Starbucks barista suspended after 'humiliating' a stammerer 'by writing his name as RRR...ichard on his coffee to mock the customer's speech impediment'

A Starbucks barista was suspended after 'humiliating' a man who struggles with a stammer by allegedly writing his name as 'RRR...ichard' on his order.  Richard Procter says he was handed the cup in the Starbucks at Ashford International railway station in Kent by the callous barista last Friday morning. The employee appears to have daubed Mr Procter's name around the lip of the cup with extra letters and an ellipsis to indicate where he struggled with a speech impediment. Mr Procter, who runs an IT company in Kent, complained to the Starbucks UK Facebook page.
He wrote: 'The treatment I received from one of the [Starbucks] staff was extremely offensive and humiliating.
'Would this be acceptable to a person with more obvious disabilities? I highly doubt it.
'Yes I have a speech impediment, and have been subjected to many jokes over the years, of which most I can handle, however there are many people that struggle to cope in public and this could be extremely upsetting for them.
This is not unique but for some reason some of society think it's acceptable behaviour.
'The only difference in this instance is that I was handed the proof instead of having to listen to the comment.'
The 42 -year-old, from near Rye in Essex, added: 'You get jokes about it through childhood, adolescence and at work and you become thick skinned to it.
'You get to a point and think 'hang on a minute, you're taking the mick out of me'.
'It's one thing to have people say things to you but then doing it and handing it back in my face on a cup is something else.
'My parents said that the stammer developed when I was five, it's just one of those things you're dealt with in life.
'It [the stammer] generally comes down to confidence. Occasionally when someone catches you unaware the pressure can build up and it's a case of trying to deal with it. There are certain ways of getting round it by saying different words, but you can't change your name.
'I tend to struggle with 'r's and 's's.' I didn't notice anything until I sat down on the train with my drink, I was taken aback.'
Mr Procter said  that people with stammers are portrayed as either being simple or the butt of jokes.
'If you look through TV shows and films people with stammers are generally seen as the funny character who's seen as someone simple,' he said.
'I contribute to society just as much as anyone else.'
Chief executive of The British Stammering Association (BSA) Norbert Lieckfeldt said: 'This is just another example of the ridicule and thoughtlessness that people who stammer face every day and which makes living your life with a stammer so hard.
'We know that stammering is a physical, neurological disability, covered by the Equality Act - one is left wondering what kind of service others, for example people with cerebral palsy, can expect from Starbucks?
'BSA is working hard to educate service providers, employers and others to ensure this kind of discrimination becomes a thing of the past.'