A social media influencer took to TikTok to put a local Starbucks on blast after she said she made an order on the coffee shop chain’s app and was shocked by how employees responded after seeing the name she gave, “Rich Black Woman.”
A TikTok influencer named Felicia Kelly, with over 323.5K followers on the platform, said she overheard employees mock her brand moniker.
“Starbucks tried me, but they should have been trying Jesus,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s brand is called “Rich Black Woman,” and she uses it on many of her apps, including the one for Starbucks. When her order came through, she noticed that it caused a slight uproar with the shop’s workers, including a person she believed (and later confirmed) was the manager.
She overheard them making derogatory comments about her while preparing her drink. One individual was especially upset, begging others to let her know when the person who ordered arrived.
“I can’t even wait to see who this is that comes in here to get this. Make sure I see who comes at me here and gets this drink,” Kelly recalls the worker saying.
The same employee also pointed out that she couldn’t call herself a “rich white woman” without someone side-eyeing her.
After the baristas had their fun, one of them finally called Rich Black Woman’s order but only said the “Rich” part of her name out loud.
“I said, ‘It’s OK to say ‘Black Woman,'” Rich Black Woman recalled. “And you should’ve seen them freeze. Everybody was frozen.”
While most people were just as outraged at the lack of professionalism, some had questions for the TikToker.
“I hope corporate hears of this. Totally unprofessional behavior… doesn’t matter what name you choose!!!” one person wrote.
Another wrote, “Even if you weren’t the person who placed the order, how dare they feel so comfortable talking about a customer in front of you.” Someone else asked her why she was “surprised.”
But not all jumped on that bandwagon.
“Why does it say that on your App??” one user asked.
“We have to stop blaming the companies and blame the individuals,” adding, “CEOs don’t know who their (sic) hiring unless we tell them.”
The influencer has not provided an update on the incident but said she’s learned to prepare her own Chai latte at home.
This is not the only incident in recent times where an issue with a Black woman’s name on her order has made the news. On June 28, radio host Darlene Jackson McCoy made an order at a spot in Atlanta and instead of inputting her correct name, the person wrote “Darky.”
The company issued an apology in that case.
