A North Carolina woman says baristas at a Starbucks in Charlotte made fun of her for ordering coffee while wearing a Donald Trump campaign T-shirt. According to Fox 46, Kayla Hart was wearing “Trump for President 2016” gear when she entered the shop, and “[i]nstead of being greeted with a smile, Kayla said the cashier laughed and her order was labeled with a political message, mocking her support for the president.”
When she went to pick up her venti green iced tea with peach syrup, she discovered something much less refreshing — the words “Build a Wall” had been written where her name goes, which is hard to believe was a misspelling of “Kayla,” even at Starbucks.
“They shouted out, ‘Build a wall,’ and shoved a drink at me, and then all the baristas in the back started cracking up laughing,” Hart explained, adding it caused enough of a scene for other customers to stare at her. “This isn’t me trying to get people to stop going to Starbucks,” she explains to Fox 46. “I just want it to be put out there so people know this is what’s occurring. I don’t think it’s right you should be humiliated for wearing a t-shirt with your opinion on it.”
Hart called the corporate offices after she left, and says she’s waiting to hear back from the district manager before deciding whether to return again. Starbucks released a statement clarifying that the incident “is not consistent” with its corporate standards for greeting customers, which seems obvious. The store’s baristas were reprimanded, and Starbucks higher-ups hope this will provide an excellent “coaching opportunity for the future.”
