Starbucks Fires Steamed Barista for Video Rant

Calls song 'teachable moment' for company
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 22, 2011 1:16 PM CDT

A California Starbucks worker was sent packing after posting a video rant about his job—in song form. Christopher Cristwell took his guitar to YouTube to air his venti-sized frustrations; the clip was picked up by a Starbucks blog and he lost his job, the Merced Sun-Star reports. Among the lyrical highlights: “Two Frappucinos? They take forever to make/ You know there’s about a pound of fat in your RF coffee cake.”

“You’ve got a gang of angry kids, can you shut them up?/ I just want to draw a middle finger on your cup,” Cristwell sings, naked except for a green apron. “The disparaging remarks about our customers and company are unacceptable and out of line with our commitment to our customers and partners,” a Starbucks rep said in a statement. But Cristwell wants the video to be a “teachable moment” for his bosses. “Starbucks should probably realize this is a mentality for many of their employees,” he says. (More Starbucks stories.)

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