our tips like mad then otherwise they'll get stolen several times a night. it sucks.

[Conor]

We've had a few problems with homeless people at my store and I don't have any problem with putting a limit on how long they hang around. I wouldn't normally kick anybody out if they're a paying customer and not particularly disruptive, but I have to draw a line at letting a smelly very dirty homeless man sleep on the comfy chairs (with his feet up on them) directly in the middle of the store near the line during the busy morning hours.

Yeah, not really my idea of the third place, and I don't think it makes the customers want to hang out any longer than they have to.

[20secondshotguy]

Hey we're talking about the plight of the poor here! Howard would love that. It'd be great to hear his perspective on this. Howard, it's about time we heard from you in these pages!

It's a tough call. I tend to lean towards the "disruptive behavior" line that a customer shall not cross lest they be booted from the store.

There's a great story somewhere--recent too--about a team of partners that bought a homeless regular a bike to make it easier for the guy to collect cans for the deposit. Does anybody know that one?

[goggle]

i've said before that i often find our most disruptive customers to not be the homeless ones;
i find it somewhat offensive that partners chose to use their might to make these people feel less than human - and then go bitch about what 'a c**t that cell-phone customer was!' on starbucksgossip - as if their entitled to more, and not recognizing the irony.

i have no problem asking a person who isn't obeying the common rules set down in our shops, to leave. i do have a problem with the way partners tend to treat homeless people as less than people.

maintaining dignity is just as important for you, as it is for them... and for heavens sake - they're already down in the dumps, and homeless - why make their lives any worse?

compassion for mankind. regardless of wallet.
that's my starbucks.

[chicago starbucks rebel]

because they never buy anything (they just steal and demand samples) lock themselves in the restroom for 20 minutes to get high, defecate on the floor, steal our toilet paper and soap, bathe in the sink, plug the pipes and just make a general mess of the palce while preventing paying customers from being able to use the facilities and when they're finished no one wants to use them because it's such a mess and i have thus wasted my entire 10 minute break waiting in line. that i have a problem with. and i now know why most palces around my store advertise "NO PUBLIC WASHROOMS!"

[sigh]

You know what's fun? Cleaning [stuff that I can't actually name without setting off comment spam filters] out of a bathroom sink. I'm not doing that again. We've got drug addicts who hole up in the bathrooms, leaving them stinking and with ashes scattered on the floor, and I've kicked the same man out of the corner more than once. He reeks bad enough that I can smell him from behind the bar.

We also have a couple that fucks in the ladies' room, but at least they buy something first.

[the_dmr]

We really dont mind or bother with the homeless people as long as they do not sleep, beg or steal. The main problem seems to be them trying to beg in drive-thru or sticking there arms/legs out in the drive thru lane to try and get hit. As for the sleeping, we are 24hr store, so nobody is allowed to sleep in the store.

And the local police department seems to take any excuse to come around our store, they got two people on outstanding warrants just hanging out in our lobby once.

~~the dmr~~

[BaristaSince04]

Wow! Life at my suburban mall is tame. It is tough enough keeping the ultra-rich teens and the not-so-ultra-rich teens from trashing the place and killing each other.

[zeroperatioshift]

OMG sigh....

"We also have a couple that fucks in the ladies' room, but at least they buy something first."

hahahahaha... I'm sorry I laughed. I truly do feel sorry for my fellow partners.

zeroperatioshift

[Jill]

Sigh:

Don't worry - only the END of your post set off spam filters! ;)

I would think that any restroom-fouling activity, by anyone, would be grounds for being banned.

[Charles]

Um, SIGH, how do you know you have customers fu*king in the bathroom? And the fact that you do is more funny than anything else. Unless of course they make a mess in the course of their fuc*king, then not so funny.

[sheila]

I think the Golden Rule is probably the safest way to operate.

[sigh]

The first time, we heard noises and they'd been away from their table for a while (but left their stuff, because it's my job to babysit their crap apparently). I can't babysit them to make sure they don't sneak off into the bathroom again. I went to clean a week ago, knocked on the ladies room and got that distinctive lisped "Just a minute!" and a giggle. Goddammit.

[Charles]

Thanks for the explanation SIGH. It's nuts what today's crazy kids will get up to.

