A Dunkin' Donuts employee has been fired for writing a "Stop Hangin'" message on the cup of a homeless woman last week, the store owner told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A photo of the cup with the message spread on social media after it was posted by a customer at the store located at 125 Court Street in downtown Cincinnati, the newspaper wrote. The original post, which has been deleted started on Instagram, but screenshots of it turned up on Facebook, the Enquirer reported.
WXIX-TV reported that a customer went into the Dunkin' Donuts to purchase the homeless woman the drink late last week. Franchise owner Mike Benhase told the television that the employee making the beverage took "matters into her own hands" in writing the message.
"She had some sort of issue," Benhase, who confirmed to WXIX-TV Friday that the employee was no longer with the company.
"Stop 'Hangin' out in-front of the store. If you have a full time job! – management," the message read on the cup, the newspaper noted.
"(The message) goes against everything we stand for," Benhase told the Enquirer. "We're just a small family business and we preach to our employees long and hard about the values of respect and dignity."
Benhase said the homeless woman who received the cup had stopped at the location numerous times but had not been back since, according to the newspaper.
"I feel bad for that person," Benhase told the Enquirer. "I would very much like the chance to reach out to the person and apologize for what happened."
WXIX-TV said Benhase owns eight Dunkin' Donuts locations and has been in the business for 12 years.
"The management and the ownership of our company does not support that (message) whatsoever," Benhase told WXIX-TV. "We're all about taking care of people, being nice to people, our business is built on being nice."
The incident brought mixed reactions on social media.