Starbucks fires employee who gave Oklahoma police officer a coffee cup labeled 'pig' on Thanksgiving day
Starbucks has fired its employee, who gave an Oklahoma police officer a coffee cup with the word "pig" printed on the label on Thanksgiving day.
An officer from the Kiefer police department made a stop at the Starbucks in Glenpool to order five cups of coffee for dispatchers who were working on Thanksgiving day. The officer, however, was left disgusted after reading the coffee label, which had the word "pig" printed on it.
Starbucks, in a statement on Friday, apologized for the incident, saying this was unacceptable.
"This is absolutely unacceptable, and we are deeply sorry to the law enforcement officer who experienced this," said the statement. "We have also apologized directly to him and connected with the Chief of the Kiefer Police Department as well to express our remorse. The Starbucks partner who wrote this offensive word on a cup used poor judgement and is no longer a partner after this violation of company policy. This language is offensive to all law enforcement and is not representative of the deep appreciation we have for police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe."
Kiefer Police Chief Johnny O'Mara called the manager of the outlet after the incident and the outlet, in turn, offered to reprint the label if the officer brought the cups back to them. The police chief, however, decided to share a picture of the label on Facebook, writing how the outlet disrespected an officer working away from his family on Thanksgiving.
"So... one of my on-duty officers decides to do something nice for our dispatchers," O'Mara wrote on Facebook. "It's Thanksgiving Day; our dispatchers are under-appreciated as it is. My officer goes to Starbucks to get the dispatchers coffee as a thank you for all they do (especially when they're working a holiday.) This is what he gets for being nice."
"What irks me is the absolute and total disrespect for a police officer who, instead of being home with family and enjoying a meal and a football game, is patrolling his little town," the police chief continued. "This cup of coffee for a 'pig' is just another little flag. It's another tiny pinprick into the heart of men and women who are asking themselves more often: 'Why am I doing this?"
"Just pour the coffee, please. Are we at a point where a task as simple as pouring an exceptionally overpriced cup of coffee is so complicated that it cannot be accomplished without 'expressing oneself?" the officer added. "As a side note, I called the store and was told they'd be happy to 'replace the coffee with a correct label.' The proverb 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me' came to mind. Thank you, first responders, for risking it all this Thanksgiving away from your families. If you're looking for coffee use a place where you pour your own and you're certain of what's in it). Stay safe; go home."
Multiple social media users commented on the police chief's post, slamming the Starbucks outlet for being disrespectful to the officers. One user, Jessica Linnet, wrote: "Oh my gosh!!! That is horrible they did that. So disrespectful. Thank you though for what all you and your officers do for us." While another said expressed his gratefulness to the officers and dispatchers saying: "Thank you and your officers and dispatchers for all you do."