Starbucks 'Homophobic Rant' Witnessed By Couple In Long Island Sparks Investigation

East Hampton, NY Patch:

Starbucks is investigating a firing at a Centereach Starbucks after a Springs couple witnessed the "homophobic rant" directed at a gay employee and wrote about it in their blog.

Read the whole story

Comments

[El Chingaso]

05:20 AM on 06/20/2011

Looks like a lot of the posters below...enjoy getting worked up over nothing. Let it go.

[Daisytoo]

08:12 PM on 06/16/2011

"I am just amazed at the reactions and attention this has gotten," Dana said. "The power of the internet is amazing; it holds everyone accountable for their actions."

Everyone is made accountable except for Missy, who instead of going directly to what she perceived as the source of the problem (the 'abusive' manager) decided - based upon assumptions that could be entirely false - to 'tell' on the manager not only to her employer, but the entire world.

How does this make her different than the manager she's designated as a 'humiliator' of the defenseless?

[IndyStacey]

03:55 PM on 06/17/2011

This isn't grade school and she didn't "tell" on the manager. She reported unprofessional and possilby abusive, illegal activty.

How would confronting the manager have solved anything? The manager is in a positi on power and would likely just have denied everything.

[Daisytoo]

04:38 PM on 06/17/2011

Actually, she behaved precisely like some (particularly immature) grade schoolers might. Instead of going to the source of the problem (according to her, the manager) and making her complaint known, she behaved self indulgently. She eavesdropped and heard partial bits of sentences; trespassed the boundaries of the employee by flinging herself upon him and then then, without knowing anything beyond her own assumptions, she hysterically 'tattled' on the manager to upper management.

Had she chosen to behave like an adult and gone directly to the manager and let her know the problem she was experiencing, then she would -- at the very least - have more accurate information to go on. Having accurate info would not cause her to forfeit her right to contact Starbucks (if that was even called for) but would have afforded her the opportunity to do so w/moral clarity, not w/the incoherent emotional mess she dumped in their laps w/the letter she sent.

Being gay does not mean never having to say you're sorry.

[midknightryder13]

05:10 PM on 06/16/2011

Regardless of WHY the manager was "ranting", the fact that he was doing it IN PUBLIC in front of customers, not to mention other employees deserves that the incident be looked into. One sterling rule of management is that disciplinary actions/talks/etc are ALWAYS done out of public view and usually in private.

[Poneez02]

02:34 PM on 06/18/2011

So many folks are missing that point as well. If it was a performance review, it should have been conducted in a private location, not at a table in the middle of of the store. Furthermore, comments from the other employees should not have been invited and/or encouraged by the manager conducting the review

[Six Gator]

03:14 PM on 06/16/2011

why is it "called" a phobia?....

[FactsvsFear]

01:47 PM on 06/16/2011

She's full of it. A homophobic rant and the worst she has ever heard and she did not provide one single detail about what was said? Only very very general conversation bits.

[Parkite]

05:15 PM on 06/16/2011

You obviously did not read her letter. He should be used to it. "He didn't turn gay overnight."
How's that for homophobic rant?

[mercury613]

09:33 PM on 06/16/2011

“I’m done. I’m done. Nobody wants to hear it anymore. I don’t care who he is dating. I don’t want to hear about it.”

“He should not get upset at the things people say to him. He should be used to it. It’s not like he turned gay yesterday.”

“I used to listen to it, now I’m just sick of hearing about it.”

“Nobody does, but it’s over now. You won’t have to hear about it anymore.”

---------------------------------------

Sounds pretty detailed to me.

[FactsvsFear]

01:11 PM on 06/17/2011

Also sounds like a person who talks to much about their dating and personal love life too much. I would say they same for a straight person.
Also she said the worst homophobic rant and slurs
She had ever heard. What were the names? If that is the worst homophobic slur she had ever heard then she must not have ever heard just about any republican in office speak.

[FactsvsFear]

01:39 PM on 06/16/2011

Anyone who thinks Starbucks has a problem with Gays is crazy. And so now is it OK to rant about politics or your personal sex life while on the clock or in front of customers now? I am no conservative and am a Gay rights advocate and my wife and I teach our kids not to be tolerant because tolerant means to kind of accept something that's wrong we teach them gay folks are just another of the variety of people in the world that are who they are and we donate to the Human rights campaign. So lets get that figured out before I get slammed by my fellow Liberals on this. I didn't see enough specifics to indicate that this was clearly a case of homophobia and seems more to me a overreaction from a gay couple that didn't like a gay person being told to stop unprofessional behavior at the work place. Gay or not if I was the Manager I would discipline the employee. And doing so in front of the other employees, so? He didn't seem to mind bringing them into his sex life or politics. I believe that homophobia is a problem in many aspects of our society but I think it's seen many times when it's not really there. Unprofessional behavior is unprofessional behavior. You shouldn't get some kind of pass because your gay.

[IndyStacey]

04:00 PM on 06/17/2011

We don't know what Jeffrey's comments were about his personal life. It may have been something as innocuous as mentioned he had a date with a person with an obivously male name. Now if he was talking about intimite details, then sure, reprimand him. But it sounds as though a different sett of rules was beign applied to Jeffrey because he was gay. After all, the woman overheard the other works talking about their personal lives. So they were being hypocritical.

