STUPIDI-TEA
Starbucks to pay woman €12k over ‘slanty’ eyes cup
A STARBUCKS outlet has been ordered to pay €12,000 to an Irish customer with Thai heritage after an employee drew “slanty” eyes on the woman’s matcha tea latte cup.
Atercin Liffey Unlimited, trading as Starbucks Tallaght in South Dublin, must compensate Suchavadee Foley after the Workplace Relations Commission found she was racially harassed when attending the outlet on January 12 last year.
Adjudication officer Kevin Baneham said it is not disputed an employee drew an image of a smile and “slanty” eyes on the cup as a way of marking it as Ms Foley’s.
Mr Baneham added the complainant “has Thai-irish heritage and it is clear that the visual depiction relates to her race. It is as offensive and as unimaginative as a 19th century Punch cartoon”.
He said: “Instead of her name, a physical descriptor was used, in this case her eyes. This was not a drawing of the complainant but a sketch of one part of her and one clearly associated with race.” The officer added the employee did not intend to harass Ms Foley but it is clear the drawing “had a degrading and humiliating effect” on her.
The Starbucks outlet had denied CASE what occurred was racist. But Mr Baneham described Ms Foley’s account of the incident’s impact on her as “compelling”.
Ms Foley told the hearing she was “shocked and nervous” after the employee showed her the cup with the eyes as a way of identifying her for its collection.
She said she was too uncomfortable to collect the drink and her boyfriend returned to the counter to get it for her.
Ms Foley added she felt offended as this incident demeaned her. She said she had been racially abused and this was not a friendly event.
She added that she does not like confrontation and, after receiving the latte cup, her boyfriend approached the counter and spoke with the supervisor, who came to apologise. The supervisor offered vouchers but Ms Foley did not want them.
The employee told the hearing she drew a smiley face as she thought Ms Foley was glamorous. She said she was very sorry.
A Starbucks spokeswoman said yesterday: “We are deeply sorry this incident took place and we have no tolerance for discrimination of any kind at Starbucks.”