Fortune reports that there is a petition circulating on the Internet - with close to 11,000 signatures on it to this point - asking Starbucks to terminate all store leases on properties owned by Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.
The signers are people who say they disagree with comments made by Trump "about various groups of people, including Mexicans, Muslims, and women."
The Fortune story goes on to say that "supporters of the cause pledged to buy a gift card from Starbucks if they terminate their lease at Trump Tower. So far nearly 2,000 people have pledged close to $70,000.
"Neither Starbucks nor Donald Trump’s campaign could immediately be reached for comment."
The signers are people who say they disagree with comments made by Trump "about various groups of people, including Mexicans, Muslims, and women."
The Fortune story goes on to say that "supporters of the cause pledged to buy a gift card from Starbucks if they terminate their lease at Trump Tower. So far nearly 2,000 people have pledged close to $70,000.
"Neither Starbucks nor Donald Trump’s campaign could immediately be reached for comment."
- KC's View:
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To me, this reflects the level of connection that many Starbucks customers feel with the chain; at some level, they think it reflects their values, and so they expect it to extend to issues like this one. That isn't something that customers feel about all such businesses, and Starbucks should treasure these feelings, even if it decides to ignore them. (Which it probably will.)
