Howard Schultz for president?! Starbucks baristas told to change the subject
I stopped into my Starbucks on the Ave in the University District to ask baristas what they thought of Howard Schultz's possible run for president.
They stonewalled me.
Turns out the coffee giant has issued detailed instructions to employees about how to defuse heated political conversations that could come up about its former CEO's likely run as an independent.
Four employees very nicely told me they had no opinion of Schultz, and his politics are his business.
Someone told me Schultz has nothing to do with Starbucks.
And we now know that was no accident.
The Huffington Post reports that the company sent out a memo for how to talk about this exact subject.
It tells employees if a political conversation comes up — they call it "aggressive political opinions" — try to defuse it, and try changing the subject back to coffee.
If anyone specifically asks about Schultz, they're to say exactly what I heard: "Howard’s future plans are up to him."
So the company is obviously concerned that the passionate reaction we've been seeing this week could be taken out on a barista.
The baristas I talked to said a few customers had mentioned Schultz but so far there have not been any heated discussions.
Schultz speaks at The Moore at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Protesters will start to arrive around 6 p.m. (Some will be there because he's a third party candidate, and they want him to pick a party; Sonics fans will be there because they refuse to forgive.)