Certainly, one should know carry on about politics or religion at work. But sharing little bits of your personal life with co-workers is normal. Healthy even.

[NRR]

01:03 PM on 06/16/2011

From a management viewpoint. When working in a service industry every employee (gay, straight, pink, purple, etc.) should not discuss politics or relationship status. You are there to accomdate customers. Conversations should be to the customer and focus on the customer.

[Hiddenfangs]

07:14 PM on 06/16/2011

Never happens. Employees will talk to each other. Customers, who may know the employees, will chat. Do you expect people, in a slow period, to simply say nothing to each other? In a service industry, yes, customers are the focus but employees do talk to one another.

[mercury613]

09:34 PM on 06/16/2011

People talk about their friends, boy/girlfriends, husbands, wives *all the time* at work. The only time anyone ever seems to have an issue with it is when the person in question is not gay.

[jws2346]

12:07 PM on 06/16/2011

Impressive, it used to be "beware of a womans scorn" and nows it's "beware of a busy bodies scorn". I think there may be way more to this incident then we're being privy to. If, indeed the manger was reproaching the individual because of sexual preference he/she needs to go, if it turns out the manager was simply trying to get the dude to do his/her job hen things are difference. I'm seeing too much of this "crying wolf" about racism, homophobia, etc.

[Six Gator]

01:10 PM on 06/16/2011

agreed....and over-sensitivity because the responses to witnessed events are like this one. --with everything "going viral" and making them 12 minute celeb's!
So you get yelled at, deal with it! Doubtful homo-phobia (the dumbest word in use today) had thing one to do with the encounter. Sure could have, just doubtful
If you do anythin but over-react to these incidents, though, you're labeled and hated though....like you just drowned a bag of puppies or something. Part of this extra protection agenda, it seems.

If you dislike a Muslim, you're a racist...If you dislike a gay person you have a phobia?....

[SLCPunk]

12:02 PM on 06/16/2011

First guns, now this.

Why can't there be an ethical, environmentally-friendly, tolerant, community-friendly chain that doesn't get purchased by n.u.t.bags and subjected to the "growth model"; thereby abandoning the aforementioned ethos in search of more $$? I'm looking at you too, Huffie.

[MemphisBlues]

11:54 AM on 06/16/2011

Damn iPhone auto corrected some of that. Please forgive the typos.

[MemphisBlues]

11:53 AM on 06/16/2011

Maybe don't ask don't tell should be practiced every where. I don't want to hear heterosexual or homosexual info on a persons private life ever. I should never know if a persons gay or not. If we all acted with a little more professionalism at our jobs this wouldn't happen. Why should anyone no or care if I'm gay or straight. It shouldn't even come up. Keep that info in the closet or bedroom where it belongs. Straight and gay people alike don't want to here about your preferences. They should close the entire Starbucks store and fire them all.

[TYRANNASAURUS]

11:28 AM on 06/16/2011

'Homophobic Rant' At Starbucks Sparks Investigation........

These people are usually hating themselves and struggling with their own suppressed sexual identity and attacking gay people is a way to convince themselves they're not really gay..

[BeautifulOnDaOutside]

12:29 PM on 06/16/2011

Nonsense.

[SantaFeConservative]

01:04 PM on 06/16/2011

Yes, everyone is gay and just don't know it.

[TheOuroborus]

11:14 AM on 06/16/2011

I'm glad Starbucks has decided to investigate this, but for Pete's sake, can't anyone write a letter anymore? It's so poorly drafted I could hardly finish it. That's what went viral?

[LeftofTerry]

11:52 AM on 06/16/2011

what? you weren't expecting a 22 page rough draft of the book? I tried to read, but decided i didn't want to spend the morning with this women (who did a very good thing, i might add).

[Six Gator]

01:18 PM on 06/16/2011

had it not had a "life preference" over-tone, no one would have cared...and the two ladies would never have "penned" the letter....they simply wouldn't have cared!

[Sam Armstrong]

03:04 PM on 06/16/2011

What is a "life preference"?

[juzcuz]

10:27 AM on 06/16/2011

Read this entire article & letter and pleased that woman reported this to Starbucks Corp and if nothing is done & reported... I've had my last cup of Starbucks java.

[Six Gator]

01:12 PM on 06/16/2011

great, I'm selling my stock now...

[Sinister Minister]

10:27 AM on 06/16/2011

If listening to a fellow employee talk about his heterosexual relationships while at work upsets me and I call them a pervert am I being hetrophobic?

[eden4barack08]

11:27 AM on 06/16/2011

If you follow that with firing them,yes.

[battlinbob]

11:36 AM on 06/16/2011

He wasnt fired..

[MoeB]

11:35 AM on 06/16/2011

Did you not read the article/blog? The lady, Missy, who wrote the letter to Starbucks stated that she heard several personal details about the other workers in the store...so they felt it was okay for THEM to discuss their personal lives, just not HIM...and then to berate him in front of an entire store of people is beyond unprofessional.

[Sinister Minister]

03:54 PM on 06/16/2011

You really see no difference between talking about your children's tennis lessons and talking about your sex life at work? Aren't some things too personal to be discussed at work?