Target has sacked a long-time employee and several others across the US for purchasing special-edition Stanley cups, citing a policy against workers using their position to gain an unfair advantage when buying merchandise. Catherine Carter, who has worked for the American retail giant for 19 years at one of its stores near Miami, Florida, USA, revealed that she had “never been written up, never called out, [and] never been late.”

However, her squeaky clean almost two decades of work came to a brutal ending on January 3 when she stopped by her store’s Starbucks café while on break, where she said a barista asked her if she wanted to buy one of the exclusive Starbucks X Stanley mugs.

Target has sacked several workers across the US for purchasing special-edition Stanley cups

Image credits: kaitlinsondae

Catherine told Business Insider (BI): “My mama passed from breast cancer, so I always try to get as much pink as I can.” The loyal employee also said that her managers were present during the transaction and raised no objection.

Nevertheless, Catherine ended up being fired the following week, thanks to that pink stainless steel insulated cup, which retailed for $49.95, BI reported.

The terminated worker was just one of many others across the country who were sacked by Target in January after purchasing special-edition Stanley Quencher mugs.

Starbucks and Target released limited edition Stanley cups for the so-called “Galentine’s Collection” earlier this month. Upon its release, hundreds of people were filming while waiting to buy a cup in extensively long lines, with some even starting the wait from 3 A.M.

Seven other employees reported a policy against using their positions for unfair merchandise advantage, especially for high-demand items like Pokémon cards and PlayStation consoles. 

Three separate workers revealed that they had offered to return the doomed cup when they were informed of the problem, only to see their offers declined.

Target employees reported a policy against using their positions for unfair merchandise advantage

Image credits: Shabaz Usmani

Like most retailers, Target is an at-will employer, which means it may terminate a worker’s employment at any time for any reason, or no reason at all, as per BI. 

Moreover, the retailer’s employees have reportedly said that they were either unaware of the company rule’s existence or that they did not realize they violated the rule when they purchased one of the cups.

In two cases, workers admitted they had bought a Stanley tumbler that was improperly set aside by a colleague, whereas in two other situations, employees had bought Quenchers that hadn’t been properly “re-shopped” (returned to the correct location on the sales floor) after online orders were canceled, BI reported.

Two other incidents, which included Catherine’s case, involved the worker’s managers either witnessing or otherwise expressly approving their purchases.

Starbucks and Target Released Limited Edition Stanley cups for the so-called “Galentine’s Collection” earlier this month

Image credits: kaitlinsondae

welp I got fired from target for buying the stanley cup while working 🤭

love working double my schedule constantly, not calling out, to be terminated over a cup bc I was unaware of the policy

Princess Peach still sipping tho 💖 pic.twitter.com/jv3uxqVu9L

— Sunay👑 (@PrincessSunay) January 11, 2024

One Starbucks employee in Maryland, USA, never even bought a cup but confessed she was now facing termination for allowing one to be sold before the official release date, BI reported.

None of the seven employees BI spoke to said they expected the Stanly product could end up costing them their jobs. “I just don’t think they’re doing right,” Catherine said of Target. “I mean, for a cup. Come on, a cup.”

Other stories echoing Catherine’s experience have surfaced on a Target subreddit, with one Reddit user recalling having a conversation with a coworker about shifts not being picked up, only to find out that several people had been fired.

They wrote: “They then informed me that four or five of our fellow coworkers were also just fired for purchasing Starbucks X Stanley’s. I guess they hid them and then purchased them. 

“Remember team: Is a cup really worth your job?”

“They are customers, too,” a reader argued

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