Today, Starbucks announced big changes to their Starbucks Card program, known as MyStarbucksRewards. The new changes go into effect on October 16, 2012. Here’s the new Rewards program at a glance:
Here is the link describing the new My Starbucks Rewards perks when you pay using your registered Starbucks Card:
Some of the big changes are that customers will be able to select food as their “reward” and the free reward cards will be earned faster – it now takes 12 stars rather than 15 to earn a Starbucks reward! Welcome to your “lucky dozen,” as I’ve heard it called. That’s a catchy phrase! Right off the bat, I will say that I am happy to have the increased flexibility of being able to select a food item as a reward – and this includes a bistro box or a panani!
I. Brief Starbucks Card History: (Skip this part if you don’t like history lessons!)
Just briefly, a little history of the Starbucks card: In November 2001, the very first Starbucks card was launched. On September 17, 2002, a decade ago, Starbucks enabled the card to have the ability to have automatic reloads.
The first rewards of any kind were launched in April 2008, having been announced by Howard Schultz at the annual meeting of shareholders in March 2008. They were part of the “transformation agenda” announced by Howard during that March 2008 meeting. The first generation of Starbucks rewards had no “levels” – You just registered a card and earned free soy milk, free breve milk, free syrups, a free tall beverage with a pound of beans, and free refills.
In November 2008, Starbucks launched a gold card where customers paid a $25 annual fee, and got 10% off his or her purchases. Keep in mind, by the end of 2008, and through most of 2009, Starbucks offered two side by side programs. The free program earned free soy and breve milk, free syrups, free refills and a free tall beverage when buying a pound of beans. There were no “levels” to the free program – all you did was register a card and use it to pay for your purchases. The 10% off program (which had a $25 annual fee) did not include the free milk changes, free syrups, and all the free perks. The 10% off card was phased out, one year after its initial launch.
During 2009, Starbucks quickly discovered that having two non-overlapping rewards programs really didn’t work. In October 2009, Starbucks announced the current version of MyStarbucksRewards, which offered three levels of rewards: A “Welcome” level, a “Green” level, and a “Gold” level. This three level version of MyStarbucksRewards went into effect in January 2010. The new MyStarbucksRewards launching on October 16th is the first major overhaul of the program since its January 2010 launch.
In April 2012, Starbucks started testing digital rewards in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
By the way, the previous free program where you registered a card and earned free soy and free syrups, and free tall beverage with a pound of beans was rolled into the “Green” level of benefits.
II. Discussion of New Rewards:
At a glance, here’s what the reward changes look like: (This is my own quick chart!)
| Before 10/16/2012 (Jan 2010 to 10/16/12) – “Sweet 16” | After: “Lucky Dozen” beginning 10/16 | |
| Free soy milk or breve milk at the “Green” level of rewards | Yes | No |
| Free food (pastries, bistro boxes, paninis, and the popcorn) | No | Yes |
| Electronic delivery of rewards | No | Yes |
| Free Tall Beverage when buying a pound of beans | Yes | No |
| Free syrups – Vanilla, Raspberry, Hazelnut, and standard syrups | Yes | No |
| Free Refills | Yes | Yes |
| Free Birthday Beverage | Yes | Yes |
I think lots of people are asking questions about these reward changes. Here’s what I know … I hope I got this right. This is new to me too! I do think that what I wrote below is correct.
Why are rewards going digital? Can I still receive a paper coupon in the mail?
Everyone will receive perks electronically. Starbucks was spending about a million dollars a month on mailing out free drink coupons. The paper rewards model just wasn’t a sustainable model. A million a month was a lot of money. It was expensive, and it used a lot of paper. It wasn’t “green” at all.
Is there any food that is excluded from the free food perk with my “Lucky Dozen” coupon?
As I understand it, all of the “Evenings” Starbucks food is NOT included, and is not eligible as a reward. Also, ready-to-drink beverages, such as the Evolution Fresh juices, are not eligible, as I understand it. A customer can grab a wide variety of food items – breakfast wraps, paninis, pastries, bistro boxes, bags of popcorn – all kinds of food items!
Can I bank my reward coupon and use it when I want to?
When you want to use a reward coupon, let the register barista know you have a reward to use. Your reward coupons do not automatically kick-in every 12 stars. It will appear electronically, but you should let the barista at the register know that you want to use it. This gives customer an added flexibility to use it on the beverage or food item of his or her choosing.
How will I know when I have a “lucky dozen” coupon to use?
You’ll get an email notifying you that you’ve received a free beverage/food coupon.
