USA TODAY International Edition
When is it OK to kick someone out of a store?
Businesses rethink rules after Starbucks arrests
Under what circumstances can a clerk or other employee order someone to leave a store?
The answer is there are a few acceptable reasons, but legally they had better be consistent and within store policy — and race is never one of them.
The question has come up amid a national uproar stemming from the videotaped arrest of two black men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia.
The men were denied use of a restroom because they didn’t order food or drinks. The store manager called police when they refused to leave, explaining they were waiting for a friend. As video rolled, the friend arrived as police led the pair away in handcuffs. They were later released when Starbucks didn’t press charges.
In the video, they are neatly groomed, wearing casual clothes and not causing a ruckus.
“If somebody is being disruptive or occupying very limited space ... people would understand asking somebody to leave the premises,” says Reginald Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “But even so, there’s only a certain amount of leeway they have in doing that.”
Starbucks said Tuesday that it will close its more than 8,000 companyowned stores in the U.S., as well as its corporate offices on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct anti-discrimination training. The company’s CEO apologized and had discussions with the two men who were arrested. The manager who called the police no longer works for the chain.
Someone who is “yelling and disrupting the environment ... or damaging the property” could likely generally be asked to leave a store or restaurant, says Robert Dodge, an executive vice president with G4S Corporate Risk Services, a risk consulting group. But specific policies for what constitutes unacceptable behavior can vary.
Dodge says most companies will consult with an attorney to come up with guidelines. Starbucks said it is reviewing its policies. Once those policies are established, security professionals say it’s critical that companies apply them consistently to all. Appearance shouldn’t matter. “Whether they’re dressed in suits, whether they’re dressed in baggy pants, whether they’re dressed in sweatpants, the policy has to apply across the board, equally and fairly,” says Edward Troiano, owner of Knight Security.
Customers should be made aware of the rules, and if someone is believed to be violating them and asked to leave, they should still be treated with kindness and respect, Troiano says.
If they refuse to go, “then unfortunately, the third step ... is to say, ‘Look, you have to leave or we have to call the cops,’ ” he says. When that occurs, “you’ve got to make sure all those t’s (are crossed) and i’s are dotted, that you treated them fairly, you treated them equally and you treated them according to company policy.”