Tips pour in for Starbucks worker who wouldn’t serve woman without mask in California
A Starbucks employee in San Diego received a big “tip” after a woman posted on Facebook, writing that he wouldn’t serve her because she wasn’t wearing a mask.
“Meet lenen (sic) from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask,” Amber Lynn Gilles wrote on Monday. “Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption.”
San Diego County requires people above the age of 2 to wear face coverings in public, according to a public health order issued on June 19.
People quickly reacted to the social media post, writing that the worker was simply doing his job.
“I hate the whole mask thing, but I don’t blame the kid behind the counter,” Facebook user Francisco Alejandro Lopez wrote. “They need to follow the rules that they are given by their supervisors ... supervisors don’t want to get in trouble either.”
“They are following what they’re told,” Heather Turano wrote. “I understand your frustration But it’s being aimed at the wrong people. He has a job he must follow the rules he has bills to pay don’t be mad at 1 person for following what he was told to do.”
Matt Cowan created a GoFundMe page for Lenin after finding his Facebook page and verifying that he was the employee in the picture.
“Everybody is rallying around somebody for doing what they’re supposed to do and trying to protect everyone else,” Cowan told KGTV. “It just goes to show you there are a lot of good people out there, and that outweighs the bad.”
Soon, donations began pouring in. Cowan originally set the donation goal as $1,000 but as of June 24, over $15,000 has been raised.
Lenin shared a picture of him on the GoFundMe page, holding a sign up with the words “Thank you everyone for the tips!!!”
“We want everyone to feel welcome in our stores,” a Starbucks spokesperson told McClatchy News. “We respectfully request customers follow social distancing and safety protocols recommended by public health officials, including wearing a facial covering when visiting our stores.”
More than 2 million people have been infected with COVID-10 and more than 121,000 people have died in the U.S. as of June 24, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Tips pour in for Starbucks worker who wouldn’t serve woman without mask in California."