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”.
I’ve noticed the whole system has crashed over the years. I’ve been a ‘loyal’/repeated customer since 2006, (even working there for a year or two after college), at or over 20 years now, and can’t believe how much more spending is required to get a free drink. Hell, they used to have buy-1, get-1 receipts a few times a year, for a full week at a time.
I think this’ll end up being the end of it, for me. I already moved to making TAZO chais in the office, instead of purchasing their chai lattes.
I feel you, a lot of people will shit on you saying how could you, but I get it. I worked in an area where the only “decent” coffee was Starbucks for years, and sometimes you just want something a bit nicer than drip. In rural areas especially Starbucks is sometimes the only option. Then you are in an office, you’re going a couple of times a week, back in the day you’d probably get a free drink every few weeks or so, it honestly was pretty nice.
Now, it’s full corporate, that soul is gone, and it’s shameless nickle and diming. I think that’s why I made this. It’s the ultimate non-rewards program I’ve seen. None of it feels like it is rewarding you for being loyal. It feels more like a sad dog begging for whatever scraps are left after dinner was finished. You have to give so much to get so so little in return, and for such a large company you would think they’d be thankful to the people who frequent them. Instead they view their most loyal customers as a source to squeeze, and it’s disgusting to me. For me, they are officially downgraded to “travel” status, meaning I’ll only be going there in airports and places I can’t find local coffee.