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A Starbucks employee said she quit after her boss asked her to reschedule her sick dog.
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Auralee Smith left Starbucks after working for over two years, calling the company “callous.”
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Her beloved rescue dog, Gandhi, was her “best friend” until she had cancer and needed to be put under control.
A 21-year-old college student quit her job as a barista at Starbucks after her manager asked her to change her dog drop-off appointment so she wouldn’t miss work.
Auralee Smith said Gandy, the family’s rescue dog, is her “best friend.” Her family adopted Gandy for her when she was about 8. Gandy “was really scared when we got her,” Smith told Insider.
“My family helped her come out of her shell,” Smith said. “She seemed happy to finally be out of her stressful and scary situation.”
The family joked that Gandy was a “cat dog” because he loved napping in the sun. “Singing together,” he said at times.
“When I made a sound, she would try to match it with howling,” Smith said. “It was really, really sweet. She loved it.”
When Gandy’s family discovered she had cancer, it was devastating and the veterinarian did not recommend surgery due to Gandy’s advanced age. While dealing with her pain of unloading her Gandhi, Smith said she didn’t expect a Starbucks manager to “literally ask me to change the day I put her to bed.” …
“Sorry, I’m looking for coverage for the Sunday shift. I have to drop the dog off Saturday night. I’m going to be absolutely confused. She’s my best friend,” Smith said in a text. “I’m going to text some people and see if they can help,” she added to her boss in February.
“I would really need you to find the press,” Smith’s manager replied. Is there a way I can do it at night when it’s not?”
After working at Starbucks for more than two years, Smith said texting is the final straw.
“I read that last sentence and I was like, ‘Oh, what the hell? How?’ What was your decision about what to say to me? said Smith. “She only asked if I could change her day to put her to bed, and that was a very harsh reaction for me.”
Replying to her manager, Smith texted: I reschedule when I drop my dog off at Starbucks. But I am ready to move on.
While infuriating, Smith said she wasn’t completely surprised by her manager’s reaction and didn’t place all the blame on her. It was Starbucks as a company, she said.became common refrain In between coffee chain employeemany of which are Combined.
“To me, it’s just a mentality that Starbucks drives behind the scenes,” Smith said. “Throughout my time at Starbucks, the mentality of someone telling me to change the day I put my dog to bed kept getting worse. That was it.”
A Starbucks spokeswoman said Smith’s text message didn’t give the full picture. In a text message shared with her insider, Smith’s manager expressed sympathy for her situation, but she claimed Smith needed to find coverage for her shift.
A Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement, “The health and well-being of our partners is and remains our top priority. In this case, we will ensure that this partner can cover the work at the time.” I was able to help in this way,” he said.
Smith said he received overwhelming support after posting screenshots of the exchange on Twitter. reddit Even after she had time to grieve Gandhi, the company fostered an extended family atmosphere while employees worked in tense situations and customers wanted to get their coffee quickly and get out. I am dissatisfied with what I have tried.
“They’ve become more toxic and callous in that way, so they’re still clinging to this idea, trying to be a small, family-run coffee shop or something. McDonald’s of coffee shops,” Smith said. said Mr. “It’s not a small family run store. They expect you to behave like that while they are understaffed and everything is toxic and callous.”
Read the original article at insider