CHARLOTTE, N.C (WLOS) — Two Smoothie King locations in Charlotte are being investigated by corporate after two receipts appeared online, showing employees using racist remarks toward customers.
Calvin Caldwell told ABC affiliate WSOC he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the N word printed on his receipt after visiting the store on Holly Huntersville Road.
“I thought it was very disrespectful,” he said. “I thought it was very rude, especially since I’m a paying customer, and I’m a loyal customer–because I come to Smoothie King often. I thought it was in bad taste and completely inappropriate to use that kind of language.”
The second incident involved the Davis Lake Parkway location.
Tony Choi said he found his name listed as “Jackie Chan.”
Choi, who is Korean, posted about the incident to Facebook.
His message read in part, “…the 3 employees working there at the time couldn’t stop laughing about it. I experience racism here and there and usually doesn’t bother me. Today I left this store furious on the inside, trying to not let my young kids know what just happened.”
Smoothie King fired two employees believed to be involved. The company said the entire staff at both stores will undergo sensitivity training.
Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim released the following statement on Sunday:
“Today, two instances happened in our Charlotte franchise stores that are totally unacceptable and go against every value that we stand for. Two of our team members wrote inappropriate, racial remarks about our guests. We have zero tolerance for any action where a guest is disrespected, and we have taken immediate and decisive action. As of tonight, both team members involved have been terminated. Both stores will be closed until the franchisees and their respective teams complete further training on our standards and to ensure that nothing like this occurs again. Additionally, we are continuing our investigation to insure that any individuals involved in these situations have been terminated. This behavior does not in any way reflect our company’s commitment to creating an open and welcoming environment, and for that we sincerely apologize. Our senior management team is taking additional steps to reinforce and retrain all of our franchisee and store-level employees of our inclusivity policies and best practices.”
