A woman’s recent visit to a Starbucks outlet located in Sunway Medical Centre turned into an unexpected and unpleasant experience when one of the staff members wrote an offensive term instead of her name on the cup.
Bavitra Ramachandran, the aggrieved customer, took to Facebook to express her anger and demand appropriate action from Starbucks Malaysia, specifically addressing the outlets at Sunway Medical Centre and Sunway Velocity Mall.
In her Facebook post dated May 15, Bavitra Ramachandran vented her disappointment over the Starbucks staff’s misrepresentation of her name.
The name ‘babi,’ which means ‘pig’ in Malay, was scrawled on her cup, causing immense distress and leaving her shocked.
Understandably, such an occurrence is unacceptable and widely regarded as an offensive act, as the term ‘babi’ carries derogatory connotations in the local culture.
Firmly addressing Starbucks Malaysia in her social media post, Bavitra expressed her intention to take legal action against the company, declaring her intention to sue.
She questioned how it was possible for the Malay staff not to be aware that ‘babi’ is not a legitimate human name, raising doubts about the employee’s cultural awareness and sensitivity.
“Starbucks Malaysia, I’m going to sue you! Starbucks Sunway Medical Centre (and) Starbucks Sunway Velocity Mall, impossible that your Malay staff doesn’t know there is no human name that starts with ‘babi’!”
Following Bavitra’s post, netizens expressed mixed opinions regarding the incident.
Some stood in support of Bavitra’s stance against Starbucks Malaysia, acknowledging the need for accountability and urging her to proceed with legal action.
They emphasized that regardless of any miscommunication or misunderstanding, the staff had no right to demean someone’s name.
Others, however, suggested that it could have been a misguided attempt at humor, advising Bavitra to approach the situation with caution before resorting to legal measures.
Addressing the comment section, one individual empathized with Bavitra’s predicament, as they shared the same name and had experienced similar blunders in the past.
Unfortunately, the Facebook post can no longer be accessed by the public hence we were unable to embed it in this article.
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