A Glasgow Starbucks has outraged customers after staff refused to serve a homeless man and ejected him from the premises.
Members of the public expressed fury after the man was asked to leave the Buchanan Street store despite having money to purchase a sandwich.
The incident which took place at 8pm on Thursday, March 2, was shared on social media by outraged customer Ed Cheung, whose friend had given the man money to purchase food.
Ed said: "It was clear the guy was in need of help."
"The gentleman approached a few people asking for change as he was hungry."
"My friend gave him money and he took a sandwich and began to queue."
"A member of staff approached him. I actually thought the staff member was assisting the gentleman. Not even within ten seconds he was gone."
"I turned to see the man storming up the street after a member of staff had escorted him from the premises, despite the fact he was willing to pay.
"The member of staff came back inside with the sandwich and threw it in the bin."
Ed said he was furious when he realised what had happened and decided to share the incident on social media.
"Me and my friends are fortunate that we can have a good life. Little things like giving some change to someone in need could impact their life. What is wrong with helping others?"
Ed's Facebook post detailing the incident has sparked an outpouring of complaints from Glasgow residents.
Anne MacDougall said: "Disgusting way to treat anyone."
Liz Lennox said: "The homeless mans money is as good as anyones."
Donna-Marie Hardie said: "Disgusting behaviour some people are less fortunate than others."
Ed's post has received 7,000 shares and more than 12,000 responses.
A spokesperson for Starbucks told the Evening Times the man was known to staff at the branch due to previous 'aggressive' incidents.
A Starbucks spokesperson said: "We want to provide a warm and welcoming place for everyone in our stores.
The safety and security of our partners (employees) and customers is always our highest priority.
Our team has worked with the local police on this recurring issue and we fully support our partners’ approach in resolving a difficult situation.”
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