Will I be able to check my rewards, much like I can currently check my balance in the stores?
I inquired with Starbucks whether there will be a new functionality to the card of “check my reward coupons.” I imagine this new functionality as something akin to the current ability of a barista to swipe a registered card and tell the customer his or her balance. For customers who are very high users of the rewards, this seems like it would be a help in keeping track of rewards.
As I understand it, Starbucks is looking into this functionality, though it is not currently operational.
Why did Starbucks take away free soy milk (and free syrups) as an option?
I have actually heard baristas say that Starbucks got rid of free soy milk because it was just too expensive of a perk. I strongly do not think that is true.
About 25% of transactions at the register involve a registered Starbucks card. Out of those transactions involving a registered card, about 5% of them involve a free modifier such as free soy milk, free breve milk, or a free syrup. I am sure that there are some stores where it feels like a much higher average, but on the whole, it’s only about 5% of the registered transactions.
I think that as Starbucks re-evaluated their rewards programs, they found that it was cost-neutral to remove the free soy milk (and free syrups) option and then offer faster rewards with greater flexibility. In other words, the new version of the rewards will reach a much larger customer base. Those of us who do not use soy milk and syrups didn’t see that as the most useful benefit – and the numbers bear it out – only a small group of customers really used the free modifications.
III. Melody’s Perspective:
If I haven’t been clear up to this point, I resoundingly like these changes! I know that I’ve spent so long talking about the history of the rewards and the fine details, that it might not be obvious that I like these changes!
I can recall back in 2009, saying to myself, “After a while, to the heavy user, a free drink coupon is going to lose its surprise and delight … Oh yay, yet another free drink…” Early on, I saw the need for some variety in the Starbucks card rewards. Variety is the spice of life!
I definitely think that the added flexibility on how a customer can use his or her reward is, well, FABULOUS! I enjoy a few of the paninis, as well as some of the bistro boxes, especially the goat cheese bistro box. And my drink beverages are not really all that customized. Flexibility is a win win for me!
I like the overall simplification of the rewards. I think that it is possible that this new version of the rewards program will be easier for a barista to understand and explain. By the way, it is still true that a customer can use any card as his or her “gold” card, and is not tied to using the shiny gold card.
Only time will tell where the ambiguous and confusing moments are for this new program. The free refills aspect to the My Starbucks Rewards remains unchanged.
And I like being able to get my rewards faster. Once in a while, I handed a free beverage coupon to a friend, and I’ll miss that flexibility, but I like the idea of never having my rewards lost in the mail.
I understand that for the fans of soy milk and free syrups, it might feel like a sting, but I think over time people will readjust to the new “lucky dozen” Starbucks rewards. (As a reminder, a customer can save ten cents on his or her beverage by bringing in his or her own cup, mug, or tumbler.)
Now it is your turn to weigh in. I know this blog article is long and won’t quite look like some of the other articles in the news. Full disclosure: On Friday, September 7, 2012, I was able to ask a few questions of the Starbucks Sr. VP of Store Operations (Ms. Rossann Williams) about the changing My Starbucks Rewards. I didn’t receive anything at all – it was just a conversation where I got to ask questions about the My Starbucks Rewards. By the 5th of September I knew about the rewards revamp, and was glad to have a chance to ask a few direct questions. A big thank you and shout out to Linda Mills who made that happen. Thank you!
What do you think?
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FWIW, one of our baristas did a breakeven analysis, and discovered that, without applicable taxes, whcih are obviously different everywhere, if you are just a regular syrup user, if your base beverage cost you $2 or more before the syrup, you are either paying the same amount (or less) to earn a free beverage. If you are just a soy user, that point is $2.20. If you use both, that point is $4.40.
Also, if you were one that didn’t redeem all your cards before, either because the postal service didn’t deliver them or because you forgot about them before they expired, it is highly likely that in the end, you will be spending less.
As to the training, no we didn’t get a lot of notice, or extra time to talk to our partners about this. But there isn’t a TON to know – we don’t have to do anything differently IT wise than we are doing now. We will have to be knowledgeable about the differences, and skilled in the art of having convos with concerned customers, but that’s something I should’ve instilled in my team a long time ago and shouldn’t meed more than a brush up now 🙂
The email Starbucks sent out directed customers to MSI, not the partners in store. Mine are clear on the chain of command – shift supervisor, me, my DM, and at any time, the customer service line 🙂
And as for the 5% number that’s being tossed around, I believe that’s 5% of all sbx card transactions. And if 25% of users are registered, it follows that most of the 5% are registered. So it’s fair to say that roughly 20% of our regulars and super-regulars are affected. And that will certainly vary in different areas across the company depending on usage patterns. *I* am slightly less concerned at my mall location than my counterpart at what we’ve kind of dubbed the ‘hippy’ store :), but either way we’re located in a heavy soy-usage area (we were a test market for soy when it first rolled) so we can expect more flack than other areas.
