Turns out you can be banned from Starbucks for being creepy.
A 37-year-old man went to a Starbucks and flirted with a 16-year-old barista. Apparently the barista said he was “funny,” so he took that as an opportunity to ask her out. According to the man, he wrote her a note asking if she’d like to go to dinner sometime.
When the man returned to Starbucks the next day, the police were there and told him he was not allowed to come back. Starbucks claims they will not let their baristas be subject to harassment or inappropriate behavior.
Of course the man claims it’s just about ageism. On Facebook he said, “I know the female Starbucks barista was of legal age to date. I broke no laws. I merely took a chance with my heart. I’m tired of hearing the word “creep” as any black person or gay person is tired of hearing certain words. I have a whole webpage dedicated to age gap love.”
I was possibly on his side until he mentioned a whole website dedicated to “age gap love.” It’s not appropriate for a 37-year-old to ask out a 16-year-old. Maybe this guy is perfectly nice, but sadly 16-year-olds get hit on by creepy ass older dudes all the time and it makes sense they don’t want to be bothered by this dude every morning.
Of course, this guy isn’t a criminal. If he really just asked her out on a date, that’s pretty respectful. But the fact he can’t even wait for a girl to turn 18 before courting her is still just a little odd. And if it was a 37-year-old woman hitting on a 16-year-old guy, I would feel the same way. It’s weird.
Starbucks has the right to refuse service to whoever they want, so it’s unlikely the ban will be turned over. The guy’ll just have to go back to high school football games to find girlfriends now.
If a 37 year old woman asked out a young guy, would anyone call the police though? Is this story weird – sure – is it police worthy? Not remotely.