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Poor communication insults customers! Starbucks employee fired!

Published: 2026-08-26 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/08/26, ▲ Click to pay attention| Daily Boutique Coffee Culture Magazine Coffee Factory Recently, in response to the widespread social media incident of "female coffee chain staff insulting China tourists," Starbucks Malaysia issued a statement confirming that the store involved is located in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2), and announced that

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Recently, in response to the widely circulated incident of "female coffee chain staff insulting China tourists" on social media, Starbucks Malaysia issued a statement confirming that the store involved is located in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2), and announced that the barista involved was fired on September 21.

The cause of the incident originated from a Short Video posted on social media. It can be seen from the video that while ordering an order at a Starbucks store in Malaysia, a China tourist tried to communicate with the clerk with the help of artificial intelligence AI tools and translation software because of his lack of fluent English, but he still encountered difficulties.

In the video, the customer tried to place an order in simple English, but the conversation atmosphere was awkward due to language barriers. When tourists asked about the price of drinks, the clerk in charge of the reception told them impatiently that one of them had been sold out. During the communication between the two parties, the shop assistant murmured "bodoh" in a low voice, but the tourists did not notice it at the time and just shared the experience as an interesting thing on social media.

However, many Malaysian netizens noticed the low level of abuse in the shop assistant's mouth when watching the video, and left messages to inform the video publisher and explain that "bodoh" means stupid in Malay.

They criticized the shop assistant for not having the patience to see the interpreter and explain the situation to tourists who did not understand the situation. Instead, they insulted consumers with "bodoh", lacking basic courtesy and professionalism, and believed that her behavior seriously damaged Malaysia's image."She scolded you 'bodoh', although I am Malaysian, this attitude is really not good... Calling you bodoh to your face means a fool. I apologize to you on behalf of all Malaysians."

Some aggrieved Malaysian netizens filed a complaint with the Starbucks store in the video on behalf of the tourist after the incident, demanding that management take severe punishment against the shop assistant involved and apologize to the China tourist.

After the incident attracted widespread attention, Starbucks Malaysia's official account issued a statement on social platforms that the company had noticed rumors on social media about the store staff insulting customers, and after a comprehensive internal investigation, it had fired the person involved. The employee said that the barista's behavior ran counter to the values adhered to by the company and did not reflect Starbucks's consistent service standards.

The company emphasized that Starbucks is committed to creating a friendly environment for all customers, regardless of their background, nationality or language spoken."We deeply regret this incident and sincerely apologize to the affected customers and the public. We promise to take all necessary measures to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again. "

In addition, Starbucks Malaysia also revealed that it has strengthened employee training to ensure that all employees understand the importance of cultural sensitivity, respect for communication, and Starbucks customer service standards.

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