20% is a big number of people affected, but 80% of registered users not getting perks they can use? That’s kind of a bummer, and a much better number to be concerned about as a partner and shareholder 🙂
@CD – At least right now, until the new rewards kick in on 10-16, your baristas really should not have to enter a “code.” I’ve watched this problem in downtown Seattle – partners who don’t understand the rewards. But it will all be a moot point soon, so oh well. And I think it is possible that some stores will try to continue offering a free tall beverage using the “right now recovery” button… that’s a guess.
On a separate topic, MSI is totally overwhelming right now. Wow. I’ve commented a few idea threads, but there are so many that it’s just overwhelming. Soy & syrup drinkers are not happy.
I’ll be glad when the rewards kick in and things are much simpler, honestly.
I tried going to MSI, but it’s chaos. New complaints are popping up so fast that they scroll off the screen within a few seconds. I commented on a few threads and immediately had people asking for me to be kicked off of the site. It’s crazy hostile right now. More than one person said that Starbucks is “raping” them, people are starting multiple petitions.
I wish these folks would put their pent-up fury into something more meaningful than screaming about paying sixty cents for soy.
@Gobo – I’ve commmented on four or five threads, but there is such a storm of ideas that I don’t think that 5 comments can get noticed.
That email about the changing rewards must have went out to millions of people – and it gave the link to MSI. Everyone who is unhappy about the changes seems to be funneled there right now.
I can understand the sting. People are people: Unless you’re super rich, no one wants to pay more – that’s true of whether you’re a partner or customer. That’s the bottom line. I get that sting. No baristas /customers run around saying, “I sure hope that I pay full price for work clothes”
But I really do think that at the end of the day, this is going to be a better program. More people are going to get more rewards. And I love how this benefits baristas too – Baristas already got free drinks at work, and now they’ll get a chance to use their rewards for free food – lunch for a partner during the day is awesome. Food will be meaningful to so many customers!! And partners too!
When we get past the sting, all will be fine.
Question…. lets say I order an iced coffee with vanilla syrup and nonfat milk. before i was just paying for an iced coffee. now im paying for iced coffee AND milk AND syrup. correct?
Secondly, lets say I’m hanging out in starbucks doing homework. And I order that drink above. If I want a refill–which is still free– do I have to pay for syrup/milk again with each refill or not?
@Christie – I don’t think the vanilla syrup should be charged as an extra. Iced Coffee actually comes with the price of “Classic Syrup” built into it – So if you are getting Iced Coffee with Vanilla, then you’re just substituting the Vanilla for the Classic, so I think that would be no charge. And the refill process would be unchanged – you should only get charged for the “refill” not an extra syrup price. Bottom line – You should be charged for “iced coffee” only, and then a “refill.”
(It’s a little different if you are getting Iced coffee from the Clover brewer, but it doesn’t sound like you are, so I won’t talk about that scenario.)
Melody, you’re right – there was no extra charge for vanilla or milk in an iced coffee with milk. There is less than 4 oz of milk in an iced coffe with milk, so there is no up charge, and since the price already includes classic, substituting a different syrup was/is no extra charge. Same with a refill…the refill would ring in the syrup/milk automatically, and both would be encompassed in the free refill. This will remain unchanged 🙂
Hi Melody! Thanks for posting. I didn’t know about the changes. One thing I think is unusual about Starbucks’ reward system is they seem to be based off of an old, analog system. You can only get whole stars (or whole punches, in the business-punch-card model). Buying a single drink might get a single star, but buying 2 drinks could give you a star and a half, for example. Because the rewards are digital you could actually do this. Personally, on the weekends it is not uncommon for me to spend at least $20 buying drinks and food for my family in a single visit. Yet I am only given a single star. Seems a bit odd to me since I get a single star for my single drink on a weekday. Of course, I could make the barista charge me for things individually but that just holds the line up, makes me feel not-picky, etc. They should just provide a fair reward for me. What do you (or others)? I’m sure this has been discussed before, but I’m curious why Starbucks hasn’t tried to be more creative with rewards since they are maintained digitally.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the changes. However, thinking about it I’ve made up my mind that I like the changes. I agree with what you said, Melody.
