Teigahn Sangster visited the branch in Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh, with a friend.
The employee supposedly daubed ‘fat’ or ‘fato’ on the side of the cup (Picture: Mercury) The horse rider was left embarrassed (Picture: Mercury)
The trip was the 11-year-old’s first outing without her parents.
The schoolgirl claims that the employee penned ‘fat’ or ‘fato’ on the side of the cup – instead of her name – after she ordered a small caramel frappucino.
Starbucks have confirmed they are ‘urgently investigating’ the matter.
Teigahn from Joppa, Edinburgh, said: ‘I felt really shocked when I saw what was written.
‘As we sat down my friend first spotted it and said “that’s rude”. I felt really embarrassed, upset and angry by it.
‘What if they’d written it for someone who was bigger? They would feel quite hurt by it and think they had a point – it would scar them for life.
‘I’d been excited to go as it was the first time we’d gone on our own and felt really grown up but after seeing what was written I just wanted to go home – it really spoiled it for me.’
Teigahn’s mum Dionne Ford said she was ‘disgusted’ by what Happened to her daughter.
Mortgage and protection broker Dionne, 34, said: ‘I was furious when I heard what had happened – especially on her first trip alone.
‘She phoned me from the café to tell me what had happened and I told her to bring the cup home.
‘She told me “it doesn’t matter mum, I am fat”.
‘It was really upsetting to hear – it made her feel so little and knocked her confidence, I think it’s terrible.
‘She’s tall for her age, 5ft 5, and is well developed already but she’s not fat by any stretch of the imagination.
‘She wears adult size eight clothing and regularly goes horse riding and indoor rock climbing – she’s a really active girl.
‘The staff need extra training and if it was done as a personal attack that person should be reprimanded, it’s completely disgusting.’
A spokesman for eating disorder charity Beat said: ‘We are aware that low self-esteem and poor body image, which may be caused by comments like these, can contribute to and perpetuate an illness.
‘It is important that as a society we strive to promote healthy body image from a young age, and to celebrate people for what they do, rather than how they look.’
A Starbucks spokesman said: ‘We are concerned to learn of this as this is not indicative of the friendly service we provide in our stores.
Writer: Georgia Diebelius for Metro.co.uk
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