Starbucks Barista Receives $21,000 In Tips After Refusing To Serve Woman Without A Mask

Lenin Gutierrez, a Starbucks barista in San Diego, received around $21,000 in tips from an online effort after news of his refusal to serve a mask-less patron spread. The customer then posted a photo of the barista and wrote a narrative of her visit, saying that next time she will bring a medical exemption to the place and will also call the cops.

Refusing To Serve Mask-less Customers

Gutierrez thought it was going to be an uneventful day until Amber Lyn Gilles walked in without a face mask on. When she tried to get the attention of the barista to order something, Gutierrez refused to do so because she was not wearing a mask.

Gilles later posted a photo of the barista on her Facebook account Monday (June 22) and detailed her visit. She captioned it with ‘Meet Lenen from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption.’ The post has reportedly been shared over 47,000 times and has earned more than 133,000 comments. Some of the comments ask Gilles to direct her ire elsewhere while others accuse her of being a “privileged mess.”

Raising Money

After seeing a lot of comments supporting Gutierrez in his encounter with Gilles, Matt Cowan of Irvine, California, decided to start an online effort to raise money for the Starbucks employee. He set up a GoFundMe page for Gutierrez and set the goal at $1,000, thinking that they would be lucky if they will be able to hit $250. As of Thursday, the online effort has raised over $21,029 from just about 2,000 donors.

According to Cowan, he helped raise money for the barista because of his honorable effort in standing his ground when confronted with a Karen in the wild. The term “Karen” is an online term referring to middle-aged white females who are perceived as entitled. In an interview with KGTV, the Irvine resident said that when their online effort hit $100, he became overwhelmed.

Doing The Right Thing

Cowan also said he was awed by how people can rally around someone they do not know for doing what they are supposed to do and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. “It just goes to show you there are a lot of good people out there, and that outweighs the bad,” he told KGTV.

A Starbucks representative, on the other hand, told news outlets in a statement that the popular chain wants everyone to feel welcome at any of its locations. “We respectfully request customers follow social distancing and safety protocols recommended by public health officials, including wearing a facial covering when visiting our stores,” the representative added.