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ONTARIO, British Columbia — A female customer complained about a mom breastfeeding in a Starbucks in Ontario, British Columbia, last week and instead of asking the mom to leave, the male employee came to her defense.
Julie Wykes went to Starbucks with her infant son, who started getting fussy because he was hungry, she told SheKnows.com. Instead of getting a beverage to go, like she had planned, she sat down to nurse her baby. A female customer complained loudly to the male barista at the register and said it was "disgusting," Wykes said.
Instead of asking Wykes to leave, he came over to her, apologized, offered her a free refill and said, “Here's a voucher for a free drink next time you're in here. I am so sorry that you had to deal with such unpleasantness today."
The story has received resounding praise around the Internet after popular blogger PhD in Parenting reported the story on her Facebook page.
“We want everyone who comes to our stores to enjoy their visit and to be treated with dignity and respect," Director of Public Affairs at Starbucks Canada Louisa Girotto told Yahoo. "We were very pleased with the customer service our partner offered the woman who was breastfeeding, and I will reach out to him directly.”
The barista and hero of breastfeeding moms everywhere has been identified by Starbucks as Alex Kim. The post by PhD in Parenting has received over 28,000 likes and 1,200 comments praising Kim's actions.
"At first I was flabbergasted by the woman's response to public breastfeeding," Wykes told SheKnows.com. "To have a young man be more kind and informed than a middle-aged woman who may have had children herself was a shock. And while it may be a huge multinational company, I am glad that such a positive experience occurred in a Starbucks. It shows that they employ good people."
