Starting a weekday morning with coffee is a necessity for many Americans, but on Monday, some Dunkin' Donuts customers say they got a pretty rude awakening at one of the chain's stores, after seeing a sign that has since caused major backlash on social media.
The sign read: "If you hear any of our staff shouting in a language other than English, please call 443-415-7775 immediately with the name of the employee to receive a coupon for free coffee and a pastry — General Manager."
Gillian Morley, a news producer at WBAL-TV in Baltimore, an NBC News affiliate, was among the first to spot the sign and tweeted a photo of it. She added, "This sign is being displayed at a @dunkindonuts in Baltimore. General manager posted a sign asking customers to report employees not speaking English. Even offering a reward. #shocking."
However, the United States does not have a legally official language and it wasn't long before the Twitter universe responded with outrage about the note.
Angry tweeters called out Dunkin' Donuts and demanded that the sign be addressed as soon as possible.
Another user had a different solution and offered their own reward.
Of course, since it is Twitter, instead of responding with some opinion about the content of the sign, some of the people who participated in the social media debate had more to say about the wording of the note itself.
Ultimately, Dunkin' Donuts corporate got involved later in the day and sent out a public statement about the sign, noting, "While her [the store's manager] intent was to address a customer service and satisfaction issue, the franchisee determined her approach was inappropriate and confirmed the sign has been removed."
Ah, the power of social media.
Editor's note: This article was updated on June 19, 2018 with additional information about official languages in the U.S.