One thing that I don’t care for though, now that all of the green level rewards are being taken away except the refills, it seems sort of silly to have a whole level for just one reward. I feel like the refills should have been either moved to the welcome level or the gold level.
Re Dan’s question about analog / digital, I wondered that too. I met someone who knows the details and was told it was because Starbucks doesn’t know any details about what you buy at licensed stores, so they can’t do a star per beverage unless they just eliminate licensed store visits from the program altogether. They made the choice to give you a star per transaction in order to be able to include licensed stores.
I guess I’m going to add myself to the whiny types. I like to think of the changes as nothing more than purely jinxing myself. I have been a holdout for all these years regarding a card and always using cash. I made a a decision that it no longer made sense that I wasn’t taking advantage of any of the rewards. So I registered a card and reached Gold in a matter of weeks and now this!
The reason why this doesn’t sit well with me is very basic. Simply put…… I have a problem with syrup no longer being free.* I am assuming they mean additional syrup correct?* I sure hope they mean they are only charging for additional syrup in drinks like iced coffee?
The majority of my wife and my purchases are coffee and pastries. Getting free food like bistro boxes and panini’s is of no interest to me since I consider myself a basic customer who cares little about anything but coffee. It’s not like we want extra syrup added to our Iced Coffee, but there are vast inconsistencies in the amount of syrup added depending on the barista. Too many barista’s do the short pumps. I literally have to ask for extra syrup depending on who I know is making iced coffee. If I had to pay for an extra pump or two of classic syrup because the barista doesn’t know what they are doing, I’m going to be angry about having to pay extra for something I shouldn’t need in the first place.
I also couldn’t believe how many hits msi got yesterday, but I guess that was expected. When I went into Starbucks very early Tuesday morning, they were all shook up that their Manager, DM, and 2 of her bosses would be sitting in yesterday. I now get the feeling they were there to watch what customers reactions were going to be. I can bet this morning they will tell me yesterday was hellish for them dealing with customers. Some customers in that are hellish without a reason.
typo: Some customers in that Starbucks store are hellish without any reason.
I feel that those of us who are the most loyal, possibly buy a more expensive drink REGULARLY are getting UN-rewarded.
I was told yes, you will pay for that vanilla syrup, since it’s not the basic part of the drink. To me, a cinn. dolce couldn’t be a cinn dolce w/out the cinn dolce syrup. But according to these new non-rewards, it is only a latte WITH ADDED cinn dolce syrup so, it will be charged.
It must have frozen over somewhere because I actually just went to MSI for a minute. I was only there about 30 seconds, but one of the items I noticed was that “Platinum Status” was “under review” and promoted on the first page. It was an old idea from 2010 asking for the return of the 10% discount.
Anyone know what’s going on there? Is there more (“we heard you”) to come?
@Nathan – I thought of that – it might have made sense to just have 2 levels now. Agreed.
@CD – MSI and the Starbucks FB page are overwhelming to me right now. That email announcing the reward changes must’ve gone out to like 10 million people – I have no idea, but I think I’ve heard that there are now 4 million gold cards, and there are many more registered cards. Maybe 8 million people? If even a small percentage of 8 million people swarm on to MSI or Facebook, it looks HUGE. Though Starbucks boasts 60 million customers a week going through their doors. Well, in any case, eventually this will all work out, but right now I can barely look.
@DensieR – The general Starbucks rule is no charge for any sauce or syrup where the recipe includes sauce or syrup. In essence, if you want more of the same KIND of product, it shouldn’t be charged, or if you’re just substituting one of the same kind of product, it should not be charged. I don’t know why some baristas don’t like that rule – it’s only going to give a barista gray hair early to become the syrup police.
If people are being overcharged, then the answer is lots of calls to customer service!
By the way, for example, if I ordered a hot chocolate with raspberry syrup, no vanilla syrup – that’s a substitution, and should not be charged. The iced coffee substitution described above follows the same pattern. And technically, if I ordered a hot chocolate with raspberry and vanilla, I strongly believe that the raspberry should not be charged – the recipe already calls for syrup – when you’re adding more of the same, then no charge. The barista shouldn’t charge you if you wanted extra vanilla syrup, and so adding more pumps of the same kind of product is no extra charge.
By the way, I’m not sure I know the recipe for hot chocolate – I think it does have vanilla syrup in it. Just assume for the sake of discussion above, that it does.
I spend over $1,200 a year on just coffee for myself and now you’re going to take away my freebie that saves me $.50 a day. Frankly I don’t see much incentive after October to visit every day.
