Starbucks UK Is Honoring The Queen In A Special Way
As Britain and the world mourns the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, companies have been posting tributes and finding ways to honor her legacy. Some businesses, although they seem to be trying, have made the public quite upset with their online condolences. Just hours after the news broke, Heinz U.K. tweeted out a statement, reading "Everyone at Heinz is deeply saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and offer our sincerest condolences to all members of the royal family at this time." Twitter users in the comments immediately tore into aspects of the message. "So sad that you had to use Comic Sans?" one person wrote. "25% off a bottle of ketchup in their online store with the code RIPQUEEN," another commenter said sarcastically.
Despite this, it does seem that some companies are getting it right. In honor of the Queen's funeral on September 19, King Charles III proclaimed the day a bank holiday so workers were able to attend, per The Mirror. The decision to close was left up to the individual business, and it seems like Starbucks will be on the right side of history with its choice.
Local stores plan to close for 3 hours
On Wednesday, September 14, U.K.'s Starbucks page revealed to Twitter that it would be participating in the new bank holiday. The post read, "To support our partners (employees) and ensure they are able to pay their respects to the HM Queen Elizabeth II, we will be closing all company-owned Starbucks stores in the UK between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Monday, 19th September. There will be variations across the U.K. as we work with licensed partners, and in Central London stores closest to the funeral may take the decision to remain open and serve those paying their respects."
In other words, the chain won't be shutting down completely but instead allowing a few hours off for employees. This left people in the comments section a bit unhappy. "A whole 3 hours. Wow," one person wrote. Another comment read, "The entire day would be more respectful." According to The Mirror, many other eateries are making similar decisions. McDonald's will be closed until 5 p.m., and Costa Coffee will close all of its stores other than the ones inside hospitals. Likely, no matter what a business chooses, some people are going to be unhappy regardless.