Starbucks Barista In California Receives $60,000 In Tips After Refusing To Serve A Customer Who Was Not Wearing A Mask

A Starbucks customer was unimpressed when Lenin Gutierrez, a barista employed at a Starbucks in San Diego, California, refused to serve her as she was not wearing a mask, therefore breaking the rule that had been in place since May 1 where all citizens are required to wear protective masks unless they have a medical exemption.

The woman went on to post a message on her Facebook profile, where she complained about the young barista: “Meet lenen (she misspelled his name), from Starbucks, who refused to treat me because I don’t wear a mask. Next time, I’ll wait for the police and take a medical exemption”.

In the post, she also attached a photo of Gutierrez, prompting thousands of responses on social media defending the Starbucks employee and creating a GoFundMe campaign to tip Gutierrez for putting up with the difficult customer’s attitude. It began four days ago and has so far raised nearly $60,000, which Gutierrez hopes to put towards his dream of becoming a dancer.

According to Gutiérrez, when he asked the customer if she had a mask, she said no and started cursing, took a picture of him, and threatened to contact his superiors. However, the customer claims she simply called his actions out but she “never threatened him” and has since received thousands of death threats over the incident.