Joe: I’ve said this before on the MSI site and was repeatedly insulted for it, but I’ll say it here, again: You’ll be saving more money with the new system.
Let’s say you’re buying a drink every day that cost $4 under the old system, minus your free soy. After 15 drinks, you get a free $4 drink. So you’re spending $60.
With the new system, your drink costs fifty cents more, right? So after 12 drinks, you’ve spent $54 and you’re getting a free drink… or pastry… or Bistro Box.
The new system isn’t perfect, but for a lot of people like yourself, it’ll save you more money than before.
I think MSI is frozen because people post the same comment 10 times in a row! :/ Ugh.
Platinum status wouldn’t be a bad thing either…but I fee so bad for the poor marketing people there. They were probably so excited to launch the digital rewards everyone had been asking for and instead of excitement they got a flood of mad comments about the modifiers.
I just went to MSI and tried reading some of the comments. So many of them it is amazing as others have said. I really wish that SB responds to these concerns in a way that shows customers that they care about them. Not just a standard canned response. I don’t have an allergy to milk, but sometimes use soy milk and it is a bit disconcerting that they can see how so many customers come to SB because of this reward and then they are taking the reward away. I guess my thought is yes on the one hand I can see the money/profit side of it but on the other hand SB knows many of their loyal customers value this reward which will be gone in October. I guess I just do not get the logic of removing this reward. Also, it would be nice if they added each drink or food item ordered is a star.
any way you look at, for a customer like me, it IS a lose lose. I will pay for my ‘free’ drink with the charge (as of 10/16)) for cinn dolce syrup alone will more than pay for any “item” I would choose as my “reward”. (one drink/day, with pd syrup = more than any item I might choose, and I often get more than one drink, with a soon to be charged syrup) so, that’s a loss.
Do I trust Sbux IT system? not so much! if I hadn’t checked my receipt and then asked, and then we all figured out it was the new packaging on the beans…… how long before that was corrected and how many went unnoticed before our discovery? and people pd for that free drink w/ beans that they thought they were getting for free? How many people check their receipts. ?
@Melody” ‘sting’ is right! essentially, there are no rewards now (as of 10/16)…it’s just a ‘punch card’ system, buy 12 get one free. Yes, much easier for the partners. as I said before: ‘just say “no” ‘. the latest policy.
Denise I agree with you re the upcoming problems re the IT system and customers should speak out. I do think that if changes will be made to this new system customers have to be direct and polite – and speak with their actions (i.e. by not purchasing what they used to purchase, etc.) I just do not feel that SB will respond to the nasty and rambling comments seen on MSI.
I was not able to go to Starbucks yesterday, but I got a shocker this morning. NO training whatsoever has been done and all the baristas know absolutely nothing about the MSR changes (the Manager has been out for several days, nut no excuse). Inexcusable FAIL.
The email announcing the MSR changes did have a link to MSI, and solicited feedback. Well Starbucks if you are going to solicit feedback you had better staff up and respond. MSI needs to be renamed to My Starbucks Chaos 😉
Starbucks has just presented a classic example on how not to change a program , how not to prepare your employees, and how to misread your “metrics”.
@DadCooks – I think you encountered an exception to the rule, rather than the rule itself. Last week, I was looking after 2 stores in addition to my own while the SMs were on vacation, and it was made amply clear to me, both in company communication, and through my DM, that it was *not* optional to get the partners in those 2 stores trained just because the SMs were away. He tracked me down at 8 in the morning by calling/emailing all 3 so we could nail down a plan. Between myself, my DM, and another SM, we made sure that they were knowledgeable and trained. This is a fail on the part of that district team, not on the company as a whole. I’d give that feedback to the DM in question.
I agree that timing-wise, I wasn’t super impressed with how little notice we were given. BUT, given that the ‘company confidential’ information was leaked that same day, I can kind of see why they did it. 🙂
As far as misreading the metrics, again, I think it’s a waiting game. I completely agree that there is chaos reigning on MSI, and that the customers that are affected negatively by this change are both loyal and vocal *and* many can and will take their business elsewhere. And we knew that going into this change 🙂 The question that remains (and I didn’t do the research, and I’m much more apprehensive about the decision than those making it obviously :)) is whether there will be a tradeoff in creating an overall wider, more loyal customer base.
@DadCooks: I think this situation is going to help shape where the Rewards program goes more than anything else they’ve done yet. If the way people are reacting on MSI is any indication of how upset customers will be in stores, what Starbucks can learn is that People Like Free Stuff Immediately. They don’t seem to care as much about earning free things over time, or learning a system to let them gather ‘stars’ to redeem. They want a card that makes their 40 cent syrup free, or the soy in their latte free. They want to be told, “For being a Rewards member, today you get a free mini cookie!” or “Have a little tube of Via! Free!” or whatever.
