Amputee Vet and his dog turned away from Starbucks (shaking, training, food)

[no kudzu]

How is this happening...still. Don't these people believe in educating their employees on THE LAW? This is so heartbreaking and sad.
Amputee veteran turned away by Starbucks who won't let his service dog in store | Mail Online

[foxywench]

so frustrating...
I mean heavens forbid employees be taught THE LAW...
heck ADA has a simple FAQ page online that can be printed off and posted anywhere....I think it should eb REQUIRED for at minimum the service dog FAQ sheet to be posted on the board with the federal wage and workplace safety information...
as a service dog partner...I see this (and have experienced this) regularly, but no one seems to care that it happens all the time, they only seem to care if they think it might serve some political agenda...in this case disabled military vet vs "liberal" starbucks.

ive taken my service dog into a few starbucks in the past without a problem...so its obviously NOT a starbucks issue but a lack of employee training/understanding issue...

[skelaki]

I hope he at least contacted Starbucks headquarters and complained. And complained to the manager and owner of whatever SB franchise this was (didn't read article).

Obviously these people need to be better trained or they could cause Starbucks and their franchise owner (assuming this SB is a franchise) a heavy lawsuit.

[JasonAndJulie]

How awful. There are no words. Wish I could hug the Veteran. I'm willing to bet the employee was very, very young. It speaks volumes about the current state of many of our youth today. Good thing we don't patronize SB or we might have to stop.

[no kudzu]

I'm constantly amazed at business owners who leave their store or service in the hands of such poorly trained and incompetent workers. Don't they realize they could lose their livelihood by the idiotic behavior or omissions of one stupid kid?

I think of the fast food place where a kid book a bath in the food prep sink and then posted it on Facebook, or the shop who let an automobile out which later proved to be inadequately repaired and subsequently the car's owner was killed.

[melaniej65]

I used to carry a small laminated card that explained the law concerning SDs. I would show the card to the person who questioned/refused service- they would back down when I told them that the fine (it was $1000) might be taken out of their pay if enforced.

I also had no problem taking out my cell and was willing to call the police to make a police report. It always surprised me when someone would question if we were an SD team. I am in a wheelchair, blind and my boy was tied to my chair; he also wore a SD cape and I had an ID issued by the SD trainer (with our picture, eligibility, and the phone number and web site of the school).

The ignorance is amazing - a manager of an Army commissary tried to deny us entrance, so I called the MPs (easy since my DH was an MP and it was his company that responded). I also called the IG and the comm had to hold a class about disabilities and the ADA law regarding SDs. The manager had a warning placed in his file and had to apologize both in person and in writing; he was not happy about apologizing.

[jasper12]

Once again, lets read the WHOLE story, the man was confronted, nothing wrong with this. The man was allowed in, and the employee did apologize.

Where is the story here?

Drama, to escalate this situation, of ONE employee who needed some education on customer service and service dogs.

One employee does not represent Starbucks.

I will also say, as someone who has had to also confront people about "service dogs", that often the escalation comes from the dog owner, who is hyper defensive..."Hey, chill, I am just doing my job...".

If you have a service dog, part of your role is education, and maybe passing out a small card is a good idea. That will diffuse the situation, provide education, and move on...

[notoriouskelly]

Self-important baristas are not uncommon and I'm surprised there isn't more violence against them due to their attitudes.

Starbucks could really use some 'secret shoppers' to detect and deal with these common attitudes in their stores.

[no kudzu]

The point is he should not have been "confronted" in the first place. The employee should have been trained from day one on the law regarding people with disabilities and their service dogs.

And YES- one employee does represent Starbucks. Each employee is the face and representative of the company. That is why training is so important.

[foxywench]

my problem with this is not that the employeed "confronted" the man
my problem is with how it was done...
the dog was wearing a vest and patches, it should have been a case of "is that your service dog?" and "oh what servies does your dog provide" the manner should have been calm quiet and none confrontational...

instead according to the article the employee yelled that the man couldn't have a dog in there

'It was in your face, loud and bold. I got really nervous. I was shaking because I was being confronted,'

then when the man explained the dog was a service dog the employee wasn't tactfull and obviously had no clue retorting with

The employee countered, 'you're not blind!'

the employee was within rights to ask what the dog did but to then turn around and say

'Why can't you do that yourself?'

'This whole time the guy is in my face, being loud

its NOT that the employee confronted a service dog team, its HOW the employee did it that's disturbing and shows lack of training, this happens all to often...and for people who use a service dog due to PTSD or issues with serious anxiety disorders, THIS behavior (and our fear of confrotnations like this) is why our agoraphobic tendencies typically swing into full blown, never leave the house issues...


I have no problem with a quiet "is that your service dog" and "what does your dog help you with" or "what does your dog do" ill painfully but HAPPILY fight every ounce of anxiety in my body to educate and discus my service dog with ANYONE who approaches me in a calm quiet none confrontational way who seems like they are open to listening and truly interested...

But a confrontation like this guy describes, i probably would have ended up leaving the place in tears in an attempt to avoid a full blown panic attack...THIS kind of confrontation is not acceptable...

now while i agree its not a "starbucks thing" (many people on other places have tried to make this a military vet vs liberal starbucks issue *rolls eyes*) it IS a corporate America NOT ensuring that empoyees are edcutated on some basic fundamental rules...
again a simple, Hey were ADA compliant heres a FAQ on service dog acessability please familiarize yourself, its also posted on the staff notice board, if in doubt or unsure please talk to your shift supervisor or manager...

id have no problem if an employee said "hey look im unfamiliar with the rules, let me just go check with my manager"

i do carry cards around with the FAQ's and the ada contact line...and even still theres been times where ive had clueless people fight me over my rights as a service dog handler because im "not blind" and my dogs "not a lab"

that screams ignorance and lazy training of employees...and it does make the entire company look bad due to their training methods...
they put so much other junk in employee packets, why not simply add the servce dog faq page, they can print it off the ADA website for free!