The baristas felt the teenager was in trouble, so they devised a plan to check up on her discreetly.
Starbucks is known for its coffees, macchiatos, and pink drinks, but in February 2022, the brand added a new highlight to its popularity—an act of kindness. At a Starbucks branch in Corpus Christi, Texas, baristas stepped up to help an 18-year-old girl they thought might be in trouble. Her mother shared the story on social media, and it quickly went viral, with people praising the coffeehouse.
It was a Saturday evening when this teen girl was studying by herself in the coffee shop. A man entered and began acting strangely. He quickly became loud and animated. He was speaking fairly loudly. Eventually, the employees felt concerned for the teenager as the man began talking and interacting with her, as her mother, Brandy Selim Roberson, described to 10 Tampa Bay.
So, the baristas flung forward to help the girl. While a female barista served the girl an extra hot chocolate, saying that someone had forgotten to pick it up, she slipped a secret note scribbled on the paper cup. “Are you okay? Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup,” the handwritten note read. The girl looked sideways to find the entire team of baristas staring at her, intent on helping her if she needed.
Although the Texas student didn’t ask for their intervention, she immediately spilled the details of the happening to her mom as soon as she got home. Brady then took to Facebook to share this on a post, currently hidden due to privacy reasons. "She was holding the cup and knew that I would love that someone did that for her," Brandy told TODAY, "It made me feel so grateful that the Starbucks employees were watching out for her. As a mom, that is my worst fear that something would happen to my child and nobody would be there to help."
Adding to this, Brady expressed her sentiments to The New York Post, saying, “This reaffirms my faith in humanity. Maybe just seeing this story, others... if given the opportunity to say something or turn away, they would say something."
Since then, the story has been doing rounds on social media, especially on X. People are praising the cafe baristas for displaying this sweet gesture. “This is one of my best friends' daughter. I’m so glad they cared so much. She’s a very special young lady,” said @limhumphrey on X.
This gave me goosebumps.
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) October 15, 2023
“My 18-year-old daughter was at Starbucks, alone, the other night.
A man came up to her and started talking to her.
A barista handed her “an extra hot chocolate someone forgot to pick up.”
How grateful I am for people who look out for other… pic.twitter.com/ymMIHuno9g
@itsjamesherring commented, “Kudos to the Starbucks barista who checked in on a teenage girl by writing a discreet message on her cup!”
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