Starbucks baristas had mixed reactions to the racial bias training they received as part of the coffee company's efforts to address discrimination.
About 8,000 stores across the U.S. were shuttered for four hours on Tuesday afternoon as Starbucks conducted the training in response to an April incident in which employees called police on two black men who were waiting for a business associate, asked to use the bathroom, and were told bathrooms were only for paying customers.
The training was meant to initiate conversations about "race, bias, and creating an environment that is welcome to all," Fox News noted, but it also sparked online discussions about the training itself.
The overall response on Twitter was positive, with many employees praising Starbucks for the initiative.
"I'm proud to work for this company," one employee posted to Twitter along with a video clip of one of the training sessions.
However, others were quick with their humorous jabs, posting snarky comments to Twitter and Reddit.
One employee posted a photo of a response to a question that had to be filled in, asking employees how they felt when a customer was not engaged or present.
"Great," the Reddit user named Purrrista wrote. "I hate people."
Another Reddit user named sie_dummkopf posted a photo of a workbook that had been handed out to employees with the sarcastic caption "so happy to be here. I'm having fun."
Other employees found the training unproductive and disappointing.
"I certainly think that this company isn’t doing nearly enough to combat the problem it tried to tackle," one employee tweeted.
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