The Complainant bought a matcha tea latte at a branch of the Respondent. When handling the cup over to the Complainant, the server drew the Complainant’s smile and eyes, rather than inscribing her name. The eyes were referred to in the evidence as ‘slanty’ eyes. The Complainant asserted that this was offensive to her because of the racial connotation and her Thai-Irish heritage. The Respondent affirmed that this was not motivated by racism and apologised for the incident. The Respondent maintained that the Complainant’s boyfriend used a racial slur during the incident, calling the Respondent’s employee a ‘f****** Black c***’, an assertion he denied.

The Complainant outlined that at the counter of the Respondent’s premises, the employee asked for