Starbucks Barista Risks Job Over "Skinny" Newspeak

[Omaha Steve]

http://gothamist.com/2008/01/04/starbucks_baris.php

January 4, 2008

The non-official Starbucks Gossip Blog posted a letter Wednesday that one disgruntled New York employee fired off to the company’s top brass. The barista wrote not to protest Starbucks’s aggressive ubiquity, their resistance to fair trade coffee, or their union busting tactics. No sir, she’s up in arms about the new company policy instructing employees to refer to drinks made with sugar-free syrup, non-fat milk, and no whipped cream as “Skinny.”



The unidentified author acknowledges that her objections place her at “risk of being reprimanded for insubordination” but she has decided that her conscience will not allow her to follow this “new method for ‘calling and marking’”. It’s a long, strident letter, so we’ve culled the most impassioned pull-quotes:

Imagine going to work for several hours at a time, and hearing the term "skinny" being called out countless times. It will undoubtedly have a negative affect on a person's self-esteem that may already be low from living in a society that is generally not accepting of people who do not fit the mold of a "beautiful" person.

It creates an environment that people will not want to be in. It will exacerbate self-image issues that partners of ANY size may have. Why would ANYONE want to go into a store where they will hear potentially hurtful terms called out repeatedly with no regard as to how they may affect people?

What’s more, the well-caffeinated Cassandra thinks the company is making a catastrophic mistake!

FULL story at link.

[fenriswolf]

1. to all the fat girls at star bucks

i'm sure this is a huge issue

ask me how concerned i am.

[davidinalameda]

2. yet another reason I only patronize Peets

[Catch22Dem]

3. Bullshit story of the day

I don't think calling a coffee made with no sugar and fat-free milk "skinny" is hurtful. Maybe to the coffees made with whole milk, but other than that...

These are the coffees we SHOULD be drinking.