Starbucks Philippines went viral on social media after Scottish travel vlogger Dale Philip called out some Filipinos who made coffee shops their workplace.
According to Philip, this was the first time that he saw coffee shops becoming a hangout place for customers who wanted to work and enjoy free internet and electricity.
“Look at all these guys with their laptops just sitting, using it as their personal office. I would hate that,” said Philip.
“I would hate to have a business where people just come and use it as their personal office, use your WiFi and electricity, and buy like one coffee,” he added.
The statement received a reaction from the netizens and sparked a debate about whether it was right for customers to occupy coffee shops to work.
However, Starbucks Philippines said in a past interview that it was fine for them to let customers enjoy the privileges of using their internet and electricity for free.
“That was my first experience in Starbucks when I stayed for so long nursing one cup of coffee, and I was so amazed… So I don’t want to deny anybody that. That’s the Starbucks experience,” Starbucks Philippines President Noey Lopez said.
“Why would I deny that to anybody else? That was the magic I felt so to this day, we let people stay as long as they want. It’s part of our business,” he added.
He clarified that customers had no time limits to stay at their coffee shops.
“We strive to create a welcoming environment for all of our customers. We do not have any time limits for being in our stores, and we continue to focus on making the Third Place experience for every Starbucks customer,” he stated.