(Bloomberg) -- Starbucks Corp. -- recognizing it’s often a safe space for the most vulnerable visitors -- has installed needle-disposal boxes in some locations.
The coffee giant has added the boxes in at least two dozen U.S. markets, Business Insider reported. The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The chain has been training employees to treat anyone who walks in the door as a customer, whether they intend to make a purchase or not. The policy move followed a highly publicized confrontation in Philadelphia last April where a store manager called police on two black patrons. The open-door policy offers a fresh set of challenges, employees have said, from more homeless or mentally ill visitors and even a surprise bathroom birth.
Workers called for the chain to install needle-collection boxes in its bathrooms as employees have reported finding blood and needles, Business Insider reported, citing an Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anne Riley Moffat in New York at ariley17@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder
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