Today, on my way into work, I dropped by the Starbucks in Pacific Place. It’s attached to the Pacific Place shopping center downtown, but has its own entrance on Sixth Avenue. Some readers might remember that I mentioned that some customers might have more rewards than expected on their cards. I mentioned it here. For me, this meant that on October 16, 2012, when the new rewards launched, I had just over 20 free drink/food rewards awaiting me. I’ve been using them like crazy.
At about 8:30 in the morning today, I stood in a line in the midst of this Starbucks’ morning rush, and ordered a tall Sun Dried Sumatra from the Clover, and stated that I would like to use one of my rewards. The barista swiped my card, and told me that I had no rewards. The register was telling her that my rewards were “expired.” I was shocked. I knew that I had not used 20 free drink rewards in one week, and I didn’t think they could already be expired. The barista at the register (whom I had never met before), apologized that there was no rewards available for me. I explained that I had over 20 rewards available on October 16th. The barista, whose name I didn’t catch, said not to worry, and offered me a free drink anyway. “We’ll take care of it.” And I persisted that I’d be happy to pay, and she insisted on giving me my beverage at no charge. And then she attempted to explain to me, “the rewards have just gone digital.” And further she asked me, “Have you heard about our new rewards?” I explained that I knew all about the new rewards. So I got my breakfast wrap, and coffee, and headed out the door. This whole experience was just a few minutes from start to finish.
Later, when I had a moment at my desk, I double-checked my rewards available as per Starbucks.com/card, and saw that I still had an abundance of rewards available. I was puzzled about what had happened this morning.
The funny thing is that this episode, however brief it was, reminded me that Starbucks is unique. It’s an organization where every barista is empowered to make things right, and that is exactly what I felt this morning.
I rarely write about my day-to-day Starbucks experiences. I think it would start to sound boring. I run into Starbucks before work and/or during lunch. I say hello to friendly baristas. I get a beverage. And I leave. That is repetitive. But I think it is important to remember how every single barista can make things great, and I definitely experienced that this morning.
I still have no clue what glitch happened early this morning. Much later in the day, I caught up with my friend Elly, who happened to want to meet at the very same Starbucks. I ordered a Cool Lime Refresher and asked to use my rewards. At the register was Sammy, a partner who has been at that store for a very long time. There was no problem, and my grande Cool Lime Refresher was no charge, and the reward went through the register without a hiccup.
Thank you to the barista at 8:30 this morning, who surprised me with a free drink. I think this is exactly what Starbucks is doing right: every partner can create great customer experiences. And that was my Starbucks experience today. 🙂
Related posts
42 Comments
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Sponsors
Recent Comments
- DEVIN on Compostable Straws Land in Seattle Starbucks Stores
- coffeebeanz on Why do you go to Starbucks less often? (If that’s true for you)
- Willi on You can now buy a Siren statue: $6,000
- Willi on A major revamp of your drink recipe: Testing syrup extracts and cane sugar
- Skip on Why do you go to Starbucks less often? (If that’s true for you)
When Starbucks made the switch to digital rewards, the iPhone app (not sure about the web) was showing digital rewards and postcards rewards. Their system does not know that the postcards were used, so it showed them as available as they were not expired. Starbucks is aware of this and I think they are working on correcting this.
experiences like this are really what make people come back, for any business 🙂
@Rob – From what I’ve heard, the extra rewards – indeed because you may have already used it as a postcard – was intentional. Starbucks is aware of it. From what I know, this was deliberate by Starbucks to hopefully start many people off with rewards, and great “good will” start to the program.
@Melody When I talked to customer service, my Starbucks iPhone app said I had 5 digital rewards. Customer Service said that I only had 1. They added 4 more rewards over the phone on their own. Great customer service.
The point you are making in this post Melody really is something that, when it works well, really sets Starbucks apart. They say all politics is local. The same can be said about the Starbucks Experience. It really is the local barista on the front line that makes or breaks the experience.
Love to see partners doing the right thing. We had a few issues (glitches, more than likely) today. But the key is to make it right. I’m one of those baristas who misunderstood what the procedure would be when it rolled out and when I had my first customer trying to redeem, I was a bit lost. All fixed now, everything seems to be working fine. There will be fine-tuning but overall, people seem to be happy with the easier system. Make sure you are all getting e-mails from Starbucks! This is the biggest learning curve because that’s how we notify you of rewards waiting to be redeemed.
I had a similar experience this morning myself! My app showed I had a reward available but when the barista tried it nothing came off. He suggested maybe it was expired…but I wonder if there is a lag in the app that doesn’t show when a reward is used. He still gave me the drink for free which was very nice…but I did show him where the app showed I had a reward available to redeem.
I always ‘close out’ all my apps from my phone’s task bar….so it’s not that it continuously running. I hope that gets fixed – because it will be tough to keep track of the number of rewards a person actually has.
Kudos to the barista!
I have yet to have a bad experience with a partner. If there is something wrong, they usually make it right. Granted there are a few who I prefer more than others, but I would say as a whole they have been great people.