You mess with people’s punchcards, and they grumble a little and shrug their shoulders. You take away their free drizzle of syrup, and there’s virtual riots in the streets 🙂
For starters, great post Melody.
I’m surprised at how many people AREN’T ecstatic about the change to digital rewards. It feels like a long time coming. I know I’ll be at ease knowing that I don’t have to worry about when my rewards postcards come in, keeping track of when I should of gotten a reward, and making sure I don’t misplace the postcard.
Also, I think people are overlooking the benefit of the “lucky 12”. I always thought 15 was excessive. Now you’re getting to that free drink or food item that much quicker.
I know that the soy, and syrup customers lose a benefit, but that’s now hedged against the quicker benefits.
Also what’s being ignored is that some food items are very expensive. Aren’t panninis close to $7? So in essence isn’t that really close to 2 rewards under the old system. I know that I would normally use my free postcards on a Venti Iced Coffee, which is about $3.50 but now there’s no way I’m not using it on a higher priced pannini or bistro box that I wouldn’t otherwise normally buy. It’s basically a free lunch and how can you look down on that?
Hmmm – it seems that they have removed all of the comments off of MSI about the soy change. It was a substantial amount of feedback.
@Gobo – paying more is a big deal for some people. Some of us are on a budget, and why should we pay more, when we can go somewhere else where we can get alternative milk options free? There are many of us that can’t have dairy, and personally I find it to be a disgusting money grab that coffee shops charge for non-dairy options when we already pay an average of five dollars for coffee drink. The issue here is not even that we have to pay for the soy, it’s that the card is now a bait and switch for a lot of us. We registered for it, and spent good money to keep it maintained simply to get the soy option, and now that we’re part of the program, they are taking away what encouraged us to sign up.
If MSI is any indication, this was a poor choice, and It looks like Starbucks could lose a lot of business over this.
Ann: As others have noted, soy costs a great deal more to stock than dairy milk does; if you’ve got other coffeeshops that provide it for free, great — I don’t know of any, myself.
As far as paying more, quite frankly, if all you’re adding is soy, the new system saves you money. You’re paying sixty cents more per day, yes, but you’re earning a lot more free drinks (or expensive food items). The savings work out for most people… unless you’re getting multiple syrups AND soy; then the add-ons add up 🙂
@Gobo – interesting thought about the “free stuff immediately.” I think Starbucks’ intent was to build a “loyalty” program as that’s something the airlines and others in the travel industry have made practically a requisite.
The punch card system in coffee shops is like a loyalty system (buy 10 the 11th’s on us).
But have they missed the boat? Isn’t the fact that a customer pre-loads a Starbucks card with money and registers with their personal information “loyalty” enough?
If so, then the free stuff now might be more important than the punch card-type earn your reward later approach. (I think @denise r was making this point earlier).
Time will tell.
Gobo: Your math is off. I posted this at the beginning of the thread, but 50¢ for syrup for 12 drinks is $6.00. I’m actually OVERpaying for my “free drink” in syrup. Your claim that the new system saves people money is only true if they don’t get syrup regularly. Those of us who do are, in fact, getting screwed.
My goodness, between MSI and the Facebook page, you’d think Starbucks had killed their first born child :/
I am fond of all things that come from a cow, therefore the, soy thing is a non-issue to me. Same with the syrups, non-issue. I just like the free drinks. So the free drink at 12 will be better to me than at 15 😉
Some part of me just wants to post how happy I am with the revamped rewards anywhere and everywhere.
@Brett: With all due respect, Brett, no, you aren’t “getting screwed”. You’re paying forty cents for syrup, just like all non-cardholders pay. You’re choosing to add 40 cents worth of Italian syrup to your coffee, and you’re upset because you’re used to it being free. Let’s be realistic: that isn’t “being screwed”.
But you and many others really, really want to be upset about this, so for your sake, I’ll stop repeating myself, because folks clearly don’t want to listen to actual math.
The point for purchasers of flavored lattes, iced coffees, etc., or even of brewed coffee who like a shot of syrup sometimes (or the lactose intolerant folks who have to have soy or nothing) will find it’s no longer less expensive to buy at Starbucks. And most local joints, IME, make a much better espresso than Starbucks. In fact, excepting Dunkin Donuts, I don’t know that I’d pick Sbux over any other chain coffee shop. But I did buy there, because it was cheaper. Now it isn’t, and I won’t. There are others like me.
