A Miami woman just found something strange in her Starbucks cup: ‘Is that a tampon?’
Despite the restaurant shutdown due to coronavirus, Magela Esquivel is staying away from drive-thru windows from now on.
The Miami nurse had an unfortunate experience back in February when she said she saw bright red blood on her bag at the Dunkin Donuts pickup window, Local 10 first reported. The cashier at the Hollywood store had apparently cut her finger and stained the bag as well as the napkin and treats inside.
In a case of incredibly bad luck, Esquivel experienced another case of so-called dirty dining on Tuesday morning, she tweeted.
Esquivel and her husband Rodrigo were grabbing drinks at Starbucks at 80 NW 42nd Ave. in Miami. When she opened the lid of her cup, video shows some kind of narrow tube inside. And it’s not a straw.
“This is what I find inside. I don’t even know what the hell this is,” she says, pulling out the tubular object.
In another Twitter clip, her husband holds the thing up and tells the cashier, “I’m keeping this.”
The cashier says he needed the small piece back, and explains that it was part of the whipped cream dispenser. He then asked if they wanted another drink, which the couple declined.
It could have been worse: The healthcare professional thought at first the object in the cup was a feminine hygiene product.
“It is the tip that screws into the whipped cream canister, which has a disturbing similarity to a tampon applicator,” she said. “That’s what I thought it was at first. I was like, ‘Is that a tampon?’ Thank God that’s not what it was.”
Starbucks reached out to her on Twitter right away and Esquivel says the Seattle-based company offered up a $40 gift card. A screenshot of the offer from Starbucks about the “item” in her customer’s cup was provided to the Miami Herald.
“I must be cursed,” Esquivel posted. “Why me? Like, why am I the lucky one? And in the middle of this pandemic, like, really, why? This is not even cool at all!”
As for the Dunkin incident, the Esquivels have retained counsel as there is a definite health concern.
Esquivel thinks she ingested the employee’s blood that day. She and Rodrigo were already tested once but need to be tested two more times this year to figure out if they have hepatitis or some other disease.
“I don’t know why I am the person this always happens to; I have the worst luck,” Esquivel told the Miami Herald. “But what can you do? I’m waiting to find a finger [next]!”
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Starbucks confirmed the object in the customer’s coffee was part of a whipped cream canister and apologized for the incident.
“Upon learning of Ms. Esquivel’s experience, we reached out to apologize for the mistake and assure her of our commitment to make this right,” read the company’s statement in an email to the Miami Herald. “Our partners take great care in crafting beverages, and this mistake should not have happened. We are taking the necessary steps to help prevent this type of situation.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 4:57 PM.
