People Rally Behind Barista Who Refused To Let A Customer Buy Anything For A Homeless Person — ‘As Much As I Hate It He’s Right’
The barista claimed he would lose his job if he allowed her to do so.
Auttapol Sangsub | Shutterstock A woman who advocates for people to "be a superhero every day" was told by a barista at a local coffee shop she wasn't allowed to buy a coffee for a homeless person outside.
Although it sounds bad on its face, people rallied behind the barista who was following store policy so he didn't lose his job.
The barista refused to let the customer buy anything for a homeless person.
"[The barista] witnessed me speaking to a homeless man and the first thing he said is if the coffee is for him I cannot serve you," the woman, @superheroeveryday2 on TikTok, wrote in the caption of her video.
“I will lose my job,” the barista stated firmly, adding that it's against company policy to allow a customer to buy anything for a homeless person.
“What’s the policy?” the woman questioned.
“The policy is that that causes trouble for our employees because it has people harassing customers out front,” he responded
The woman was shocked and outraged by the barista's words. In the caption of her video, she dubbed him a "Ken" — the male equivalent of a "Karen."
She told the barista that she didn't feel harassed; however, he claimed that other customers did.
“I said, ‘He’s a human being! He just asked for a coffee, sir!” she added. “His response: ‘So why doesn’t he get a job like the rest of us?’”
destiawan nur agustra | Pexels
Despite the harshness of the barista’s response, many commenters defended him.
Although the barista certainly could have been a bit gentler in the manner he spoke to the woman, many rushed to defend his stance in comments on her video.
“I think you need to look at it from the employee’s perspective and the company,” one user insisted. “I’ve been in that position, and the homeless person always comes in asking where is said employees who gave it to them.”
“I can understand as someone who works in food, because when customers stop buying them things, then they turn to harassing employees,” another commenter wrote.
One person might have summed up the situation best when they wrote, “As someone in the food industry, I understand. But also, as a human, I don’t.”
In a follow-up video, the woman insisted that the barista needed to work on his delivery and empathy. She explained that the barista didn't greet her and she didn't even have a chance to order before he touted company policy.
"If that's your policy, it's the way that you talk to people," she stated.
"What really bothered me is when I said, 'Sir, he's just a human being that wanted a coffee.' His response was [that] he needs to get a job like the rest of us," she continued. "You're working at a coffee shop. Your job is to make this man his coffee that I just paid for."
This is not the first time someone trying to feed the homeless has been refused service.
As can be inferred from the comments on the video, this is far from the first time someone trying to do a good deed has found themselves in this situation.
In 2014, NBC 7 San Diego reported on a similar story in which a pair of women were approached by a homeless man and asked for money. The women refused to give him money but said they would buy him a meal from a nearby bar.
When they entered the bar and said the food was for the homeless man, the cook denied them service.
The news station stated, “NBC 7 did talk to several legal experts who said refusing to serve people is, in most circumstances, legal. Restaurants that have had past problems with customers or have had a problem with panhandlers targeting their customers often see it as a way to stop what could become a bigger issue.”
Huckleberry Insurance confirmed this. “Federal law in the U.S. indeed says businesses have a right to refuse service to anyone,” they said.
Although it may seem rude, sad, or unfair, this barista was within his rights to refuse to serve someone buying food for a homeless person.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.