An LGBTI+ individual working at a Starbucks branch in Istanbul stated that he was subjected to discrimination due to his sexual orientation. The store manager, who spoke to bianet about the issue, stated that they were following the process.

An LGBTI+ employee working at Starbucks Beykent53 branch in Istanbul said that he was subjected to discrimination by his co-workers on Tuesday, March 18. According to his statements, the employee was subjected to degrading statements and exclusionary attitudes due to his sexual orientation.

Ü. Ş., who filed a complaint regarding the issue, said that the bullying against his partner, who was discriminated against and was a barista at Starbucks, had been going on for a long time in the branch:

“ Unfortunately, the problem my partner is experiencing has been going on for two or three months. It started with degrading remarks and jokes. However, in the last incident, two people bullied my partner with more vulgar and sexual remarks .”

Ü.Ş. stated that they reported the situation to the store manager and the manager said that legal action would be taken against the two individuals who were behaving in a discriminatory and bullying manner. However, Ü.Ş. stated that no progress had been made in the process and relayed the store manager's statements as follows:

“ Two people there are still working at the hot bar. I sent an email on behalf of my partner saying I was following up on the process. But I got this response: ‘Please don’t do anything. We will eventually take action. One of the people is in the process of being promoted and we will not be giving him a promotion. We will definitely start the disciplinary process,’” he said.

“During this process, the regional store manager was calling me frequently and telling me that nothing should be done against the brand. On March 22, the store manager called my partner. There is a unit called the Loss Prevention Unit, and they listen to the parties in cases of mobbing. They asked me to write a report to state in writing how the incident occurred. I asked for a written text on how the process would work. I also sent this to them via e-mail. They said, ‘We will take action on the issue sooner or later,’ and closed the matter. ”

Stating that they will submit a report to the prosecutor's office, Ü.Ş. added that his partner stayed at the Loss Prevention Unit for about two hours and said that the store officials were stalling them.

Ü.Ş. stated that Starbucks emphasizes “inclusivity” and “diversity” on a global scale, but they question whether these values ​​are actually implemented in the field:

“ The sad part is this: In order not to be offensive to either employees or customers, Starbucks removed the terms lady and gentleman two years ago. They also have a lot of LGBTI+ employees. However, unfortunately, my partner's mental health has been put at risk by homophobic and transphobic statements. ”

Ü.Ş. stated that his partner was going through a bad process psychologically and emotionally and that no one supported them.

“Young people do not need to be in a large public forum, like older people: they handle themselves well in more closed spaces. That is why I believe that social networks that reproduce these relationships on a more human scale can succeed,” continues the expert. “Bluesky is very similar to X, but it has many features that allow you to reduce the window of your activity. “People want to talk to their community.”

“I am new to this branch as a store manager. I don’t know anyone, I only know their statements. We don’t use terms like ‘Mrs.’ or ‘Mrs.’ at Starbucks anyway. When I spoke to the other party, I got the response ‘We were just joking.’ I can’t say anything because I don’t know anyone. We are following the process.” (DT/TY)