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Starbucks gets hard lesson in spelling

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Last week, when a customer got her and her sister’s Starbucks cup back from the barista, her name written in the classic black pencil-crayon letters above the brown cup sleeve was slightly askew.Her sister – whose name was Virginia – was named “Vagina”.The customer went on to post a rant on Starbucks Facebook page, which has since disappeared, but it's now received attention right across the web including global news sites.“This is my sister's cuppa from your HKU branch. Fancy your staff not being able to spell an American name like Virginia."She went on to say that it was not the first time - it was once written as 'Virgin'."Every Starbucks experience for her has been coupled with fear and anticipation. But THIS is just unacceptable. Starbucks HK, you have to buck up or just not spell your customer's name anyway.She went on to say it was derogatory, even if it is unintentional.The post was met with mixed response, with some people arguing that it’s harsh to expect perfect spelling from a local Chinese staff.It comes just days before the official launch of Starbucks' Rewards Programme, a mobile app or physical card that lets customers collect points in exchange for coffee.

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