Open Resignation Letter to Philz Coffee

I have loved working for this company. I have made lifelong memories and friends at Philz and I am profoundly grateful for that.

I have also built relationships with wonderfully kind regular customers, one of them named Chris.

Chris was a genuinely nice, regular, paying customer. He waited outside in the morning for us to open the doors and without fail, every single morning he would hold the door open to let others in first. He would enter with a smile, sit in the corner to use his laptop, and enjoy Philz for hours, as many other customers do. Chris was kind, but Chris was homeless, and Chris smelled. By the persistent complaints of a minority of customers, Chris no longer returns to Philz.

To Phil:

Although, I was not there when you came in to speak to Chris in person, I have heard several accounts of that conversation from others. I was the one you spoke to when you called the store the next morning to ask if Chris was there. When I said to you, “No, he’s not”, you responded, “Okay good”. To be honest, you sounded so cold over the phone, that I was compelled to ask people what happened the night before, and what was said to Chris. Regardless of how kind you were to his face during that conversation, Chris was a victim. He was singled out and treated differently. You humiliated a regular, paying customer and made him feel unwelcome. Chris was asked not to return because he is homeless. Do not claim it was for any other reason because there are customers who try to charm their ways out of paying (which Chris never did), customers who spend hours and hours at Philz on their laptops. There are customers who take off their shoes and make themselves at home, customers who fall asleep on our couches. There are customers who smell, whether it’s cologne or sweat, but you wouldn’t dare refuse service to someone wearing Patagonia or Lululemon. I am aware that a number of customers complained about Chris’ unpleasant smell and I fully understand that that is a business’ main concern: numbers. While the mission of Philz is to “better people’s days” with “cups of love”, I understand that every company’s true mission is to make money. However, I and other Forest employees expected you to uphold the supposed mission of this company.

I hope this company will make better decisions and not just claim to “better days”. Certain changes for the sake of consistency and mass appeal here and there that seem to be the result of rapid growth and expansion have left me disappointed in a company I believed in once. To be honest, it feels like this company is just becoming more and more corporate and sterilized. However those concerns pale in comparison to what I felt when Phil called the store to confirm Chris did not return. Is it so much to ask that you don’t succumb to inconsiderate customers who have the audacity to request the removal of another human being based on something that person cannot control? Is it really too much to ask that you treat all your paying customers equally?

I have come to my own conclusion that this was discrimination based on so much more than hygiene. Since I cannot work a day without questioning this company’s integrity I have given my resignation.

Thank you for your time.

For Chris:

This message will likely not reach you, but I’m sorry for what happened. We, the ones who served you coffee daily, collectively do not support this decision. We work in a company where a few people make decisions on behalf of the majority. So I sincerely hope this message from the majority of regret and frustration might reach you.