I love Starbucks pumpkin scones. Since they are seasonal and I haven’t had enough of them yet this year, I talked my wife into picking up Starbucks on the way to our walk this afternoon… it doesn’t take much convincing:)
We walked into the store and lined up behind just a couple people. Then the person behind us came in without a mask. A server said to him, “Excuse me sir, we have a mask policy in the store.”
He responded, “I have a breathing condition, I can’t wear masks.”
I’ll be honest, I rolled my eyes at this. Then another customer spoke up and called him an ‘@$$hole’. I thought that was uncalled for. It’s one thing to be upset, still another to just attack the person.
When my wife was ordering, I saw an employee giving the mask-less customer a $4 gift card, and apologizing to him, saying that he shouldn’t have to hear that in the store. A very thoughtful gesture, and the customer responded that it was ok, and that he doesn’t let comments like that bother him.
Then this unmasked customer’s masked wife or girlfriend joined him in line and later while we were waiting for our drinks, I noticed two things that the unmasked customer did that I thought were quite inconsiderate. First, he waited inside, while his masked partner went outside to wait. Second, he leaned around the plexiglass separating the employees from the customers and made a couple different requests (for a glass of water and something else I didn’t hear).
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he is one of the rare people that can’t actually wear a mask for less than 7 minutes to order a coffee. Sure, he can have that. But what about wearing a visor? What about respecting the protective plexiglass that was put there to separate employees from customers? What about having your partner line up for the drink and staying out of the store? Or what about having her wait inside while you wait outside after the order?
I didn’t say anything to him. Maybe I should have, but he’d already had a rude interaction with another customer and it’s not in my nature to escalate conflict. But I think the mask-less customer could have been more considerate towards everyone in the store. And I think it’s just a matter of courtesy that the rude customer didn’t need to be such an @$$ himself.
I commend the Starbucks employee for doing something good… something considerate. I just wish others could do the same.
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More posts on wearing a mask:
I’d rather be a sheep than a lemming
Wear a mask
I don’t agree to disagree
When bad ideas go viral
Smile with your eyes
The presumption is that the person was lying about the breathing condition. Suppose it is a lie. Then what is the appropriate response?
The person without the mask shouldn’t be in the Starbucks. They shouldn’t because they are putting people’s lives at risk. The lie is a lame justification. Why should we respond politely to that?
I do think the person without the mask was wrong, whether he was lying (an obvious wrong) or he was telling the truth, and could have avoided coming in, and letting his partner come in. This is an inconsiderate person.
Perhaps you are right Stephen, we need a response that teaches these people that their choices are unacceptable. What that looks like, in a way that actually presents the message so that it is actually listened to, that I am uncertain of?
I don’t think it’s going to be listened to. They haven’t listened up to this point, so they are very unlikely to be swayed by your last-minute appeal.
This means that your only option is social sanction. That means a public response showing disapproval. Your message isn’t just for the person you’re speaking to, it’s for everyone else, to tell them that this sort of behaviour is socially unacceptable.
This post takes the stance of blaming the speaker. I put 100% of the blame on the maskless person, for putting the speaker in such a position. Even if the speaker’s response wasn’t perfect, they are nonetheless feel thrust into a position of being required to say something. I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant.
And the rest of the blame falls on the Starbucks employee, who undermined the social sanction and encouraged the violator. I wouldn’t return to that Starbucks, knowing that it is unsafe.
Insightful Stephen,
It makes me think of older times when people were banished as punishment for not acting appropriately in the community. I do think we’ve reached a point where people put their personal freedoms above the needs of the community, and that is sad. What would banishment look like in 2020?
Prison?
There’s no place to banish someone any more. That’s why we use prison. But prison is far too harsh for simple social sanction.