Starbucks does not want you loafing around if you don’t buy anything. This is a reversal of their old “open door policy” which welcomed people to hang out in their stores and use their bathrooms whether or not they made a purchase.
Why would they do this? Because non-customers were making Starbucks extremely unpleasant for customers. Walk into any busy Starbucks bathroom and you’ll ask no further questions.
A Starbucks statement called this a “practical step that helps us prioritize our paying customers who want to sit and enjoy our cafes or need to use the restroom during their visit. By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone.”
The open door policy was announced in 2018 when a video went viral of two Black men sitting in Starbucks without making a purchase. The blowback caused the company to close stores to talk to their employees about race.
Starbucks is also trying to get paying customers to stay longer by offering one free refill for iced or hot coffee for in-store orders.