[sigh]

They're both in their thirties or forties. Not remotely kids.

[Charles]

SIGH, maybe they are having an affair, and are too cheap to pay for a hotel room.

[11161952]

This thread is a mix of comments about the homeless, the uncouth, underwashed and perhaps mentally ill, a bunch of oversexed and over-entitled.....
Who was it that said "variety was the spice of life"? I guess they may have worked at Starbucks!

[Funnymichiko1]

I've work for starbucks 3 years. 5 Stores in 2 districts and I have seen everything . Respect is key. I don't care if your Rich or Poor if your a Problem. I will ask you to Leave but don't discriminate. Everyone goes through tough times. My Husband was 23 and living in his car when I met him in 1999. He Mother had just did and could afford to keep their house. he feel asleep one time a Starbucks and was asked to leave. I would never do that to anyone.

[ny grump]

The Starbucks here in NYC midtown is in a public enclosed area and the homeless show up and hang out as soon as the doors open, the whole place is a public area...i get ticked off by the business types who trash their tables and then leave the debris. Its indicative of how they live their lives.

[not homeless yet]

So...

The moral of the story is to buy 5$ starbucks gift certificates and hand them out to the next homeless people you see.

Try to get as many homeless folks as possible to start going into starbucks.

it will improve the atmosphere.

[D]

For what it's worth, I spent a couple weeks following an elderly, severly mentally ill homeless man for a magazine article I wrote on low income housing, and I was struck by how kind the local Starbucks was to him.

[averrycafinatedbarrista]

At my store, with have a range of guys down on there luck come into the store and I try to treet them with respect and dignity. sometimes I get good responces from them, other times, I'll get nothing but curses and railings. one time i had a homless guy sneak into our bathroom to sleep and I did not notice him till I had to clean the bathroom. scared the living daylights out of me. he apologized and left quickly. I would have complained, but I know the guy has sevear psycological problems and he probably did not know either.

only time I ever complained about a homeless guy was when one of them directly harrassed one of my customers. I got his description and had a chat with him about it. he gave up the seat and stormed out grumbling about the treatment he recieved.

besides that event, I have not had a problem with the homeles guys, most of them are cool to chat with and talk to about a whole number of things. I also have led the initiative to helping the local shelter just down the street by donateing expired coffee and pasties to the guys. the local shelter even wrote the store a letter of recomendation for it. it was nice.

[no thanks]

Starbuck's is a business. It's not a homeless shelter. Obviously this isolated incident was stupid since this woman just bought a coffee but I know Starbuck's in NYC that had to get rid of chairs and couches (e.g. Astor Place) because the homeless people would come in and sit and sleep all day.

[Kelowna Starbucks Rebel]

Homeless people are detrimental to society and therefore should not be allowed in Starbucks UNLESS they prove themselves worthy of our services. At my store most of the area's homeless have been banned for one reason or another, and my fellow baristas have no problem making examples out of newcomers who believe that it is acceptable to shoot up in the washrooms, sleep in the cafe, steal merchandise, or to solicit customers, partners, and passers by. Starbucks is a privilege, not a right, which means that people have to prove that they can adhere to even the most minimally acceptable social expectations of human beings. The homeless in my area are now complaining to BC Social Services about the "unfair" treatment by the partners at my store which is wonderful as this will act as a deterrent to those moving in from the lower mainland in the years leading up to our Winter Olympics. Again, Starbucks is a privilege, and we should work together, at least the problem stores, to keep these so-called "disenfranchised" blights on society out of our workplace.

KELOWNA STARBUCKS REBEL
NON ILLIGITAMUS CARBORUNDUM
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE

[becky]

I have not read the other comments. don't need to. If a person has the price for a cup of coffee, that person also has the right to sit down and drink it, even if they are there for and extended period of town. What gives Starbucks employees the authority to decide who is or is not homeless? If the criteria is mode of dress or hairstyle, Howard Hughes would have been chased out. excentricity does not equal homeless. and homeless does not equl bad, only without a home.

[Bladerunner]

Jeez I grew up in this small minded, heartless, I have more money then god town. This sounds about right. Some places don't change. If you have money to pay for a coffee, you are a customer. Right!? Not Glen Ellyn. Its all about the house the cars,the clothing and jewelry, and my kids are going to Harvard! If we don't see homeless people, then they don't exist. Some places don't change.

