I have beef with the Starbucks at the Worldwide Corportate Center in Shaw. Last night, May 27th 2008, I felt discriminated against by the baristas who worked there. This was the first time I felt discriminated in the Philippines!I've been to many different places before, different cities, different countries, and have never felt any sort of discrimination about my race. Therefore I couldn't believe that the first true blatant act of discrimination against me was going to happen in the country of my ancestry.
I walked into Starbucks about 10 minutes before 8pm. There was nobody in line and so I walked in, went up to the counter and smiled. The barista, I forgot her name, had greeted me and was asking me for my order. She knows me by first name already. I frequent this Starbucks more often than not. She took my order and I was in the process of paying when another customer walked in. In walked a tall, older gentleman. His name is Randy. He is the VP of Operations at ICT Group Worldwide Corporate Center.
The baristas greeted him and asked him if he was going to have his regular. I payed, got my receipt and sat down to wait for my drink. As I sat there, Randy greeted me and I smiled back. To my surprise, his drink was finished and served before mine was even started. I was apalled! I could not believe that they started to make his drink before they started mine and they served his drink before they did mine. Even though it was clear that I was the first customer to walk in and I had ordered and payed for my drink before Randy did.
Did Randy deserve to be served first just because he's white? Ladies and gentlemen, that's utterly ridiculous. I was in shock. At first I started to think of different scenarios in my head. Maybe there were two baristas making our drinks and his barista was just faster than mine. Wrong. There was only one barista making the drinks and one at the counter. Therefore it meant that they started to make his drink before mine on purpose. The only reason I could think of as to why that would happen is because he's white.
Is that how it is here in the Philippines? I mean it's insane to think that my first real encounter of discrimination would come from here. In Canada I have never felt discriminated before. In clubs, bars, restaurants, school, especially Starbucks. The baristas should be ashamed of themselves.
I paid for my drink and I expect that my drink be served first if I was the first person there. They're going to get a piece of my mind the next time this happens to me or to anybody else I know. People are not better because they have fairer skin. I'm also a foreign national, I just happen to have darker skin than he did, does that deem me less worthy of good service?
It's unimaginable that someone of that color would discriminate against someone of the same. I should have stood up for myself right then and there, I felt compelled to. But, I saw my friend walk in and I totally forgot about it until just now. Haha.
