A 37-year old man claimed he was banned from a Starbucks in Spokane, Washington after asking a 16-year old barista out to dinner, according to a CBS Spokane KREM report.  

  The man, who was not identified by KREM because he has not been charged with a crime, said he was at a Starbucks in Spokane last week and wrote a note asking out a barista.  

  In a Facebook post, the man explained the situation from his perspective.  “I was flirted with by a barista.  For some reason she thought I was funny.  Said I was funny.  So I gave her a note to see if she’d be interested in dinner.”

  According to the man, when he went back to the same Starbucks the next day, a police officer told him he was banned from that Starbucks.  

  Daniel Kyun (11) believed that the barista  should have confronted the man or told someone else to talk to him after he gave her the note.  If she expressed her feelings about the situation, he wouldn’t have been as shocked by the ban.  

  “She needed to say she was not interested​ and if she was uncomfortable, then she should have gotten someone else to do it.”

  Spokane police said that businesses can refuse service to customers for as long as they see fit.  The man said that Starbucks discriminated against him due to his age because he didn’t break any particular law.  

  “I know the female Starbucks barista was of legal age to date,” the man said.  “I broke no laws.  I merely took a chance with my heart. I’m tired of hearing the word ‘creep’ as any black person or gay person is tired of hearing certain words.”

  Srujan Kumar (11) said that Starbucks made the right decision even though the man legally did nothing wrong.  

  “I think Starbucks did the moral thing to do, even though it may seem like an invasion of freedom and there weren’t any legal issues because Starbucks was protecting its employee.”

  In his Facebook post, the man urged his friends to complain about the Spokane Starbucks, but many people instead praised the Starbucks for how it handled the situation.  

  One Facebook user wrote, “I have never been so proud to be a Starbucks customer!  As a teen I had to deal with similar issues working in a restaurant as a hostess.  It is an uncomfortable position no girl want[s] to be put in.  Thank you so much for supporting your employees.”

  A Starbucks spokesperson said in response to the incident, “We have no tolerance for any such inappropriate behavior or harassment, and we will continue to support our store partners and local authorities investigating the situation.”