Starbucks worker suspended over alleged ‘monkey’ label on drink

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJLA) – A Starbucks employee from Maryland has been suspended after the word “monkey” was reportedly printed as the name on a Black customer’s drink label.

Monique Pugh, a customer believes that the Nov. 19 incident is racially motivated. She says she was the only Black woman at the Starbucks store in Maryland’s Annapolis Mall when an employee reportedly entered “monkey” where her name should have been.

“If you didn’t hear my name, you should have said, ‘Excuse me, can you repeat yourself?’ Not once did she do that. She labeled me what she wanted to label me,” Pugh said.

Impeccable Brands, the company that operates that Starbucks store involved in the incident, says that the “label was made in error.” Nonetheless, in a letter to Pugh, they apologized and said the employee involved has been suspended, pending further investigation.

The company also wrote that with additional training, they will work to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Pugh says she feels the apology and letter were “bogus.”

“To say you’re taking the necessary steps to make sure that word isn’t put on any more customers’ drinks, it’s like, ‘What were you doing before?’” she said. “And the fact that they keep saying it was an honest mistake. So, now, it’s an honest mistake and a labeling error?”

Starbucks spokesperson tried to distinguish between licensed and Starbucks-operated stores, like the one at Annapolis Mall. However, Pugh believes there shouldn’t be any differences in customer service.

“It’s triggering because it’s basically like, ‘OK, this occurred in our store, but we’re wiping our hands clean.’ Maybe [Starbucks] corporate does need to get involved,” she said.

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