Business Ethics – Case Study #5
\nMeet Me at Starbucks
\nOn April 12, 2018, at a Starbucks location in Philadelphia, two black men, Rashon Nelson and
\nDonte Robinson, were waiting for a friend, Andrew Yaffe. Nelson and Robinson were
\nentrepreneurs and were going to discuss business investment opportunities with Yaffe, a white
\nreal estate developer. As they waited, an employee asked if she could help them. They said
\n\u201cno,\u201d that they were just waiting for a business meeting. Then a manager told Nelson that he
\ncouldn\u2019t use the restroom because he was not a paying customer.
\nBecause the two men had not purchased anything yet, a store manager called police, even
\nthough Robinson had been a customer at the store for almost a decade and both men had used
\nthe store location for business meetings before. At least six Philadelphia Police Department
\nofficers arrived. The police officers did not ask the men any questions; they just demanded that
\nthey leave immediately. They declined. The police officers then proceeded to arrest the men for
\ntrespassing. As the arrest occurred, Mr. Yaffe arrived. He said: \u201cWhy would they be asked to
\nleave? Does anyone else think this is ridiculous? It\u2019s absolute discrimination.\u201d The two men
\nwere taken out in handcuffs. They were taken to the police station, photographed, and
\nfingerprinted. They were held for almost nine hours before being released from custody.
\nProsecutors decided that there was insufficient evidence to charge the men with a crime.
\nAfter a video of the arrest went viral, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson released a statement: \u201cWe
\napologize to the two individuals and our customers and are disappointed this led to an arrest.
\nWe take these matters seriously and clearly have more work to do when it comes to how we
\nhandle incidents in our stores. We are reviewing our policies and will continue to engage with
\nthe community and the police department to try to ensure these types of situations never
\nhappen in any of our stores.\u201d
\nJohnson then announced that every company-owned Starbucks location in the nation would
\nclose on May 29, 2018, for \u201cracial-bias education.\u201d When one customer complained on
\nFacebook that closing the stores because of just one incident seemed overkill, Starbucks
\nresponded: \u201cThere are countless examples of implicit bias resulting in discrimination against
\npeople of color, both in and outside our stores. Addressing bias is crucial in ensuring that all our
\ncustomers feel safe and welcome in our stores.\u201d A similar complaint about closing thousands of
\nstores because of the actions of a handful of employees prompted this response from
\nStarbucks: \u201cOur goal is to make our stores a safe and welcoming place for everyone, and we
\nhave failed. This training is crucial in making sure we meet our goal.\u201d
\nDiscussion Questions
\n1. Do you think the manager of the Starbucks in Philadelphia thought of herself as racist?
\n2. Do you think that what happened to Nelson and Robinson would have happened had they
\nbeen white?
\n3. What stereotypes were invoked in this case and by whom?
\n4. How did stereotyping influence and\/or frame the situation for the manager? For the police?
\nFor bystanders?
\n5. What is your opinion about Starbucks\u2019 response to the arrest of Nelson and Robinson?
\n6. Will Starbucks\u2019 training session on implicit bias have a beneficial impact?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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