Latino Customer Receives Starbucks Cup With Racial Slur Written On It

A Starbucks customer received a nasty surprise this week after he received drinks with a racial slur written on them.

A Latino man identified only as Pedro said that after ordering two drinks at a Starbucks in La Cañada Flintridge, California, he received drinks that had “beaner” printed on them rather than his name, NBC Los Angeles reports. He does not think the incident was an accident, the customer explained, because the barista addressed him by his name once his order was ready. He later declined the store’s offer of a $50 gift card, presumably offered as an apology, explaining, “I didn’t accept it because it’s like an insult overall.”

Pedro met with Starbucks officials on Thursday, USA Today reports. The company said in an email that Pedro accepted their apology, and said of the incident itself, “This kind of mistake is unacceptable and we will take additional steps to assess what happened here and how our partners can be better.”

The coffee giant is scheduled to close down 8,000 of its stores on the afternoon of May 29 so that its employees can undergo racial bias training. The move came after two black men who were waiting at a Philadelphia Starbucks for a friend to arrive were arrested after a manager called the police and reported them for trespassing. Protests erupted. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson apologized publicly and met with the two men, who later settled for $1 each and a promise from city officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs, according to USA Today.

[Photo: Getty Images]