 |
Starbucks Refuses Reusable Mug, Claims Health Code Violations |
10 Comments |
| By Michael d'Estries in Dumb Ideas, Green Living, Recycling | May 22, 2008 | ||
Like most people, I have a love-hate relationship with Starbucks. Love, because I’m one of the few in my circle of friends that actually enjoys their coffee. Love, because I’ve been somewhat impressed by their green partnerships over the past couple years. Hate, because they sometimes baffle my mind on other initiatives (like, a lack of recycling), and how they basically erode the customer base of local coffee shops. Anyways, I’m less than thrilled to add a new “WTF?” to my Starbucks list. Over on Green Dailyp, contributor Marisa just posted that she was denied the use of a reusable mug at a Starbucks in Pennsylvania. In her own words,
“The woman working the counter held her hands up as I tried to present my mug and said, ‘We aren’t allowed to accept reusable cups. It’s against health code.’ I was flabbergasted, as I had never in my life had my reusable cup refused (and I’ve been using them since 1993). Before I could turn away and cancel my order, they had a regular paper cup sitting on the counter. I didn’t want it to go to waste (and sadly, I really wanted that coffee) so I paid for it and took it, feeling both a little dirty and outraged at the same time.”
This isn’t the first time Marisa has had trouble going mug-friendly at the Bucks. Last month, she had success getting a reusable mug over the counter — but only after the employees had filled a disposable cup first with her brew, poured it into her mug, and then thrown the other cup away. Awesome.
Now, to be fair, there are plenty of Starbuck locations out there that will accept reusable mugs. There just seems to be some inconsistency in the policies handed down from corporate over the idea. We’d love to hear from those that work behind the counter — and if there’s any more information to this story that we’re missing. Does the bucks have an official policy on reusable mugs? Is it really a health code violation? Because seriously, my local shops have been doing this for years and they’re still in business. Let us know your thoughts.
via Green Daily
[UPDATE] Some great comments below that explain the reason behind the policy a bit more. Thanks to everyone that left notes!
Loading ...
MichelleBennett said,
any chance this is a local regulation unique to PA?
Amy said,
I’m an ex barista, the last time I worked there was about 3 years ago, and company policy is supposed to be that local health department rules supercede Startbucks’ regulations. It doesn’t always work that way. It’s probable that her local health department has that regulation.
Barista Joe said,
I agree with Amy. Before taking St.Arbucks to task for this, it’s best to realize that ALL food service establishments are held to the local health codes over their own policies. As I’ve had no problems having mugs filled in various states, it’s most likely out of the hands of the cafe.
That said, it would be nice if they had a little sign that posted the policy they are held to so that the customers aren’t embarassed or angered when turned away.
Peace
VHMPrincess said,
I don’t see why this is such a big deal – DISNEY sells and encourages the use of re-usable mugs so that you only have 1 for the length of your stay. Of course, they make you buy one EVERY YEAR, but that’s better than 1 per drink!
Kiashu said,
I can’t speak about US law, but in Australia it works like this: the place serving you food is responsible if you get sick from the food they’ve prepared for you and the dishes they prepared it in.
If a restaurant gives you a drink of lemonade, and the edge of the glass is chipped and cuts you, they’re responsible. If you ask for a doggie bag and they take the half-eaten food back into the kitchen to fill the bags to give to you, and you take that lukewarm food home, leave it on the bench to grow bacteria and then eat it and get sick, they’re responsible – so if a customer asks for a doggie bag, we give them the bag, since legally then we’re not serving them food, they’re serving themselves.
So if the customer’s own mug they brought along to the restaurant themselves were chipped or had been cleaned with chlorine bleach and not rinsed properly, or had mold or whatever, and the customer suffered from that, they could sue.
Thus, no regulations prevent the shop from letting the customer use their own mug, but if they do so they’re taking a risk. Already restaurants suffer from customers claiming there’s a hair in their food (same customer comes in every week and finds a hair every time), that the oysters were off (”I only had a dozen and a half and I feel ill!”) and so on. Ninety percent or more of the complaints are frivolous or simply trying to get freebies, but ten percent are genuine and could lead to legal action. Why should restaurants open themselves up to more trouble?
So what we have here is a clash of values. On the one hand we want restaurants to have extremely high food safety practices, far higher than anyone practices in their own home. When was the last time you bleached your chopping board? Have you ever defrosted meat in a sinkful of warm water? Did you know that rice can cause food poisoning? Does everyone in your household wash their hands after going to the toilet? But we want restaurants to be better than that, and we expect the law to back us up.
But on the other hand we want to be able to do token greenish things like have reusable coffee mugs. So there’s a tension between the two. Food safety and the environment: which is more important to you?
Nonetheless, this is meaningless tokenism. To grow the coffee beans some of the poorest people in the world clear forests, burning the stumps. The land to grow the coffee beans is then doused with artificial fertiliser made from natural gas, leaking greenhouse gas nitrous oxide into the air. The beans are then roasted in an electric oven powered by coal-generated electricity. The roasted beans are then packed into a cargo ship burning bunker oil for a cross-ocean journey. They’re then broken up into smaller bags along a conveyer belt powered by coal-generated electricity, and packaged in oil-derived plastics and put on the back of diesel-burning trucks and sent out across the country. Then they go to the coffee shop where a kilowatt coffee grinder grinds them up and a two-kilowatt coffee machine turns them into short blacks, cappuccinos and so on, with the power again coming from burning coal.
At this point we wander into the coffee shop and start worrying about the paper cup’s impact on the environment.
Now some readers will be saying, “okay it’s nearly useless, but I’m doing something…” This is just another example of a token effort we know is useless. Something which we know will have little or no effect, but we do anyway because it makes us feel good. Also known as slacktivism.
If you want your coffee-drinking to have less impact, drink less coffee. Or even none. But really there are more significant things you could be focusing on, like how you get your electricity, how much of it you use, how you travel about, what you eat, and so on.
Shannon said,
Hi,
I currently work at Starbucks in Kansas and not only do we accept reusable mugs and cups, we give those who bring them a $0.10 discount for doing so. My guess is that there is a state health law that prevents them from doing so at her local store.
Thanks,
Shannon
Jessica said,
I am an owner of an independent coffee shop where we encourage our customers to bring their own mugs and even offer a 50 cent discount for people who do bring their own travel/ reusable mug.
Perhaps, this little incident will encourage people to support local establishments instead of continuing to pour money back into corportate demons. Just my 0.02
Tami said,
I completely agree with Kiashu, with one exception. I have major issues with tokenism. I am a vegetarian, live off the grid, collect rainwater, grow my food. Blah blah blah. I would love if everyone did that but that’s not reality. These people are going to drink coffee EVERDAY. Everyday a new cup, sometimes more than once. Multiply that buy hundreds of millions and you have a real problem. Slacktivism is so much better than not giving a damn whatsoever. And it is people like Kiashu that add to the problem when they say there is no point to a step in the right direction because of all the issues. It sickens me when so called environmentalists make comments like that.
Chet said,
Tami,
I completely agree. We can come up with excuses for NOT doing something at every turn. I don’t believe anything Al Gore says because he has a big house. I’m not going to recycle because hardly anyone else does and it makes no difference. Etc . . . etc . . . Does bringing your own mug to a coffee shop change the world? Maybe, in some small way. You have to start somewhere, it might as well be with a reusable mug.
Marie said,
I just received a reusable mug I have not tried to use it my complaint is…I measured it and it only holds barely 11 ounces so not only do I pay for a 12 ounce coffee I have to wash my cup??? So I loose twice.. I will probably use it at home only. Even for .10 less not worth the price!