Phillip Martin, an award-winning and retired GBH investigative reporter, was denied service by a cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after he was mistaken for a different Black man who is said to have previously behaved in an “anti-social” manner at the establishment.
According to Boston.com, the incident occurred at Caffè Nero in Central Square last week when Martin went to the cafe to meet a fellow journalist. Martin was denied service when he attempted to order a cup of tea. He was told by a worker behind the counter that she had been ordered to deny him service before she attended to another customer.
“I was aghast,” recalled Martin. “I said, ‘I’m completely confused. Are you mistaking me for someone else?’ And she said, ‘No, it’s you. We have you on video tape.’”
Martin and the worker ultimately called 911 after they spoke extensively. “It’s something I would do instinctively to try to even out the playing field,” Martin stated. “When someone calls the police, it’s best to also have some role in that.”
Martin and Caffè Nero staff ultimately had separate conversations with Cambridge police officers who arrived at the establishment, and it was later concluded that the disagreement stemmed from a misunderstanding. Martin was ultimately allowed to make his way inside the coffee shop again, and he stated that he returned to complete his meeting with the fellow journalist, despite saying his initial experience was “humiliating.”
“I was intent on not being pushed out of the store based on someone’s faulty misidentification,” Martin emphasized.
Caffè Nero rendered an apology in the aftermath of the incident, with a spokesperson saying that the company was “truly sorry for how Mr. Martin was made to feel during his visit,” Boston.com reported.
“This was a genuine case of mistaken identity due to the close similarity of height, build, and style of beard and glasses with a customer who had been responsible for significant anti-social behaviour previously,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “While it is not acceptable to confuse any customer with another, the prior incident was traumatic for the barista involved and it triggered her response.”
Martin’s experience at the cafe was initially reported by The Boston Globe, with the news outlet stating that the incident involving the other Black customer had happened the previous week. The customer was reportedly “abusive to the staff” and relieved himself inside before he was removed from the establishment.
Martin later met with Caffè Nero’s corporate team and accepted their apologies after a “very cordial, pleasant conversation,” Boston.com reported. Employees at the coffee shop have also been put on training to address what occurred. Caffè Nero Americas COO, Paul Morgan, additionally informed the news outlet that employees at the company’s other branches will similarly undergo training.
“We also conduct annual anti-discrimination and harassment training for all store team members,” Morgan stated.
And though Martin said he believed the corporate representatives were remorseful about what occurred, he stated that he was “befuddled” when he saw the photo of the other Black man he was mistaken for.
“I looked at the photo, and I told them, ‘He looks nothing like me,’” Martin said, adding that the other individual was younger and had lighter skin as well as a scruffy beard. “This was not a doppelgänger in the least,” he continued.
Though the cafe has also come under fire for what occurred, Martin emphasized that he had “no interest” in seeing anyone being terminated.
“I told them I had no interest whatsoever in anyone being fired over this,” Martin said. “And I mean that sincerely; these are working folk, following what they think is procedure and responding to their own fears.”
This isn’t the first time Martin has been misidentified, as he faced an experience of such nature when he was mistakenly added to a police lineup during his teenage years. He has also made several reports about incidents of such nature and how that mainly impacts Black men.
“These things don’t leave your mind,” he said. Martin also said that he hopes other businesses will learn from the Caffè Nero incident and “turn poison into medicine, if you will.”
“I’m trying to actually put a period to this issue, with Caffè Nero at least, and hope that organizations or people who are responding to this might look at the more broader questions of misidentification that are pervasive throughout our society, that happen in a lot of establishments,” Martin said.
He has since filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Cambridge Human Rights Commission.
“The reason this is an issue for me is because I don’t want it to happen to anyone else,” Martin emphasized. “Though, of course, it will — not necessarily at Caffè Nero, but somewhere else.”
