Published 11:40 IST, March 6th 2020
Starbucks bans personal cups in stores amid coronavirus scare
Starbucks cited health safety concerns for halting personal cup use, although, it will still be offering discounts, precaution applicable in US, UK and Canada.
Starbucks has reportedly banned the use of personal cups over the mounting fears of the coronavirus spread. The coffee chain that allows its customers to carry their own cups for coffee and gives 10 per cent discount for the same, has halted the practice with immediate effect, confirmed reports.
According to the reports, as COVID-19 spreads worldwide infecting over 98,000, Starbucks cited health safety concerns for discontinuing personal cup use, although, it will still be offering discounts. It stopped several customers from reusing the cups this past week before officially introducing the protocol. It said that with so many cases of employees contracting the disease across the US and elsewhere, including staff from Amazon and Facebook, it wanted to adopt precautions to stem the COVID-19 transmission.
Ban for stores in the UK, US, and Canada
A spokesperson for Starbucks UK reportedly said that the outlets countrywide are ‘temporarily pausing’ the use of tumblers as a caution. He said that all drinks purchased at the high street coffee chain will now be served in disposable cups moving forward. The coffee chain will also suspend “for here” mugs for the customers staying in the stores, he added. The precaution is applicable for stores across the UK, the US, and Canada.
Rossann Williams, Starbucks Executive Vice President and President of the US and Canada reportedly made the announcement in an open letter to the stakeholders. She said in the letter, “As a global company, we’ve been closely monitoring the dynamic situation of COVID-19. The health and well-being of our partners and customers remain top of mind and our highest priority." She further added, “We are taking guidance from the CDC and local health authorities, we have increased cleaning and sanitizing for all company-operated stores”, and “we are pausing the use of personal cups and “for here” ware in our stores”.
Updated 11:40 IST, March 6th 2020