A regular Starbucks customer got more than his regular early morning caffeine fix when he ordered his usual 16-ounce white chocolate mocha. When a co-employee picked up their staff's order from a nearby Starbucks outlet, his cup came with an unsolicited medical opinion with a note saying, "DIABETES HERE I COME."
A @Starbucks customer tells me he's hurt by the message he received on his coffee cup. Details on @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/hNMeC6ysRJ
— Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynANjax) April 8, 2016
For the customer, who wishes to remain unnamed, the note was more than irritating - it was offensive. Reporting his unusual experience to CBS' Action News Jax, he explained having diabetes is not something to be joked upon. He knows the struggles diabetics as well as their families go through because of the disease. Two of his two sisters were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Kent Miller, the store manager of Starbucks Palencia outlet where the drink was bought, explained to Action News Jax that, "No, we definitely don't condone, but let me find more about this, and I will talk to my boss."Miller said, only the drink type and the name of the customer should appear on the drink's label.
"We strive to provide an inclusive and positive experience for our customers, and we're disappointed to learn of this incident," Starbucks HQ relayed their comment on the incident. "We are working directly with the customer to apologize for his experience, and with our partners (employees) to ensure this does not happen again."
Diabetes is a major health concern in America, where it is estimated that 1 in ten adults have diabetes according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However if the trend continues, CDC expects the figure to even get worse and by 2050, the agency projects that 1 in 3 U.S. adult could have diabetes.
Processed foods like junk foods and sodas, with their high added sugars content, have been blamed for the rise in diabetes cases worldwide according to a University of California San Francisco article by Juliana Bunim.
While sodas, in particular, bear the brunt of the blame, most people are not aware that there are actually drinks more sugary than sodas. For example, a Starbucks 16 ounce while chocolate mocha is said to contain a whopping 59 grams of sugar, according to Yahoo News.
But still, sugary or not, the note on the customer's while chocolate mocha order is still inappropriate. While Starbucks did the right thing to issue an apology, the customer only wants reassurance that the incident will not happen again. "[Two] of my sisters are diabetic, so ... not funny," the customer said
