The Conversation (0)
Becca Monaghan
Aug 12, 2024
Baristas Say to Avoid These Drinks
ZMG - Buzz60 / VideoElephant
A woman has gone viral on TikTok after sharing a clip of a bizarre coffee shop policy that forbids customers from buying homeless people a drink.
In the clip that's racked up more than 5.3 million views at the time of writing, TikToker @superheroeveryday2 shared while she was walking her dog, a homeless man asked if she could buy him a coffee. The TikToker agreed and left the man minding the dog as dogs weren't allowed in.
She claimed when she entered, the barista said: "If this coffee is for that gentleman outside, I cannot serve you."
The woman said it wasn't, before recording the interaction to follow.
"If somebody wants to buy a homeless person something, you guys don’t—" she said, to which he replied: "We are—I would lose my job."
“If I buy him something?” the TikToker asked.
"Yeah, that’s against company policy, I'm sorry," the worker responded.
@superheroeveryday2 I jokingly said this week why cant i ever run into a karen . Then boom i meet a KEN ! He witnessed me speaking to a homeless man and the first thing he said is if the coffee is for him I CANNOT SERVE YOU . I told him i didnt feel harrassed ! He said “im sure you dont but othersssss do “ I said hes a human being he just asked for a coffee sir ! His response “So why doesnt he get a job like the rest of us” …. I was utterlly disgusted !! Why does someone feel so inferior they can choose not to serve me because i wanted to help a BLACK MAN . NOT ON MY WATCH Tiktok do your thing . If this is their policy they dont deserve OUR business . #racism #karen #discrimination
The TikToker said "what really bothered her" was when she told him: "Sir, he's just a human being that wanted a coffee."
The barista allegedly hit back: "He needs to get a job like the rest of us."
Many supported the woman's decision, with one fellow TikToker writing: "You did the right thing. It’s called humanity."
Another reiterated: "Thank God there are people like you! You’re absolutely right."
Meanwhile, a third penned: "I literally don’t care I’ll buy what I want for who I want. Simple."
However, some who worked in the industry said they understood the policy.
"I've had to tell customers to stop buying a guy stuff because he would hang out in the front the whole time and when people told him no, he would follow them around calling them names," one claimed.
Another said: "As much as it breaks my heart the employee isn’t wrong. We had a homeless man that would always get drinks bought for him and it got to a point where he started to threaten people if they didn’t buy him one."
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Top 100
x