My conversation with Kevin Stock
Yesterday, at the request of a member of the ADAPT Youth Community, I went to the infamous Starbuck’s where we’d had our action in September to see if it had been made accessible. It wasn’t, so I went back home and decided to call Kevin Stock, lead counsel for for Starbuck’s. I’d gotten the action alert and posted it here after I got home, and decided to make the call.
Speaking directly to Mr. Stock was not something that I expected to do, but when he answered on the first ring and identified himself, I took a deep breath and began by stating my business. I said nothing about the action alert, but indicated that I had been at the September action, and had been briefed about the ongoing communications with the Starbuck’s corporate office. I asked if he was going to fax the agreement with ADAPT, and if he hadn’t would he do so.
Kevin didn’t address that question, but did say that he’d e-mailed a response to Sarah Watkins. I went on to ask about what would be done about the DC Starbuck’s. According to him, he has been in contact with the landlord of the building, who cited the building’s historical designation as the reason for the inaccessibility. He told me that he offered to have a buzzer installed at the side entrance at Starbuck’s expense. Kevin stated that the landlord had a meeting yesterday with his architect, and is supposed to get back to him.
I asked Kevin what will Starbuck’s do if the landlord gets back to him and refuses to allow the buzzer to be put in. He said that he would meet with the governing council for that building and do everything possible to to get the buzzer put in, and that he hoped that they would, especially since Starbuck’s would pay for installing the buzzer. I asked about signage, and he said that there would be signage as well. I asked about the time frame for this, and he said that he wanted to do this as soon as possible.
I told Mr. Stock that I was a regular Starbuck’s customer, and that I lived just up the street from a Starbuck’s that had been made accessible. I went on to say that I usually found Starbuck’s staff to be extremely helpful and friendly, and was astounded at the rudeness that we encountered when we visited the Starbuck’s at 7th and Indiana, in Washington, DC. Stating my knowledge of Starbuck’s policy of supporting social justice causes and issues, I expressed surprise that it seemed that this policy did not appear to include access for people with disabilities. Kevin responded that Starbuck’s is committed to universal access. He confided that he had received many e-mails and calls from ADAPT members, and was afraid that we were painting an incorrect picture of Starbuck’s, that it’s image would be hurt by the escalation of the situation. He reiterated that Starbuck’s cares about all of it’s customers, and that it was in their best interest to resolve this problem to the satisfaction of all. He went on to aplolgize for the rudeness of the manager of the DC Starbuck’s.
Kevin asked if he could get my e-mail address so that he could send me copies of any correspondence with ADAPT. I agreed, but said that since he had been communicating with the ADAPT Youth Community, that I felt that the youth needed to continue to be the lead in this, and he agreed.
All in all, the conversation lasted about 15 or 20 minutes, and Kevin Stock was very nice. Not once did he get impatient or angry, or raise his voice, even when expressing his fear of the tarnishing of the Starbuck’s image by the action alert. Frankly, I was surprised that he spent so much time with me, and I did express my appreciation of both his time, and his kindness. Despite this, I have taken a wait and see attitude because I have been in many situations where negotiations were pleasant, yet, there was no follow-up. I’ll let you know how this pans out.