UPDATE: Rob Rowen said in a Facebook post that Starbucks has lifted the ban:
Rob "Starbucks Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" Rowen with the latest update about the Banned from Starbucks for Life. Well I talked with a Senior VP from Austin, Starbucks regional office. I will say he said the right things. The ban is lifted, but it is not about the ban, it is about the way they relate to their handicapped patrons. I told him their needs to be change to their store and local regional managers as they did not seem alarmed about protecting their disabled customers, but more alarmed about protecting their illegally parking customers. I also said he needs to work to do something on a national level to show they care in a way that makes a difference. One easy fix is to have signage that you can see when you order letting a person know that they have their handicapped parking reserved for those who need it. Another idea is better training for their Managers, also they need to take this black eye and turn it around and become a leader in this issue. Finally as a way of saying they are sorry, how about a latte one day for all their disable customers. Talk is cheap, let's see some action from you Starbucks to show that you really care.
EARLIER
A man will have to get his caffeine fix elsewhere after he says he was banned from Starbucks for life.
Rob Rowen says he visited the Tampa, Florida, coffee shop so often that baristas usually had his drink waiting for him. Recently he received a letter in the mail from a Starbucks manager saying he can no longer visit any of their coffee shops because he would call out customers who would break the law in the parking lot.
Rowan says he would ask people who parked in the only handicapped space to move their car after he determined that they weren't handicapped. His son-in-law is handicapped.
Starbucks reportedly is working to resolve the matter.
