Starbucks is closing some stores due to improper actions by those in the community

Some of the stores that Starbucks is closing are located in Seattle, Everett, Los Angeles, and Portland Oregon. Staff and customers have experiences at the stores that are not usually experienced at other stores. For example, Starbucks bathrooms being used for doing drugs, homeless people walking in and causing scenes, and people making those in the store feel unsafe. Starbucks employees at the impacted stores have the opportunity to ask for a transfer to another store.

From the Post-Millennial:

The coffee giant said the move was part of an attempt to increase security at the shops. In a memo to employees released on Monday, Starbucks senior vice presidents for US operations Denise Nielsen and Debbie Stroud said the changes are in response to issues involving “personal safety, racism, lack of access to health care, a growing mental health crisis, rising drug use and more” in the stores.

“We read every incident report you file–it’s a lot,” the pair wrote in the memo. They added, “We cannot serve as partners if we don’t first feel safe at work.”

Starbucks employees have previously told The Post Millennial that they have to deal with customers “doing drugs in bathrooms” and regularly have to clean up drug paraphernalia and needle debris. Additionally, “the homeless wander in off the streets and harass employees and customers.”

A company spokesperson told the Seattle Times that the decisions on which stores to close were based on how many crime-related complaints were logged at each store and if attempts to lower those rates were successful.

The company also announced that store managers will be allowed to decide if store bathrooms are open to to non-paying customers and that new stores will be redesigned for safety and workers will be trained on how to deal with active shooters and use conflict de-escalation.

According to the memo, redesigns for safety will include “adjusting store formats, furniture layouts, hours of operation, staffing, or testing store-specific solutions.” The upgrades could also include bathroom occupancy sensors and alarm systems plus company paid ride shares for employees.

The Post-Millennial has more information here.

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