She was shocked when she discovers her Starbucks drink labeled “monkey”.
In November, Monique Pugh went to order a venti caramel frappuccino online and picked it up at her local Starbucks in Annapolis, Maryland, She tells Today.com that upon arrival she told a barista her name to pick up the drink. She then mention that it took a while for her to get the drink as it was a long line.
“I can see from a distance, a barista picks up (my) drink and she looks at it weird, says ‘venti Caramel Frap’ and backed away,” she told Insider.
After noticing that the drink had the label “Monkey” on it she was in shock.
“My heart just drops,” she told the publication. “It was one of those in-the-moment things where your heart just drops and you’re just like, ‘What?’”
Though shocked by this discovery she soon moved her attention to the fact that her drink was made incorrectly. She addressed concerns to another barista about the incorrectly made drink and was met with aggression.
“He and I were going back and forth about whether the drink was made correctly and then I had to stop myself and realized ‘monkey’ was written on my cup,” she said.
After seeing that she was the only Black person in the store she asked him: “Why am I the only Black person in the store and ‘monkey’ is written on my cup?”
"The general manager said it was an honest mistake. I don't buy it." A Maryland woman says Starbucks insulted her a second time after she says a worker put "Monkey" on her cup instead of her name. The fallout at 11 @7NewsDC pic.twitter.com/IKIjwqN1JV
— Carl Willis (@CarlWillisTV) November 24, 2022
The male barista was dismissive about the incident and said it was a mistake. Pugh found the whole matter “triggering” and said, “Customers were looking at me and I was just embarrassed.”
She was refunded for the drink, without any apology at the time.
Later Pugh brought up this matter to the corporate and the Starbucks employee responsible for this was suspended from their job.
In the letter that was sent to TODAY.com from Starbucks Representative explained that they had reached out and apologized to her for the incident and were investigating the incident. They would also conduct more diversity and inclusion training for staff members.
Pugh is currently set to discuss with the regional director about the matter at an undecided date.