Starbucks launched an investigation after an 11-year-old girl claimed a barista wrote "fat" on her cup instead of her name. The child went to the local Starbucks with a friend when the incident took place.
Teigahn Sangster, who is from Edinburgh, Scotland, said that the specific Starbucks visit was her first without adult supervision. She and her friend noticed the writing on the cup when they were about to sit and wait for their order. Sangster said she felt angry, embarrassed and upset while her mother said she felt disgusted by the incident, KSBW 8 reported.
Her mother instructed her to bring the cup home but the child said it no longer mattered because she felt she is indeed fat. The statement of Sangster to her mother made the latter feel upset because the incident made her daughter feel so little about herself and it affected her self-confidence.
Starbucks investigated the matter and said it was just a misunderstanding. The company released a statement and said they are sorry for the upset the incident cause the family. They added, "Following our investigation, we want to reassure that our store team did not write this intentionally. It was originally crossed through and the circle is an indication that the partner (employee) hasn't captured the name correctly."
The letters f, a, t, could be seen in the cup but the cross for the letter t stretched through all the letters. It was true that a circle could be seen below the crossed out word and the company said they want to talk to the family directly to explain and apologize, Teen Vogue shared.
The recent incident was reportedly not a first for Starbucks, which is notoriously known for writing the names of customers wrong. In April of 2016, a man's cup had the words "Diabetes Here I Come" written on it after the man ordered a grande white mocha. The company did not offer any explanation during that incident but they apologized for what happened and assured the man such behavior will not be tolerated.
