Starbucks barista shares text from boss that made her quit immediately

A university student in the US has shared the text message from her boss that made her quit her job at Starbucks immediately. Photo / Getty Images

A university student in the US has shared the text message from her boss that made her quit her job at Starbucks immediately.

Auralee Smith had worked as a barista at the coffee chain for nearly three years when she texted her manager about filling her shift because she had to have her pet dog put down.

"I'm sorry to do this but I'm trying to find coverage for my Sunday shift. I have to put my dog down on Saturday night and I will be an absolute mess. She's my best friend," the 21-year-old wrote, adding, "I'm going to text some people and see if they can help out."

The last thing she expected, Smith later told Insider, was for her boss to request she reschedule the appointment.

"I'm really gonna need you to find coverage. I understand it's a tough situation but you have plenty of notice so it's not going to be approved if you don't come in," her manager responded.

"Is there a way you could do it on a night where you don't work the next day?"

"I read that last sentence, and I was audibly like, 'Oh. What on earth? How?' How was that the decision of what to say to me?" Smith said.

"That was such a harsh response to me, just asking me if I could change the day I put her to sleep."

The text message, Smith said, was the final straw.

'I read [my manager's] last sentence, and I audibly was like, 'Oh. What on earth? How?". Photo / Twitter

"I'll do my best to find coverage. I'm sorry this is inconvenient but it's the family dog and she's very sick and it's what my family has decided to do. I can't reschedule when I put my dog down for Starbucks," she wrote in reply.

"This is also me putting in my two weeks officially. I've worked for this company for 2.5 years and I appreciate what it's done for me but I'm ready to move on."

Smith told Insider that she wasn't entirely surprised by her manager's response, saying that it was Starbucks as a company – not her boss – that cultivated an environment where employees were overworked and underappreciated.

"To me, this is just the mentality that Starbucks promotes behind the scenes," she said.

"It just kept getting worse over my time at Starbucks that the mentality that leads to somebody asking me to change the day I put my dog to sleep. I already felt like I was getting burnt out and stuff. Then, when I just saw that, that was it."

She added that the coffee chain – which has upwards of 15,000 stores across America – "are still sticking so hard to this idea that they're trying to be a little family-owned coffee shop or something and not the McDonald's of coffee shops".

"It's not a little mum-and-pop store, and they expect you to act like it is while everything is short-staffed and toxic and callous," Smith said.

But a spokesperson for Starbucks told Insider that the texts Smith posted to Twitter and Reddit did not show the full picture.

"The health and wellbeing of our partners is and continues to be our top priority," they said.

"In this instance, we were able to support this partner in getting her work covered at that time."

The company also offers personal and sick leave, though in this case, Smith did not ask for it and her manager didn't offer it.

While Smith said she received a lot of support on social media for her plight, some users pointed out she would probably face similar responses in other jobs.

"While I understand why you would be upset, the manager offered condolences and was understanding as long as you're able to get coverage," one wrote on Twitter.

"If he makes the exception for you, he'd have to do it for everyone, which in a business, he could get in trouble and lose his job."

"I love, love dogs, but this is the real grown-up world," agreed another.

"They are running a business. Perhaps not the most supportive manager, but no, your responsibility as an employee doesn't stop because you're putting your beloved dog down. Suspect you will find this true as you go forward."