Investing.com -- Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) has initiated a new code of conduct this month, aiming to enhance the safety and experience for both its customers and staff across North America, according to a Monday report by the Wall Street Journal. The revised conduct includes a change in the company's policy that has been in place for nearly seven years, which allowed the general public to use the cafes and their facilities, irrespective of whether they made a purchase.
The new policies also incorporate the placement of signs in stores prohibiting harassment, violence, threatening language, outside alcohol, smoking, and panhandling, as per employee notices seen by The Wall Street Journal. This updated code of conduct for customers is a part of Starbucks' wider endeavor to make its stores more welcoming. The company is looking to recover from a decline in customer traffic and falling sales.
Starbucks North America President Sara Trilling, in a letter sent earlier this week, stated, "There is a need to reset expectations for how our spaces should be used, and who uses them." The executives emphasized the necessity for customers to have a clean, safe environment, and shared that the employees have also expressed concerns about the chain's open-to-all policy.
Since 2018, Starbucks has permitted access to its cafes and bathrooms regardless of a purchase. This policy was a response to an incident in 2018 at one of the company's Philadelphia locations, where two men were arrested after one attempted to use the bathroom while the other sat at a table, despite not making any purchases. The men were reported to the police as trespassers by the employees after they refused to leave when denied use of the restroom. The incident resulted in widespread criticism, leading Starbucks to temporarily close all of its U.S. stores for racial sensitivity training. The men later sued the company and settled for an undisclosed amount.
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