Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz said Thursday that Starbucks' bathrooms will now be open to everyone, whether paying customers or not.
"We don't want to become a public bathroom, but we're going to make the right decision 100 percent of the time and give people the key," Schultz said at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. "Because we don't want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are 'less than.' We want you to be 'more than.' "
Two black men, business partners Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, both 23, were arrested on April 12 as they sat in a Philadelphia Starbucks after not buying anything and asking to use the restroom.
The store manager called the police after asking them to leave — a "terrible decision," Schultz said.
Video of their arrest sparked outrage on social media and accusations of racial bias. Protesters stood outside and inside the Philadelphia Starbucks store where the arrest occurred.
"The company, the management and me personally — not the store manager — are culpable and responsible. And we're the ones to blame," Schultz said Thursday.
"We were absolutely wrong in every way. The policy and the decision she made, but it's the company that's responsible," he added.
Schultz said the company had a "loose policy" around letting only paying customers use the bathroom, though it was up to the discretion of individual store managers.
"We don't want to become a public bathroom, but we're going to make the right decision 100 percent of the time and give people the key," Schultz said at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. "Because we don't want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are 'less than.' We want you to be 'more than.' "
Two black men, business partners Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, both 23, were arrested on April 12 as they sat in a Philadelphia Starbucks after not buying anything and asking to use the restroom.The store manager called the police after asking them to leave — a "terrible decision," Schultz said.
Video of their arrest sparked outrage on social media and accusations of racial bias. Protesters stood outside and inside the Philadelphia Starbucks store where the arrest occurred.
"The company, the management and me personally — not the store manager — are culpable and responsible. And we're the ones to blame," Schultz said Thursday.
"We were absolutely wrong in every way. The policy and the decision she made, but it's the company that's responsible," he added.
Schultz said the company had a "loose policy" around letting only paying customers use the bathroom, though it was up to the discretion of individual store managers.
by James Doubek, NPR | Read more:
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[ed. You still gotta get a key though (and here's where I applaud McDonalds for their no questions asked policy). It might help if government actually did its fucking job and provided basic public services - public bathrooms being one of the most basic.]
[ed. You still gotta get a key though (and here's where I applaud McDonalds for their no questions asked policy). It might help if government actually did its fucking job and provided basic public services - public bathrooms being one of the most basic.]
