Ever felt like your morning coffee runs were missing just a little bit of uncomfortable conversation with strangers about a sensitive topic? Great news! Starbucks wants to fix that.
After holding meetings with thousands of its company partners on race relations, Starbucks is now launching a campaign with USA Today titled “Race Together” and encouraging baristas to voluntarily “engage customers in conversation” by scribbling about it on their lattes. According to Starbucks’ website:
“What if we were to write ‘Race Together’ on every Starbucks cup and that facilitated a conversation between you and our customers?” CEO Howard Schultz asks in a video shared with Starbucks employees. “And what if our customers as a result of that had a renewed level of understanding and sensitivity about the issue?”
Baristas will not be required to do this, and if customers reject the cups, Schultz tells them they can pour a new drink. But Schultz also advises willing employees to “try to engage them in a discussion.”
“The person next to you, who might be different from you, but doesn’t have the same opportunity, and for that matter, may feel a sense of hopelessness because of an unconscious bias people have toward that person,” he says.
The company also bought full-page spreads in the New York Times and USA Today to publicize their campaign:
“We at Starbucks should be willing to talk about these issues in America,” Schultz said in a statement. “Not to point fingers or to place blame, and not because we have answers, but because staying silent is not who we are.”
Starbucks has never been reticent to make its business political, and has previously dipped its toes into debates over everything from gun control to the government shutdown.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, the idea does not seem to have quite won over all hearts and minds:
The last person I wanna discuss race with is a snotty condescending 18 yr old barista that corrects me when I say “large” instead of “venti”
— fateha (@fatehazarika) March 17, 2015
If race relations are not solved after I get my coffee can I get a refund @Starbucks
— KeshRue (@KeshRue) March 17, 2015
