Starbucks Will No Longer Serve Coffee In Personal Mugs Due To Coronavirus Fears
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The world's largest coffeehouse is making changes as the global threat from coronavirus continues to spread.
Starbucks is taking many of the same steps as other corporations in response to the continuing spread of COVID-19 – increasing cleaning and sanitizing of its stores, restricting all business-related travel and changing its procedures for large meetings or postponing them altogether.
But perhaps the biggest change for customers will be Starbucks suspending the serving of coffee in personal mugs or "for here" ware in stores.
"I don't feel a big sense of alarm, but I think people do need to be careful and be aware of what's going on," customer Kim Alvarez said.
The coffee giant says they will continue to offer the 10-cent discount for anyone who brings in their personal mug or asks to consume their coffee or food in store.
Starbucks is among the many international corporations that are getting hit hard by the global outbreak. Stores and restaurants in China have been shut down for weeks, and outbreaks are now being reported throughout Europe and the Middle East.
Besides cleaning more frequently and pausing the use of personal cups, Starbucks will also restrict all business-related travel through March 31, and modify or postpone large meetings in the U.S. and Canada.
Customer Erik Ivins says he's considering the same move for himself.
"I'm a geophysicist and we have an international meeting in Vienna and they're thinking of canceling the meeting because it's collecting 26,000 people from all over the world, he said.
