Man considering legal action after Starbucks employee labels drink 'Isis'

A man dressed in a middle-eastern garment believes he was discriminated against after the barista wrote a terrorist group's name on his coffee cup. Photo / Twitter

A man dressed in a Middle-Eastern garment believes he was discriminated against after the barista wrote a terrorist group's name on his coffee cup — and said he may take legal action.

Niquel Johnson, of Philadelphia, went out to Starbucks and bought drinks for himself and his friends under his Muslim name Aziz, as he had done in the same store "countless" times before.

But, it wasn't until after he left the store that he realised the barista had written "ISIS", the acronym of the Islamic State terrorist group, instead of "Aziz" on all three cups.

One of the Admin, who was dressed in Islamic attire, recently bought a drink at @Starbucks and they wrote ISIS on the cup

Clear discrimination that needs to be addressed. #MUSLIMSNOTISIS pic.twitter.com/qOb3ynUD0o

— Germantown Masjid (@GtownMasjid) August 29, 2019

"I was shocked at first, and then angry because I felt as though we were discriminated against," Johnson told NBC News.

In a statement to the Post, Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges said: "After investigating, we don't believe this was a case of discrimination or profiling.

"The customer approached and provided the name Aziz. The barista mistakenly spelled it incorrectly. We have connected with Mr Johnson and apologised for this regrettable mistake."

After investigating, we don't believe this was a case of discrimination or profiling. The customer approached and provided the name Aziz. The barista mistakenly spelled it incorrectly. We have connected with Mr. Johnson and apologized for this regrettable mistake.

— Starbucks Care (@StarbucksCare) August 30, 2019

But Borges' statement doesn't match what Johnson experienced with the company.

After filing a complaint, Johnson was told by a Starbucks district manager that the issue was resolved when the customer's "niece" Alora spoke to the company earlier in the week.

According to Starbucks, a woman approached them claiming to be Johnson's niece and gave details of the experience and told them it was not necessary for them to take further action.

However, Johnson said that his nieces were 13 and no one by the name Alora had spoken to them.

Germantown Masjid, who shared the cup on Twitter, said that the investigation was "insufficient & unacceptable".

Sorry but that is insufficient & unacceptable:

1. There is a big difference between Aziz & ISIS
2. Staff should be trained to repeat customer’s name if uncertain
3. Why didn’t they call out the name when drinks were ready
4. Who doesn’t know the implications of ISIS

— Germantown Masjid (@GtownMasjid) August 30, 2019

Last year in April, there were calls to boycott Starbucks after two black men were arrested for sitting at a table in a cafe in the same town Johnson ordered his coffee.

The police were reportedly called because the two men hadn't ordered anything.

@Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing. pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci

— Melissa DePino (@missydepino) April 12, 2018

Following protests, Starbucks shut 8000 stores in May for employee racial-tolerance training, but Johnson believes the training was ineffective.

"You'd think they'd be a bit more sensitive and the training would be better," he told NBC News.