Starbucks has been forced to clear things up after a viral video sparked a debate over whether customers could use the late Charlie Kirk’s name when ordering drinks.
The controversy kicked off on 16 September, when a TikTok clip filmed in Yucaipa, California, showed someone trying to order Kirk’s favourite drink: a Mint Majesty tea with two honeys, and asking for his name to be written on the cup.
The barista in the video declined, explaining they 'can’t do political names', but offered to write just 'Charlie' instead. When the customer asked, “Why can't you write the whole name?”, the barista replied: “Because it's political.”
The exchange quickly spread across social media, quickly racking up over a million views. Supporters of Kirk, who was shot dead at a Utah Valley University event on 10 September, aged 31, have since been ordering the same drink in tribute, with many requesting his name on the cup.
With the story making headlines, Starbucks released a short statement to address the situation, saying: “There are no restrictions on customers using Charlie Kirk’s name on their order, and we are following up with our team.”
The following day, the company updated the statement to elaborate further, citing the need to strike a balance between customer freedom and creating a welcoming environment. The updated statement reads: “When a customer wants to use a different name - including the name Charlie Kirk - when ordering their drink in our café, we aim to respect their preference."
It continued: “Starbucks is a company built on human connection. Having a name, rather than a number, attached to a customer order has been a core part of the Starbucks coffeehouse experience for decades. Most customers use their own name."
“Over the years, we have had instances where some people have tried to abuse the system. For example, they’ve provided something that isn’t a name at all, but rather a political slogan with the aim of having our barista shout it out as they hand off the finished drink. And in some cases, as their ‘name,’ they have provided words that are sexually explicit or otherwise offensive.”
The coffee giant said it had given guidance in the past to discourage slogans or phrases being used in place of names, but added: “We are clarifying with our team now that names, on their own, can be used by customers on their café order, as they wish.”
Starbucks also responded to online claims that critical comments had been written on cups in response to Kirk orders, saying: “We’ve reviewed recent social media posts alleging that critical comments were written on Starbucks cups. Our investigation, which included a review of timestamped in-store video footage, confirms that in the cases shared so far, the comments were not written by a Starbucks partner. They appear to have been added after the beverage was handed off, likely by someone else.”
The company wrapped up its statement by insisting: “We are committed to creating a welcoming space where every customer can enjoy a great cup of coffee served by a friendly barista. And we hope our customers visit us with the same positive intent. Thank you for being a part of the Starbucks community.”
FOODbible has approached Starbucks for further comment.
Starbucks' statement in full:
In response to online discussion about our policy for customer names on orders, we wanted to provide the facts and share some background.
Starbucks is a company built on human connection. Having a name, rather than a number, attached to a customer order has been a core part of the Starbucks coffeehouse experience for decades. Most customers use their own name. And when a customer wants to use a different name — including the name Charlie Kirk — when ordering their drink in our café, we aim to respect their preference.
Over the years, we have had instances where some people have tried to abuse the system. For example, they’ve provided something that isn’t a name at all, but rather a political slogan with the aim of having our barista shout it out as they hand off the finished drink. And in some cases, as their 'name,' they have provided words that are sexually explicit or otherwise offensive.
We aim to be a community coffeehouse where everyone feels welcome, so we have previously provided guidance to our partners to respectfully ask the customer to use a different name when attempting to use political slogans or phrases in place of their name. We are clarifying with our team now that names, on their own, can be used by customers on their café order, as they wish.
We believe handwritten notes on our cups are a meaningful way for our baristas to connect with customers. We have clear policies that prohibit political slogans or negative messages to help preserve a welcoming environment. In the event we receive a report that a message doesn’t comply with our policy, we carefully review each case. We know that neither we, nor our customers, get it right every time.
We also know the markers we use to write on cups are accessible to anyone. And therefore, notes can be easily added to a cup by others after the drink has been handed off by our baristas.
We’ve reviewed recent social media posts alleging that critical comments were written on Starbucks cups. Our investigation, which included a review of timestamped in-store video footage, confirms that in the cases shared so far, the comments were not written by a Starbucks partner. They appear to have been added after the beverage was handed off, likely by someone else.
Hundreds of thousands of Starbucks partners in tens of thousands of coffeehouses work hard every day to take care of millions of customers who come through our doors. And in millions of interactions every day, our dedicated baristas get it right. But in any instance where there may be a misunderstanding or where we don’t meet the mark, we’ll work to learn what happened and address any issues quickly.
We are committed to creating a welcoming space where every customer can enjoy a great cup of coffee served by a friendly barista. And we hope our customers visit us with the same positive intent. Thank you for being a part of the Starbucks community.
Featured Image Credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty ImagesTopics: Starbucks , TikTok, Social Media
Ben Williams