Case 1-10 Better Boston Beans
Better Boston Beans is a coffee shop located in the Faneuil Hall Marketplace near the waterfront
and Government Center in Boston. It specializes in exotic blends of coffee, including Sumatra
Dark Roast Black, India Mysore “Gold Nuggets,” and Guatemala Antigua. It also serves a
number of blended coffees, including Reggae Blend, Jamaican Blue Mountain Blend, and
p.m. to midnight. She works with one other person, Jeffrey Levy, who is the assistant shift
supervisor. Jeffrey has been with Boston Beans for three years but recently was demoted from
shift supervisor. Jeffrey reports to Sarah Hoffman, the new shift supervisor. Sarah reports to
David Cohen, the owner of the store.
For the past two weeks, Jeffrey has been leaving before 11 p.m., after most of the stores in the
worker in the store at any time during the workday. Cyndie didn’t want to ignore the man’s
comments, so she answered that her coworker had to go home early because he was sick. That
seemed to satisfy the tourist.
It took Cyndie almost 20 minutes to make all the drinks and also field two phone calls that came
in during that time. After she closed for the night, she reflected on the experience. Cyndie
Questions
1. Do you think it was right for Cyndie to tell the Japanese tourist that “her coworker
had to go home early because he was sick?”
The Japanese tourist asked a question that he had no expectation or right to know.
However, the question is whether Cyndie should have lied to cover for her co-worker?
2. Cyndie decided to speak with Jeffrey. From an ethical perspective, do you think
Cyndie made the right decision as opposed to speaking directly with either Sarah
Hoffman or David Cohen? Would you have done the same thing? Why or why not?
This case causes students to consider the loyalty to a co-worker versus loyalty to the
employer; telling versus tattling.
The core values in this case are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness and
caring. These values are particularly important in dealing with Jeffrey leaving work early.
Will Cyndie be helping Jeffrey more by hiding his absenteeism or by turning him into the
manager?
3. During their discussion, Jeffrey tells Cyndie that he has an alcohol problem. Lately,
it’s gotten to him really bad. That’s why he’s left early—to get a drink and calm his
nerves. Jeffrey also explains that this is the real reason he was demoted. He had
been warned that if one more incident occurred, David would fire him. He pleaded
with Cyndie to work with him through these hard times. How would you react to
Jeffrey’s request if you were Cyndie? Would your answer change if Jeffrey was a
close personal friend instead of someone who gave you the creeps? Why or why not?
Jeffrey is appealing to Cyndie based on co-worker loyalty to overlook his lapse. If she
does nothing, a valid question is whether she is enabling his bad behavior. Sometimes the
difficult decision is the one that best helps a person in need. Is this a situation where an
intervention is called for in the best interests of everyone?
4. Assume that Cyndie keeps quiet. The following week, another incident occurs.
Cyndie gets into a shouting match with a customer who became tired of waiting for
his coffee after 10 minutes. Cyndie felt terrible about it, apologized to the customer
after serving his coffee, and left work that night wondering if it was time to apply to
graduate school. The customer was so irate that he contacted David and expressed
his displeasure about both the service and Cyndie’s attitude. David asks to meet
with Jeffrey, Sarah, and Cyndie the next day. What are Cyndie’s ethical
responsibilities at this point?
The managers should talk to Cyndie about the complaint and the situation. Sarah should
ask what is going on with the evening shift. Cyndie should be honest with them about the