Starbucks making more bucks?

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Have you ever walked into your local Starbucks and realized with disappointment that all of the tables were taken? Did you also notice that many of those tables were filled with people on their laptops, with no coffee in sight? Or maybe you were planning to do the same so you could finish up that last homework assignment? 

Regardless of your potential Starbucks plans (and frustrations) this is all about to change.

Closed Doors

Starbucks has recently announced that it will no longer be adhering to its open-door policy. In order to sit in any cafe or use the restroom, it is required that you purchase a product from the store. According to a recent CNN article, Starbucks is releasing this rule as a part of its new code of conduct to improve the experience of its paying customers. This includes the company’s attempt to decrease the amount of homeless people and non-paying customers who come in to use the cafes for the restrooms or as a shelter.

The new code of conduct, which will be posted in stores across North America, also bans discrimination and harassment, smoking/vaping or drug use, consumption of outside alcohol and panhandling. The code is also posted on the Starbucks website and states that if anyone fails to abide by it, they may contact law enforcement.

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The end of an era

The popular open-door policy that many have enjoyed will be coming to an end after being in place for almost seven years. The policy began after an incident at a Philadelphia location in 2018, where two Black men were arrested after one of them asked to use the restroom and was denied. This location was only allowing paying customers to use their restrooms and when the incident was caught on camera, it became a “PR disaster.”

According to CBS News, this change is occurring under the recent leadership of Brian Niccol, who is attempting to make the cafes appealing places to spend time in, as well as re-establish the company’s initial popularity.

We don’t want to become a public bathroom, but we’re going to make the right decision a hundred percent of the time and give people the key.

Howard Schultz, Starbucks Chairman at the time of the 2018 incident 

No more convenience

Many people have had moments when they were out shopping, running errands, or were in a new city and ran into a Starbucks to use the restroom. They go in, ask for the code from an employee and move on with their day. After this announcement, Starbucks will be giving up the “convenience factor” that so many have appreciated. But will they lose customers if the only ones they are losing never come in to buy something? This is a question that can only be answered once the new policy is put into place.

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