[Bladerunner]

I would also like to add. I went to glen-ellyn.com to see what the current town folk had to say about this. Some seemed to be concerned and wished to find someplace for the homeless to go during the day. Others seemed to think it was a set up? Or homeless people are smelly make them go away. When I went to sign on to reply. I was forbidden too , my email address had been rejected. I'd never ever been to the site before? So I'v linked the article on several site that people everywhere in god's green earth can read about beautiful Glen Ellyn, where your money is not good enough only we are! But we'll still take your money!

[ARonald]

I'm not homeless but I can sympathize. Due to an apparent case of mistaken identity, I was kicked out of a Starbucks in Denver, CO (16th & Curtis?) about two years ago. The whole incident was *immensely* embarrassing and I was sure to file a complaint. I later received a phone call from a rep and an offer for a gift certificate, but not an apology. I haven't been to a Starbucks since - I'd much rather support the local establishments.

[Chris]

Question: How do you tell whether someone is homeless or not? Does having a home allow certain kinds of behavior? Perhaps we should judge our customers based on their actions in the store and not on their appearance or someone's domicile-intuition.

[Kelowna Starbucks Rebel]

It differs depending where your store is.
In my case it is quite easy since there is a huge drug problem, allowing us to see what these people look like. All of the banned homeless people at my store are crack/meth addicts, and we operate better with them out of our way. I'm sure there are some benign homeless people, however, I have yet to see them.

KELOWNA STARBUCKS REBEL
NON ILLIGITAMUS CARBORUNDUM
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE

[chi-town's best/angriest barista]

i don't think it's about homelessness or not, it's about creating an unsafe or unpleasant atmosphere. we've also kicked out and banned people who were gainfully employed and not homeless at all. but it just happens that the homeless people -and there are a lot near where i work- are more likely to engage in things we cannot tolerate (like doing drugs/drinking in the bathroom and stealing) for our own and our customer safety. if they didn't do this, we wouldn't have any probelms, but they seem to bring it upon themselves, and for that i have little pity.

[coffeeguy]

If you stink, do not wear pants, do not wear clean clothes (exceptions here for painters and construction etc.), swear or curse loudly and often, or beg other customers for money do not be surprised when I act like a human being and take offense to your total lack of manners.

[deeni]

the starbucks in park slope, brooklyn has a group of regulars who come in. some homeless, some disturbed and possibly homeless. One man is particularly uncomfortable to be around and is asked to leave (very nicely) by the baristas. I've seen the police come in when he falls asleep, drooling and seems semi- comatose.
I go anywhere else when I can (if I have work to do I go to another starbucks) because the gross factor is just too high at certain times of the day.
at least the stroller brigade is in and out between 3 and 5.

[AnonBarista]

Kelowna Starbucks Rebel...are you joking? I can't tell if you are joking.

If you lived in Glen Ellyn, you would understand the mentality. It is like living in a birdcage. People never get out!

[Deanne Martin]

There is no need to make fun of them. (Even though I myself have banned the same homeless person twice in the same day.) But letting them occupy the same space as the rest of the "normal" people who buy a cup and sit down, requires that they bathe somewhere else, sleep somewhere else and use the restroom somewhere else.

[Homeless]

Judging another by dress is as sorry as judging another by skin color.

[Kelowna Starbucks Rebel]

ANONBARISTA-
I am not joking.
If you worked one week at my store you would understand fully what I mean.

KELOWNA STARBUCKS REBEL
NON ILLIGITAMUS CARBORUNDUM
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE

[JF]

There's a policy in place for this, read your handbooks.

If the customer (paying or otherwise) has an adverse affect on your ability to serve other customers (again, paying or otherwise) in the store, then s/he should be asked to leave politely. If s/he refuses, call the police immediately. Do not argue or insist further than asking politely once or twice.