Starbucks has essentially just told us that they don’t care about the customers who buy specialty drinks instead of a fast, easy, cheap brewed cup.
Gobo: You’re the one ignoring math. For one, syrup is 50¢, not 40¢. I most certainly am getting screwed. What non-cardholders pay is irrelevant. They don’t give Starbucks a free loan by constantly carrying a balance on my Starbucks Card. I’ve done this for years, and given a ton of business to Starbucks, because of certain perks they’ve offered to their most loyal customers, like myself. To thank us for that loyalty, they are stripping some of those perks.
Based on my purchasing patterns, this change will COST me money. I’ve documented that with math – it’s not up for debate. You have the condescending, defensive attitude of someone involved with creating this change. Are you?
I don’t work in any capacity for Starbucks, and never have.
Yes, it’s absolutely up for debate. But as I say, it’s not worth it. The vast majority of people using the new system will be saving money.
GOBO:
Using your own example:
Lets say I consume 16 drinks a month.
Under the old system I would get 16 drinks for $60. $60/16 = $3.75 per drink.
Under the new system I would get 13 drinks for $54. $54/13 = $4.15 per drink.
Plus, I would have to pay $13.50($4.50×3) for the rest of my drinks that month.
Total under the new system = $67.50
The only way I would spend less money is if I bought less drinks per month than I used to. Do you agree?
JB, you’re not counting the money saved from the increased number of free drinks (or food items).
Gobo: Again, you’re ignoring my math. Paying an additional $6.00 per rewards drink is factual and absolutely not debatable. I will be paying more under the new system; I don’t know how to make that any clearer. Sure, some people might benefit, but they are the ones who don’t buy high-ticket drinks as often.
As such, I am irritated and feel like Starbucks doesn’t value my long-term loyalty, or the no-interest loans they get from me. I have every right to complain. This isn’t how you reward your best customers.
I disagree, but I won’t stop you from complaining.
Gobo:
I did include the free drinks in my math. I restricted it to drinks and not food because I go to Starbucks for coffee.
Old: 15 paid + 1 free = $60 for 16 drinks $60/16 = $3.75 per drink.
New: 12 paid + 1 free = $54 for 13 drinks $54/13 = $4.15 per drink.
Including the free drink, the cost per drink goes up. The only way I can spend less money is if I drink less coffee. This is my best attempt to show you why people are mad about this. Please look at it closely, and I wish you well.
I saw that you did; my point is that you get more free drinks over time. They accumulate faster. It’s not an instant savings — over time, you save more.
This is why I was saying earlier that Starbucks miscalculated — people don’t want to save over a long period of time; they don’t want to come out ahead after several months of getting more free drinks (and food) than before. They want smaller free things immediately. And I don’t blame them; instant gratification at the register is very satisfying.
If you disagree with elementary school math, then we have bigger problems…
Garbo:
OK, lets do it over 50 years at 16 drinks a month.
Old: 9000 paid + 600 free = $36,000 (9000 x $4.00) 9600 drinks = $36,000
New: 8862 paid + 738 free = $39,879 (8862 x $4.50) 9600 drinks = $39879
The new program will cost me $3,879 more over 50 years. I’m not seeing the value here 🙂
I think the disparity in the math is that we’re all interpreting it slightly differently. It is true that this way, you will be paying less money before you get a free reward. But, you are getting 12 drinks for 54 vs. 15 drinks for 60. So, especially at first, you are getting less product for the same amount of money. The value is played out over time as the difference between the number and value of the free items you got before and you will now get grows. At some point, the new system will overtake the old. But, is it at a point that is close enough to now to be of value to our cardholders? That is the question that our customers will answer in the coming months.
JB – your math is close but there’s a flaw in your logic; here’s your example:
Lets say I consume 16 drinks a month.
Under the old system I would get 16 drinks for $60. $60/16 = $3.75 per drink.
Under the new system I would get 13 drinks for $54. $54/13 = $4.15 per drink.
Plus, I would have to pay $13.50($4.50×3) for the rest of my drinks that month.
Total under the new system = $67.50
The only way I would spend less money is if I bought less drinks per month than I used to. Do you agree?
————-
when you say that you’d have to pay 4.5 X 3 for the rest of your drinks that month, you’re ignorning the very thing that gobo was trying to tell you; because would have at that point paid for 15 drinks, you would have earned 15 stars, which under the new rules is not ONE free drink, it’s 1.25
closes your gap; with no more lost in the mail coupons, and/or upsizing your free drink or getting high price-point food, you could easily be better off
but then you couldn’t be so pissy
Choas found its way to my blog while I worked all day. At 5:40 pm, I am catching up on a lot of comments.
