aquascoot wrote on Dec 12
th, 2022 at 7:49pm:
In a statement, the company said the closures are because of unspecified safety concerns. But former Starbucks supervisor Lester Monzon says the chain has had a long-standing struggle with the homeless relying on its bathrooms.
"A lot of the homeless people that do tend to come in, and they will buy a cup of coffee, they use the restroom as their shower time," he says. "They'll take off their shirts, they'll bathe themselves. When they leave, the whole bathroom is just completely destroyed." Some current employees, who aren't allowed to speak on tape, had similar complaints.
But regulating bathroom use is just one concern. Twenty to 25 percent of the homeless population in the U.S. suffers from some form of severe mental illness — and many baristas aren't sure how to interact with homeless customers showing signs of mental distress. Should they ask the person to leave? Call the police?
Thanks for that. I genuinely respect your sensible reply.
However, this homeless person wasn't in the restaurant, let alone in their rest room.
The barista wasn't interacting with a homeless person (who admittedly,
might have mental health issues), they were interacting with a general member of the public.
Customer:
"There's a homeless person over there, not on your property, and I want to buy them a coffee".
Business:
"Nope. Can't do." How is that in any way acceptable?
How would that improve the homeless person's mental health issues?