A Starbucks coffee shop in Glasgow’s west end has faced criticism after reportedly refusing to serve a homeless man.
At around 6.30pm last night, staff in the Byres Road branch of the chain allegedly approached the man as he waited in the queue and asked him to leave the premises.
Medical student Eleanor Wilson, 22, says she saw the incident unfold while in the store with her partner.
“I was sitting at a table by the door doing uni work, and saw a homeless man enter. A staff member counting stock nearby clocked him instantly, and watched him as he joined the queue.
“Another member of staff joined the first, and I could vaguely hear them discuss what they should do. At this point he was talking to the customers beside him, but in a benign, friendly way.
“After a few minutes, the staff opted to confront him. They approached him, asked him to leave the queue and told him he had to leave the premises. At this point the man became angry, but I must say I didn’t blame him, as I think any reasonable person would be infuriated by such a set of circumstances. After a short confrontation, the man left.”
Miss Wilson reported that she then no longer felt comfortable in the shop and decided to leave.
“Before leaving, I caught the staff member who asked the man to leave, and told them that I was disappointed to see that incident occur, and would not be returning.
“The member of staff was visibly irritated at my complaint, said they had encountered the man before and told me that ‘I don’t work there so I don’t know what it’s like'”.
Eleanor Wilson is currently president of the Glasgow University Red Alert Society, a group dedicated to tackling period poverty.
The society has collected hundreds of wash bags which have been donated to homeless women’s shelters across Glasgow and beyond.
She added that before leaving the store following yesterday’s incident, other customers defended the stance taken by the staff.
“Reluctant to cause a scene, we left it at that, but were called back by two customers leaping to the staff member’s defence. They told us that the staff members put up with a lot, have used their own money to help these people but have received nothing but abuse in return.
“They told us it’d be different if it was us having to deal with it, yet shrugged off us informing them that as medical students we regularly encounter homeless patients and do not resort to such behaviour.”
This is not the first incident of its kind to take place in Glasgow. In January, Starbucks’ Royal Exchange Square branch caused social media uproar after a staff member wouldn’t allow a homeless teenager to enter the shop. Last year, Glasgow Live also reported that a homeless man was refused service in their Buchanan Street store.
Kathryn Stewart, district manager for Starbucks UK, issued a statement reading: “Our store managers work hard each day to create a warm and welcoming place for customers to visit us. There are a small number of occasions when action is needed to protect the safety of our customers and store teams. In long-running cases such as this, we work closely with the police. This store team continue to contribute to initiatives supporting the local homeless community on a regular basis.”
One person who left a comment on The EDIT’s Facebook post about the story said: “Been in this Starbucks on many occasions must say I’ve witnessed the complete opposite staff couldn’t be more helpful and kind and that includes homeless people . They really do go out their way . Should be getting recognised for going beyond their duty instead of getting slated 
🙁 Always two sides to every story 
🙄.”
But Miss Wilson added that the incident, along with her work with the Red Alert Society, have demonstrated the treatment of homeless people across the wider city to her.
“Homeless people in Glasgow are treated largely, not with compassion and empathy as they deserve, but with irritation, resentment and absolute intolerance. These people are arguably the most vulnerable in society, and this is just further evidence of how our society is failing them.”
She has urged those concerned by the incident to consider donating to the Simon Community, a charity dedicated to helping homeless people and volunteers live and work together to end rough sleeping.
Today, Paul Sweeney brought up the incident at Westminster during a Commons debate.
