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No purchase needed to sit in Starbucks cafes

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Starbucks Cafes - Level 0

Starbucks has said anyone can enter one of its 8,000 cafes in the USA without buying anything. All staff must treat everyone in the cafe as a customer. Starbucks said anyone who entered a cafe, including restrooms, was a customer. People can now use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet.

The new rule will make things easier for staff. In April, staff told customers to leave a cafe or to not use the bathroom. Two black men were arrested for waiting for a friend. A week later, a black man was told he could not use the bathroom. Starbucks said its cafes weren't public bathrooms, but the new rule was good.

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Starbucks Cafes - Level 1

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has announced that anyone can enter one of Starbucks' 8,000 cafes in the USA without buying anything. Starbucks staff must treat everyone in the cafe as a customer. Mr Schultz said: "Any person who enters our spaces, including...restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer." People can now use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet.

The new rule will make life easier for cafe managers. In April, managers told customers to leave a cafe or to not use the bathroom. Two black men were arrested in handcuffs for waiting for a friend. A week later, a black man was told he could not use the bathroom. He put a video online of a white man using the same bathroom without buying anything. Schultz said he didn't want to make Starbucks a public bathroom, but the new policy was good.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Starbucks Cafes - Level 2

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Starbucks has a new policy about who can use its cafes. CEO Howard Schultz has announced that anyone can enter a Starbucks in the USA without making a purchase. That means people can sit down or use the restrooms. Mr Schulz told all Starbucks staff to treat everyone in the cafe as a customer. He said: "Any person who enters our spaces, including...restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer." People can use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet. The new policy is for more than 8,000 cafes in the United States.

The new policy will make it easier for cafe managers to do their job. There have been recent cases of managers asking customers to leave a cafe or telling them not to use the bathroom. In April, two black men were led out of a cafe in handcuffs for waiting for a friend to arrive before they ordered. A week later, another black man was told he could not use the bathroom. He posted a video online of a white man using the bathroom without buying anything. Mr Schultz said he didn't want to make Starbucks a public bathroom, but the new policy was "the right thing" to do.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Starbucks Cafes - Level 3

The cafe chain Starbucks has made a new policy about who can use its cafes. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has announced that anyone can enter a Starbucks cafe in the USA without needing to make a purchase. That means people are free to sit in the cafe or use the restrooms. Mr Schulz has asked all Starbucks staff to treat every person entering the cafe as a customer. He said: "Any person who enters our spaces, including patios, cafes and restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer." This means people can simply use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet. The new policy applies to more than 8,000 cafes in the United States.

The new policy will also make it easier for store managers and baristas to do their job. There have been high-profile cases recently of managers asking real customers to leave a cafe or telling them they cannot use the bathroom. On April 12, two black men were arrested and escorted out of a Philadelphia Starbucks in handcuffs for waiting for a friend to arrive before they ordered. A week later, another black man was told he could not use the bathroom because he hadn't bought anything. He posted a video online of a white man using the bathroom in the same cafe without buying anything first. Mr Schultz said he didn't want to make Starbucks a public bathroom, but the new policy was "the right thing" to do.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson



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