Starbucks Bias Training: What Time Do Stores Close And More FAQS Answered

GettyImages-947788806 — Starbucks will close 8,000 stores Tuesday to address racial bias with its employees. The sign for a Starbucks Coffee shop is seen in Washington, DC, April 17, 2018. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Starbucks locations across the U.S. will be closed for a few hours Tuesday so the coffee store chain can conduct some internal maintenance. After some widely reported incidents in recent months, the Seattle-based company will attempt to educate its employees about racial bias training.

Roughly 8,000 Starbucks locations will temporarily close for about three hours at 1 or 2 p.m., according to reports. During that time, Starbucks' 175,000 employees will receive racial discrimination training to repair its image and clarify how staff interact with customers.

For several hours this afternoon, we will close stores and offices to discuss how to make Starbucks a place where all people feel welcome.

Thank you for your patience and support as we renew our promise to make Starbucks an inclusive gathering place for all.

See you tomorrow.
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) May 29, 2018

The training appears to be timed to avoid the rush hours, but will still cost the company a bit of revenue.

Kevin Johnson, the company's CEO, as well as chairman and founder Howard Schultz and rapper and actor Common, have reportedly provided recorded messages to staff.

The training, which is closed off to the media and general public, was organized with the help of former Attorney General Eric Holder, as well as the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, among others, according to a company statement. The idea is to “address implicit bias, promote conscious inclusion, prevent discrimination and ensure everyone inside a Starbucks store feels safe and welcome.”

The main catalyst for Starbucks’ discrimination training stems from an April incident in Philadelphia. Two black men were refused entry to the restroom on the basis that they had not made any purchases. The situation escalated to someone calling the police, who then arrested the two men.

Protests and calls for boycotting soon followed. Other black customers alleged they had been similarly denied entry to the restroom despite white customers being allowed entry at other locations. The Philadelphia incident fits into a larger discourse about the ethics of calling the police on black Americans, specifically with regards to police brutality.

Schultz on May 10 announced that the company had changed its restroom policy: "We don't want to become a public bathroom, but we're going to make the right decision 100 percent of the time and give people the key."

Starbucks posted net income of $660 million in its latest fiscal quarter.