Starbucks apologises after barista writes message on cup to tell woman she is ‘very pretty’

Last updated: 2024/04/08 at 4:53 PM

Katie Dollard

3 Min Read

Kenia’s Frappuccino with a message written by a Starbucks barista telling her she is ‘very pretty’. (Picture: Jam Press)

Starbucks has apologised to a customer after a barista left a message for her on a coffee cup.

Kenia – also known as Giselle – took to social media to share a photo of the Frappuccino and the accompanying note.

It read “Giselle, you are very pretty”.

The post has gathered over 9.9m views, with Kenia saying she felt “harassed”, as reported on What’s The Jam.

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She tagged Starbucks in Mexico in the tweet (@akapulquena).

“Hello @‌StarbucksMex, today this unpleasant situation happened to me with one of your baristas who put that phrase under my name,” it read.

“I can’t even order a coffee anymore without being harassed.

“Please educate your staff and let no woman cry of helplessness like me again.”

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The tweet has over 5,100 retweets, 1,300 likes and 11,000 comments, with users left divided on whether the message was “harassment”.

Starbucks apologizes after barista leaves a "Giselle, you are very pretty" message on a customer's cup, sparking a debate on harassment. — *Kenia, also known as Giselle. (Picture: Jam Press)*

Karly said: “He is not harassing you, he made a flirtatious gesture towards you. If you didn’t like it, go and tell him. You don’t have to come and put on a show here to get fired accusing him of something he clearly didn’t do.”

Fidal commented: “Don’t feel bad, he probably got the wrong girl and gave it to you.”

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Social media comment on the post of Starbucks apologizes after barista leaves a "Giselle, you are very pretty" message on a customer's cup, sparking a debate on harassment. — *Social media comment on the post. (Picture: Jam Press)*

Juan added: “No one harassed you, it is a gallant and polite compliment.”

Rafa wrote: “Because of these things you are single and you will probably stay that way all your life.”

Amaelie said: “Where is the harassment?”

Renata commented: ”I have a question, what is the harassment here? I don’t want to discredit what you feel but I can’t identify it, it’s not clear to me.”

Starbucks reached out to Kenia, asking her to send further details.

In one of the comments, the official Starbucks page replied: “Hello. We regret the situation, in order to provide you with the corresponding help, we ask that you send us the following information by DM, email, full name, contact phone number, store.”

Jam Press has reached out to Starbucks for comment.