A cafe owner is asking for help identifying a woman who she says threw steaming coffee at one of her staff members after she had to wait several minutes for her drink.
Little Latte Drive Thru owner Ebony Spiteri said the woman, who was wearing a pink puffer jacket, visited the location at Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne’s west on Sunday afternoon with another woman.
Shocking CCTV footage from the cafe shows the barista throwing a freshly brewed cup of coffee through the window, only for an unidentified woman to reach inside and throw the coffee at her. Steam rising from the liquid is clearly visible.
“These kinds of things shouldn’t happen to people who are just doing their job… I’m so angry about this,” Spiteri told 3AW’s Jacqui Felgate.
She explained that the cafe is primarily a drive-through restaurant, meaning that cars have priority over people who just walk by. But the woman had only just entered.
‘She was screaming because she hadn’t been served yet, so the customer in their car said, ‘serve her, it’s fine.’ So they took her order first [and] then the car, which took a few seconds, and the coffee made.
“She then gave it to the two women at the walk-up and they started abusing her. My staff member tried to say ‘have a nice day’ and close the window and she forced herself through the opening and just threw the hot coffee at her.
“My coworker was so kind and professional, no one should be treated like that.”
CCTV footage shows the freshly brewed coffee covering the counter and the staff member after it was thrown back through the serving window
The 30-year-old employee was fortunately not injured, but was ‘shocked’
The customer waited less than two minutes before she became angry, said cafe owner Ebony Spiteri
The customer then told the employee to call the police… I did nothing wrong. He then walked away.
Both the police and ambulance were called.
Ms Spiteri said the 30-year-old worker was fortunately not injured but was left “shaken”.
‘She was upset when she called me and is nervous about being there without anyone else there.
“The same goes for my other team members. One of them is eight months pregnant, this could have happened to her too.”
Mrs Spiteri (left) thanked the community for their support of her business (right)
Ms Spiteri said she has spoken to police twice since then to file a complaint, but the woman has not yet been traced.
“My employees don’t feel safe. We want to identify them so this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” she said.
Many Australians attacked the customer who allegedly threw hot coffee and showed their support for the cafe worker.
“She’s always there for me and my partner. She’s really great, always cheerful, always happy,” someone said.
‘Whoever did this is shocked. Disgusting that service personnel have to deal with this.’
Another added: ‘Time is up with the old customer is always the right attitude. Employees need a more protective and relevant rebranding, such as: customer behavior is responsible.’
A third added: ‘Disgraceful behaviour, the customer should be ashamed.’
Another said: ‘What is wrong with people? Everyone is so spoiled and disrespectful. I hope this girl is ok.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Victoria Police and the company for further comment.
