It’s not unusual these days to have to wear a mask wherever you go. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing face coverings in settings where you’re around large gatherings has actually become the norm.
However, there are still plenty of people who think the rules don’t apply to them and refuse to enter a store—a store with a very clear policy about wearing a mask—without something covering their nose and mouth. One of those people goes by the name Amber Gilles.
When Amber entered a Starbucks in California to get a coffee without the proper face covering, Lenen Gutierrez, one of the employees, told her that he couldn’t serve her unless she put on a mask.
It was a simple request that could’ve been solved in a few seconds, but Amber wasn’t going to have that. Instead of putting on a mask, she left the store without her brew and took to Facebook to let out her emotions.
She posted a photo of Lenen at work with the caption, “Meet Lenen from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption.”
While she may have thought she’d get a host of support on the matter, her post completely backfired when it went viral, racking up comments from more people siding with Lenen over Amber.
“You are a privileged mess,” one person told Amber. “It’s almost satire how incredibly aloof you seem.”
“I hate the whole mask thing, but I don’t blame the kid behind the counter,” another person commented. “They need to follow the rules that are given by their supervisors … supervisors don’t want to get in trouble either.”
“Good Job Lenen. Your integrity, health and job is first,” another person wrote, commending the barista for his actions.
After the post took off, a GoFundMe page was also set up for Lenen, which has since raised a pretty penny (much more than he’d get as a tip for a caramel macchiato, we’d imagine). The page has raised more than $21,029 from nearly 2,000 donors.
A man named Matt Cowan who witnessed the incident had set up the page, thinking it wouldn’t really get very far, but wanted to give Lenen some credit. “I set it at $1,000, thinking that was a reach and we would be lucky if we hit like $250,” Cowan said. “And when we hit $100 I was overwhelmed by that.”
What do you think about businesses requiring customers to wear masks? Would you ever enter a building without one knowing masks were required? How have you been keeping yourself and others safe during the pandemic?