Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Philadelphia Starbucks Faces Backlash After Cashier Mistakenly Prints 'Isis' On Muslim Men's Cups

Philadelphia Starbucks Faces Backlash After Cashier Mistakenly Prints 'Isis' On Muslim Men's Cups
Maskot/Getty Images

Grabbing a quick cup of coffee turned into quite a sour experience for a group of Muslim young men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia recently.

The three stopped at the Starbucks location to get some coffee to-go and had already grabbed their drinks and left the store before realizing what had been printed in the "customer name" section on their drink labels.


In that spot where a name should have been was "*ISIS*" instead of the name of the person who had ordered the drinks.

Niquel Johnson had given his Muslim name, Aziz, when asked for a name for the order. Johnson said that he has been using the name for the last 25 years and has never had this issue before.

Abigail Hauslohner reported the incident on Twitter:

The group were frequent visitors of this particular location, as it is in their neighborhood and close to their workplace.

It is also frequented by the congregants of a nearby mosque, so employees are used to seeing Muslim customers.

Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges told The Washington Post:

"After investigating, we don't believe this was a case of discrimination or profiling. The customer approached and provided the name Aziz. The barista mistakenly spelled it incorrectly. We have connected with Mr. Johnson and apologized for this regrettable mistake."

An earlier statement from the Starbucks official claimed that the company had contacted Johnson's family to relay their apologies. But Johnson says the niece, Alora, they claimed to have spoken to does not exist in his family.

So not only did Starbucks fail to properly follow up on the online complaint from Johnson, but they also discussed the case with an unknown woman who has no relation to Johnson and allowed her to speak for him.

Johnson had provided his own phone number on the online complaint form, so it should have been simple to make sure they were contacting the correct person.

On a call with another Starbucks representative, Brian Dragone, there were attempts to reconcile how the company managed to speak to someone unrelated to Johnson and to apologize.

Johnson was not interested in empty apologies, however:

"No, this can't be resolved by a simple apology at this point. I feel as though I was discriminated against, and there's no apology that can simply be an apology at this point. I just think your colleague is making this story up."

Johnson is considering legal action against the company, but has not decided on a course of action yet, saying:

"I feel like they're not taking it seriously as it is. You think they would have their facts in order. How could they allow anyone to speak for me?"

Several people on Twitter pointed out that Starbucks baristas' track record for spelling names is not that great, lending credence to that possible explanation.



Given incidents of racial profiling and discrimination at Starbucks locations over the past few years, including one that caused the company to shut down its locations for a full day for sensitivity training, one would think that employees would be better trained.

Even if the name on the cups was an honest spelling error or a case of having misheard the name in a loud environment, the way that Starbucks has handled the complaint process has definitely failed to hold up to expectations.

The book American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear is available here.

********

Listen to the first two episodes of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!', where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.

Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.

More from Trending

Gayle King; Alan Shepard
Entertainment Tonight; Space Frontiers/Getty Images

Gayle King Just Compared Herself To Alan Shepard After Her Space Flight—And The Mockery Was Swift

The all-woman Blue Origin space flight doesn't seem to have elicited the response from the public that anyone involved expected, and CBS Mornings host Gayle King isn't having it.

Waves of criticism have been leveled at the participants for their out-of-touch statements about the trip, the expense and pollution of which have struck many as a "let them eat cake" moment in these times.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nancy Mace
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Pre-K Teacher Goes Viral For Her Clapback After Nancy Mace's 'LGBTQ' Alphabet Gripe

South Carolina MAGA Republican Representative Nancy Mace has used her hatred to make a name for herself, and "transphobe" and "TERF" are an integral part of that name.

If Mace isn't spouting transphobic slurs on the floor of Congress or in public appearances in the Midwest, she's posting her hate online.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at rally
@Acyn/Blue Sky

Someone Flew A 'Trump Country' Banner Over Bernie And AOC's Packed Rally—And AOC Clapped Back Hard

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had the perfect response after one of President Donald Trump's supporters flew a banner reading "Folsom Is Trump Country" over a Northern California rally she held with her colleague, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders.

She brushed off a warning that they were entering “Trump country” as the crowd swelled in deep-red Folsom, a Republican stronghold nestled in Representative Kevin Kiley’s district. Just to drive the point home, a small plane buzzed above the rally, trailing a banner in bold red letters: “Folsom Is Trump Country.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Chuck Grassley speaking to constituents
C-SPAN

MAGA Senator Gets An Earful From Angry Constituents During Iowa Town Hall—And It's Pure Fire

Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was criticized by his "pissed" constituents during a town hall in Fort Madison this week who demanded why he hasn’t taken stronger action to hold President Donald Trump and his administration accountable as tensions escalate with the Supreme Court.

Those in attendance were galvanized by the Trump administration’s refusal to comply with a unanimous Supreme Court order instructing the White House to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Garcia was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador known for its reputation for torture.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Share Their One Key Rule For A 'Friends With Benefits' Relationship

Friends with benefits can seem like a good idea... in theory.

Everybody has a carnal itch to scratch now and again.

Keep ReadingShow less