Coffee Crisis

Starbucks’ CEO should be commended for handling a crisis swiftly and sensitively. He responded to an incident in Philadelphia where a store manager called the police to remove two African-American men who were waiting for a person in the store. There was no justification for an intervention, and the men were not arrested or charged, although one was led from the store in handcuffs. Kevin Johnson, the CEO, went on national TV and apologized for the incident. He asserted that Starbucks would review its policies and training, and he offered to apologize directly to the two men. There were demonstrators yesterday at the Philadelphia store, but there was no push for a larger boycott of the chain’s venues.  It could have gotten ugly. It didn’t. Credit the CEO’s fast action.