Starbucks barista praised for leaving secret note on cup to help young woman

A member of staff at Starbucks has been praised online after offering to step in to make sure a woman felt comfortable in an odd situation.

If we might need help while we're out and about somewhere in public, you would hope someone would step in.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.

But staff at Starbucks at a branch in Corpus Christi, Texas have been praised on social media for their efforts in a situation.

The mother of 18 year-old student Brandy Selim Roberson took to Facebook in February 2022 to explain an incident her daughter experienced and how staff members at the coffee chain showed they were ready to leap to action.

Staff at Starbucks at a branch in Corpus Christi, Texas have been praised on social media (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Roberson was in the coffee shop alone when a man entered the shop and began acting strangely. He quickly became loud and animated and as it was evening, staff quickly grew concerned for the high-school student as the man began talking and interacting with her.

Eager to intervene, a female barista wrote a secret note on a paper cup and handed it to the teen, saying that it was ‘an extra hot chocolate someone forgot to pick up’.

It read: “Are you okay? Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup.”

The Texan student then looked towards the counter where, according to her mom, there was a ‘row of baristas staring at her — ready to step in’.

Though the student didn’t ask the employees to intervene, she and her mother praised the kind gesture.

She told The New York Post: “This reaffirms my faith in humanity. Maybe just seeing this story, others... if given the opportunity to say something or turn away, they would say something."

Though the student didn’t ask the employees to intervene, she and her mother praised the kind gesture. (Twitter/Call to Activism)

Unsurprisingly, the post also went viral on social media platforms with people praising the staff’s quick thinking online.

One user wrote: “In today’s society more people should be proactive like this. You just never know what a situation really is. Kudos to the alert Starbuck’s staff. Never be silent and always ask.”

Another added: “As a parent, this story shook me to the core, but also gave me hope that there’s still some humanity out there.”

“As a father of daughter, I’m glad people are still looking out,” another user wrote.

“That’s some quick thinking by the staff. Nice to see people looking out for one another,” a fourth commented.

With another person simply writing that the entire story gave them goosebumps.

Topics: Social Media, Starbucks, US News

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.