Starbucks — Restaurant in Commerce

Starbucks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Driven to Survive" Star and Entrepreneur Subjected to Egregious Racial Profiling and Harassment at Los Angeles Starbucks MARCH 29, 2025 Commerce, CA,- Celebrity Brand Manager/Publicist Patricia Prarat, the star of the upcoming film project, "Driven to Survive," was subjected to blatant racial profiling and relentless harassment at a local Starbucks. Prarat, who is also a Starbucks stockholder, is a multi-talented individual: a celebrity car builder, race car driver and founder of the free automotive school MOTORGODDESS EDU, owner of The Motorgoddess Corporation, and Chief Brand Manager at PHX Brand Agency. Her life story is the subject of the highly anticipated 6-part series from filmmaker Abeni Nazeer. According to witnesses, Prarat, facing a personal emergency, sought refuge at the Starbucks, desperately needing to charge her phone and call for help. Disheveled and carrying her belongings, Prarat politely requested access to an outlet from a Starbucks employee named Dennise. She was coldly informed that the location had no outlets. Forced to stand outside the establishment, Prarat used the store's Wi-Fi to make her crucial calls. During this vulnerable time, a compassionate customer, witnessing Prarat's distress, generously gifted her a coffee and banana bread. However, this act of kindness was overshadowed by the disturbing behavior of Dennise, who allegedly began to aggressively monitor Prarat from inside the store. Witnesses assert that Dennise's actions were driven by racial bias and a prejudiced assumption that Prarat was transient. Despite Prarat being positioned outside, not obstructing any customer traffic, Dennise took it upon herself to confront her, demanding she leave the premises, claiming the area was for customers only. When Prarat pointed out that she was indeed consuming items provided by a customer, Dennise escalated the situation by conducting an intrusive "investigation," questioning both other patrons and Starbucks employees to verify the origin of Prarat's coffee and bread. She then declared that Prarat was not a "customer" because she had not personally purchased the items, and reiterated her demand that Prarat leave. The escalating harassment culminated in Prarat, understandably frustrated and angered, throwing her coffee cup to the ground. In a further act of egregious dishonesty, Dennise fabricated a claim that Prarat had thrown the coffee at another customer. In an interview, Prarat recounted the incident, stating, "I was so angry, I wanted to punch her in the face. But I restrained myself. It was dehumanizing. I felt like I was being treated like a criminal, like I didn't belong. I could feel the heat coming from this woman's eyes and physical demeanor." It is also important to note that Prarat is a frequent patron of this Starbucks location. While typically dressed in corporate attire, she has observed this same employee, Dennise, engaging in similar discriminatory behavior towards other individuals. This is not just an isolated incident, but a reflection of a systemic problem that must be addressed. We demand a thorough investigation into the incident, the swift termination of Dennise, and a public apology to Patricia Prarat. After immediately making a formal complaint Patricia was contacted by the district manager of Starbucks who pledged to circle back and make sure that the employees at that location get further training. We urge Starbucks to implement mandatory anti-bias training for all employees to prevent such incidents from recurring. The fact that a Starbucks stockholder was treated in this manner, and that this employee has demonstrated a pattern of similar behavior, is especially concerning. Contact: Lissete Davis (310) 965-6975...

I’m very disappointed at the service I been getting lately at this location by the manager Eric I have been a customer at this Location daily for a few months I had a drink not at my liking and it was replaced by daisy and the next time my drink was made it was full caffeine and I am aware that decaf is not fully decaf as he put it but I drink it daily so I know the difference when I called to complain about my drink Eric insinuated that it was me and he didn’t know what to do as he said when he could have fixed it today I went in to get my daily drink I got 1 regular shot and mostly decaf when Eric came to the window to give me my drink and he was acting very sarcastic repeating to me what I ordered like I didn’t already know he does not have to come to the window to personally give me my order every time. I’m feeling uncomfortable at this point and am considering going to another location he really needs to work on his people skills i thought the customer was always right I guess not I guess I’m supposed to just take and accept what I get at this point even if it isn’t right even when I...

I am leaving a one star review not for the Starbucks coffee but because of the lack of service. It was 56 degrees with a driving rain downpour able to soak you up in a matter of seconds. I arrived to Starbucks through their drive thru service and I kindly ask if I can pull forward to order from their drive thru window since their is no overhang to protect from the down pour where the speaker is located. I noticed two employees looked at me through the window and said no, manger does not allow. I quickly ordered my drinks but not without getting soaking wet first. I pulled forward to pay and pick up my order I asked once again why wasn't I able to order at the window since there were no cars in front of me. Employee repeated manger does not allow. I stated by saying that's well that's not nice you saw me getting soaked. She ignored me and turned away and the drive thru windows cut off my conversation. A different employee handed me my drinks. This is upsetting because I have read Starbucks signs that state "Please pull forward if you need...