[the queen]

The only thing i have to say is: i hope if people are drooling and putting their feet up on the comfy couches that you are spraying with lysol and disinfecting as much as you can. the gross factor is very high; i love starbucks and love to sit in there and drink my coffee and read before i go to work, but if i ever saw a homeless/unkempt person drooling on the comfy couches and messing up the bathroom, i couldn't stand to stay in there. i drink a lot of starbux, so please ensure me that you do spray the areas. i am very phobic about germs and use handcleaner for everything. thanks for taking care of the problem and using the lysol and disinfectants. if you didn't i don't think i could come back

Homeless people are detrimental to society and therefore should not be allowed in Starbucks UNLESS they prove themselves worthy of our services.

You have got to be kidding me! Who do you think you are? Get off your high horse, you are a barista not a freakin' princess.Who needs to prove themself to you? You want to act like royalty baby go work for the freaking queen. You wash damn toilets at starbucks then act like you are above other people. GET OVER YOURSELF B*TCH!!

[Boston Starbucks Rebel]

Kelowna Starbucks Rebel,
I wish to concur with your opinion that we have drug problems here in Boston. We sometimes find needles in the bathroom which is so disturbing or people using other illegal control substances on Starbucks premises. However, the management somehow does not find the use of drugs in the bathroom a problem. Well, they hardly care about partner safety so why would they ever care if somebody is doing drugs in the bathroom. I'm sure if there was some people BENDING OVER the sink that might be problem or whatever but as long as they shot in the sink, then I suppose it would be an easy clean up. However, please keep the fecal matter in the toilet and not as wallpaper. Please!

BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL
PRIMUS INTER PARES
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE
AIM SN: BOSTONSTARREBEL

[Boston Starbucks Rebel]

KELOWNA STARBUCKS REBEL,
I also love your Latin quote, I wasn't sure what it meant at first and had to look it up.

[Kelowna Starbucks Rebel]

Thank you Boston Starbucks Rebel.
I'm just glad that at my store we have adopted a zero-tolerance policy regarding on-site drug use. It saddens me that people such as the anonymous poster felt it necessary to verbally assault me, however, I do not expect the majority of people to agree with my opinion of these people. I guess its just difficult for me to sympathize with those who constantly threaten violence when denied free food or drink, or who feel that they don't even need the privacy of the bathroom to use drugs. Also, I believe that I am above anyone who resorts to using profanity to attempt to bolster their weak, uninformed arguments. So to the anonymous person who believes that I should "get off my high horse," I ask who are you to tell me what I can and can't say? You obviously don't know anything about me, or the "people" I have to constantly deal with when I work. It saddens me that there are some people out there who's only response to something that they don't agree with is to screech malicious words about something which they have no idea.

KELOWNA STARBUCKS REBEL
NON ILLIGITAMUS CARBORUNDUM
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE

P.S. Another note to the anonymous assailant, I am not female, nor do I was toilets for a living.

[marco]

Starbucks Barista's *work for a living*. So, give them some respect! Don't abuse their hospitality, don't make a mess, don't bug them or your fellow customers.
People have a problem these days thinking they deserve respect without earning it (for example, *some but not all* homeless, beggars, Big Issue sellers etc.)

[Jak]

The "benign" homeless people; the ones who are not causing trouble, and are not seen as nuisances, are not hanging around starbucks or anywhere else, as they are out looking for work. Being homeless is no excuse to become a bum.
I was homeless for a year, and believe me, there are homeless people, and then there are BUMS. Two different things. Starbucks and any other business has no obligation to cater to bums.

[Briana Barley one mad 11 year old]

yester day april 7 saturday a white young girl was being racecis she said my grand mother was a homeless or a junky she didnt look like one cause she steped out the line and to ask for the key for the bathroom the white lady said customers only and me and my aunt was standing in line im 11 and my aunt is 23 and we were standing in line to buy somthin and as much me and my grandmother come in that starbucks on capital hill by citybank and she actual told my grandmother your not a costumer in a rude nasty way i was get ready to say somthin but shes older but not that older i was rasied to respect older people and my grandmother asked her well what a customer look like? she didnt reply and kept ignoring her i was bout slap the white off that white BITCH! excuse my languge but i was so mad.

Wow, I highly doubt that a partner called your grandmother a homeless junkie. I also applaud your ability to suggest that the partner was a racist while you go on a rant with an undertone about how you feel about white people. I also applaud your spelling and grammar, I know that I wish I had your writing ability. Before you come here making up stories about how "Whitey" is getting you down, maybe you should at least learn how to spell racist.
Thank-you.