Starbucks has apologized to a Virginia couple after an employee at one of the coffeehouse’s chains refused to help them during a medical emergency because they did not join a line.
Per WWBT, 38-year-old Kevin Key and his wife Nelisa had gone to a comedy show at Short Pump Town Center in Richmond on March 30 when he suffered a medical emergency. Kevin is battling Stage 4 kidney failure.
“He just started sweating. He’s like, ‘I don’t feel well.’ He started leaning over, and then he started vomiting,” Nelisa Key recalled.
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She also said that wasn’t the first time she had witnessed her husband experience an incident of such nature, adding that the only way to make her husband feel better during that situation was to get him ice water.
“I was frantic. I think I was crying at that point,” Nelisa stated. She also mentioned that she noticed a Starbucks nearby.
She explained that when she entered the establishment, there was a long queue. But customers allowed her to cross the line and go to the drink pick-up counter for water after she told them about her husband’s medical emergency. She said the barista at the counter, however, refused to serve her.
“I pointed back, because you could see Kevin, and I was like, ‘That’s my husband right there. He’s in Stage 4 kidney failure. I just need water fast for him.’ And the employee looked at me and was like, ‘You need to get in line.’ And then I repeated what I said, I’m like, ‘But my husband, he’s in kidney failure, we just need ice water quickly.’ And he looked at me again and was like, ‘You need to get in line,’” Nelisa recalled.
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He husband similarly registered his displeasure over the Starbucks barista’s reception. “A situation that should have taken, like, less than probably 10 seconds to get water, turned into a nightmare instantly,” said Kevin. “I could have possibly blacked out. It could have had a more dramatic impact on my body. My kidneys could have possibly just shut down.”
Kevin eventually got the water after a worker at a nearby Capital One Café served his wife without any hesitation.
“That’s when I walked in, and Emma [the employee] was standing there. I told her the same thing, and she acted fast,” Nelisa said. “She was like, ‘No problem at all. I hope he feels better.’ And when I got to Kevin and gave him the water, he almost instantly felt better.”
Weeks after the incident, Nelisa reunited with Emma and expressed her gratitude for “being a caring human being.” “Capital One Café stepped in, and they were able to help out in a situation when I needed help the most,” Kevin said.
“First and foremost, we’re glad the person facing a medical emergency is doing much better. We’re proud of the way our Capital One Café Ambassadors handle themselves each and every day. ‘Doing the right thing’ is one of our Capital One values and we believe that shows up in the work we do day in and day out,” Jennifer Windbeck, Head of Retail Bank Channels & Operations at Capital One, told WWBT in a statement.
Starbucks also responded to the incident and rendered an apology to the couple. “We’ve been in touch with this customer over the past few weeks to listen, apologize, and make this right, and we hope to welcome them back to a store of their choice to give them the Starbucks experience they should expect…” Sam Jefferies with Starbucks Media Relations said in a statement.
“As we continue to train our partners on the new Code of Conduct, we are working to ensure that everyone who visits our store has a great experience and training partners to communicate openly and from a place of kindness, compassion, and consideration for other patrons when determining how to proceed when a guest makes a request outside of our policies. If a customer communicates a request related to restroom access or water due to a medical, health or accessibility issue, we are committed to providing appropriate accommodations.”