To gobo, JB, Jo Taylor, and Brett: Please stop arguing about the math. Here is the reality: You’re not going to persuade each other. It’s valuable to know when to rest. Sure, those who get a .50 syrup are going to upfront pay more for each individual beverage he or she pays for – that’s the sting of not getting 50 cent off immediately. In the long run, whether the new system creates more meaningful rewards to people as they switch to using their reward for highly expensive food items. So much will come down to personal buying habits. And for many, as was before, they’ll still earn stars when they’re buying small things like one salted caramel cake pop.
So at this point, I am asking you to give this argument a rest. It’s time.
There can get to a point where everything that needs to be said, has been said. I don’t know that we’re there now – I am not locking this thread now – but there is no point in just going in circles when it’s clear that no group is going to persuade the other group.
And DadCooks, I do think you encountered a fluke store – everywhere I have been, partners are well informed of the changes.
And the final decision-maker in all of this is Starbucks: They’ve funneled comments to MSI. Who knows, maybe all the many votes for soy milk will influence them. But one lesson about Starbucks we’ve learned is that they rarely ever just undo big changes. I recall the storm that happened with Starbucks switched to the new However-You-Want-It Frappuccino, and when it was all done, Starbucks stood firm in their decision not to bring back the previous Frappuccino version.
I was a customer before rewards existed. I will be a customer afterwards. It’s a generous rewards program. Granted, I can see the sense in having one based upon dollars-spent, similar to the Nordstrom loyalty program, but Starbucks has picked the current program and they’re sticking with it – and to me, I really do like the occasional reward, and the Starbucks experience. This may mean that some people will have to make fewer trips to Starbucks because of paying more for soy and vanilla. I am sorry that people have to cut Starbucks out now and then, but I think that’s a possible consequence here.
I’ve been typing for like 10 minutes. Time to rest!
@Gobo – You know I have the utmost respect for you, but the benefits are not going to be the same for everybody. Like I said earlier, some of the benefits like bistro boxes and panini’s isn’t doing me any favors by carrying a card. When you say that somebody is paying.40¢ or 50¢ for a syrup like non card holders, the first thing that comes to my mind is – What’s the difference between a customer with a card and one that doesn’t have one? What’s the perk in being equal to a non card holder? I agree that this can be a win win for some, while it is a lose lose for customers like myself. Adding pastries may be a small plus for me, but not enough to make having a card worth it. At least in my case.
@DadCooks – I couldn’t believe it, but the Clover store I go to had 4 levels of management at that store yesterday. Not one partner knew of the changes today that were made yesterday. I was shocked. The manager was even there nice and early today, and it was as if he hadn’t had a clue! How screwed up is it when customers have to clue the store in on the details and changes? How were changes made, and not one person in those 4 levels of management yesterday brought it up in discussion with the partners?
Sounds similar to how they implemented the UK Rewards. If only the numbers on the UK variant were not so crazy!
60 stars to stay gold for the next year, and I have maybe 6 because, despite attempts otherwise, graduating from Uni has kept me out of an easy reach of a Starbucks, and the ones I DO visit are franchises that won’t accept the card. So I suppose I shall become a green perk card-holder.
That said in my case it’s just been unfortunate circumstances. It would be nice to one day go back to a situation where a starbucks can become a regular haunt for me again, for now I enjoy the franchise versions – the drinks are still awesome after all!
People, people, people………..
It’s coffee, just coffee. Either buy it or don’t, your choice.
Sorry, Melody, it’s your party here, but I couldn’t take the complaining and arguing anymore.
@Chgo – little harsh, no? “the changes that were made yesterday”? you mean the changes that were announced yesterday, and don’t go into effect for 4 weeks?
somewhere i read that starbucks has like 150,000 employees, most part-time; communicating something to each and everyone of them would seem to me to be daunting, and expecting that they all know all of the details within 24 hours of releasing the info seems a bit unreasonable
and as far as being equal to a non cardholder, i guess that means you won’t be redeeming your coupons then?
i liked getting all of the benefits, and i’ll miss the ones that are going away, but somehow i managed to avoid the sense of entitlement that seems to be so common among some posters; I see the truth in spock’s statement that the good of the many outweighs the good of the few, or the one
@Jo Taylor – If we could get all 150,000 partners to read this blog, training would be almost done! 😉 (j/k)