I was annoyed enough to write all of this up. I used to go regularly, and the rewards program was genuinely a good deal, and made it worth going to Starbucks. Now, even if I set aside all of the horrible things they’re doing, I wanted to show just what an absolute shit program this is, and why there is absolutely no use in trying to “gain starbucks status”.
They forced an update that won’t run on my phone.
So I’m almost out anyway.
I like their chai lattes. I can’t get the same taste anywhere else, and if I try to make it it’s a “we have mcdonalds at home” result.
So about twice a year, now, I get a fucking c$6 latte as a treat. I miss 2019 with the many locations - one 80m away in my walkable block - and a really nice barista who made the effort to smile and chat directly. Now I have none of those things and this is like dia de los muertos.
Completely feel you, their mochas, while not “good” in a good coffee sense, have a particular flavor that I do really enjoy that no one else gets right. That being said, they’re horrible and I try not to go whenever I can, and go to local coffee shops. Ironically I now treat them like McDonalds. I only eat it when I travel. A good chunk of places do not have anything except a starbucks, and most airports only have starbucks. So, that’s when I get it. They are relegated down to McDonald’s status.