Business owners encourage kindness as mask-related aggression increases
Briona Arradondo reports
TAMPA, Fla. - With Florida s private businesses now having the choice of whether to ask patrons to wear masks, a Bay Area small business owner said she had to put out a special sign to ask customers to treat employees with respect when they enforce the store’s policies.
Customers can get scoops of loose leaf tea, drinks, and sweets at TeBella Tea Company, but the owner said she hopes customers walk in with one basic thing: kindness. I’ve actually fielded quite a few phone calls in the last couple of days from employees that are fearful over the way they’ve been spoken to. They’ve been called names. They’ve been threatened, and they’re pretty upset about it. They don’t deserve that, said Abigail StClair, the owner of TeBella Tea Company.
4 weeks ago Share Abigail StClair has plans for more growth ahead. Staying true to some core hiring principles will be crucial to her company s success.
Soon after Abigail StClair opened her tea shop, a man who worked at the real estate office next door walked in and said, “So let me get this straight this is going to be a tea shop, and you plan to make money at this?”
The same man came back a couple of years later and said: “Abigail, I think I underestimated you. I watched you grow to multiple stores, and I’ve seen how many people come here every day.”