They are two stores that I frequent on a daily basis and one that I stop by just occasionally. This past Saturday I stopped at the less frequented store and ordered two vent soy beverages. Gasp! they were out of soy. “Ok, no problem just make them with 2% then.” The partner apologized profusely and gave us both drinks for free. I was more than happy to pay for my beverages but she insisted. It was greatly appreciated. Tell me how many stores you can walk into and if they don’t have exactly what you want and you compromise then they give it to you for free? Not many.
I have noticed that there is a lag in what the website says my reward balance is and what my phone app says. Yesterday, I earned a reward and an email was sent within two hours. My phone said I was out of rewards and the website said I still had four left. As of this morning everything seems to be in sync.
Things always work themselves out.
Great post Melody. I so agree that partners make the experience both ways I have to say. There are some truly incredible partners at my local SB that are involved and get to know the customers. I love when they are on the floor. Even the SB I go to less often know me by now and know my drink which is so nice. I do, however, still find those partners that just cannot smile or make you feel that you are invading their space and taking them away from their personal conversations. BTW I have an up to date email address with SB but have yet to receive any emails re receiving any rewards.
@Elly – Your comment is right on. This is the formula for success regardless of the kind of business you’re in.
@purple1 – Starbucks is so huge that it has a little bit of everything in terms of the partners. I definitely meet now and then partners who look like they are just there to pick up a paycheck, and couldn’t care less about much else. Overwhelmingly though, there are great partners around me.
when i stopped in to my local one on saturday, there was an off duty barista sitting at the bar; we chatted about the new rewards system a bit and she said, somewhat wistfully, that since her morning drink is a quad soylatte, and the employees get their drinks for free, “i can never quit now.” i thought it was kind of cute. 🙂
I ahve found that when no reward shows up…to the partner at the POS….they just give me the drink for no charge. The email part, for me, so far is crazy. I am definitely NOT getting emails for every earned reward. at least not yet. who knows?
I do think the new calendar, where we can now see month by month, day by day, what was earned, either date redeemed or “expired”, and exp. date. THAT is very helpful. Today I decided I would call and sit and wait to talk with cust. serv. about my rewards. Starting in early August, every earned reward was listed as “expired” (I think there was one “redeemed” mixed in), and it only goes back to April. I counted 21 “earned rewards” that said “expired”…and gave the exp date also. I have called before, they’ve sent me 2 cards or added $10. to my card but in no way does that equal 21 UNLIMITED drink possibilities. not even close. After lots of looking and talking, cust. serv decided they’d do NOTHING for me today…seeing those past couple phone calls, LONG before we had this detailed info available to us, they decided they’d done enough. (plus the visible calendar only goes to April!) Needless to say, I feel ‘ticked off’. They are WRONG and that kind of inaccuracy makes me really mad. Obviously, this is nothing I can resolve in the store. or with any very good partner.
Regardless of any and all other kindness Sbux has ever shown me, they really do owe me for plenty of “sweet15” drinks. and not at $5.00/drink when my daily drink is ~$6.00. But, I’m not getting it. They are wrong on this one.
Melody I agree that most partners are terrific and have a smile on their face and enjoy interacting with customers, however, the partners that make you seem not welcomed into the store just get my day in a tizzy. And Alex Denise is correct you should be able to redeem a reward without an email. I have done it and have yet to receive one email. Denise, I am really sorry that SB customer service could not step up to the plate and showed the attitude they did. Given all the changes being made I think corporate has not trained customer service folks properly to respond to issues such as yours. On the one hand, they give us extra rewards (which is terrific) and on the other hand they do actions that make you feel they do not care.
I haven’t had a chance to read all the comments… But this experience makes my heart sing! We’ve had to refer a couple of people to cust service today about issues we couldn’t fix, but again we’ve been making sure they get what they’ve earned 🙂
Today was the first time I remembered to ask to use a reward. There was absolutely no problem. The Barista even made a point of reminding me of the other things, besides drinks, I can use my rewards for. I do love Starbucks 🙂
Thank you for writing this article and thanks for your sentiment on the situation it really is the barista who is “empowered to make things right.” I actually did the same thing today, giving a customer a free drink when the computer said that their rewards were expired (they showed me the app and had 6 rewards available). Yes, there are problems with the new system and there has been absolutely no training for baristas for the transition. We are learning about the new rewards with you and appreciate your patience and politeness.
@denise r
maybe you should adjust your attitude and call customer service with a clear head, I wouldn’t want to help you simply by how aggressive you are in your comments.
Keith I was not going to respond to your comment but the more I think about it the more it bothers me with regard to your comment for Denise R. I think you are too harsh and not really seeing all the efforts she has gone through to get results from SB and did try getting results at all levels.
The app is showing me that I have 3 rewards, but when I tried to use one today, the barista said it was expired – and no, she did not give me the drink for free. When I login to the website, it shows 0 available. So frustrating!!!
On Twitter today, one person commented to me that if a barista inadvertently hit the “bday rewards” button (apparently there are two buttons – one for the bday drink, and one for all else) that it could cause exactly this situation: The register would say that the person’s reward is expired.
@DeniseR – I am not sure I get totally what you’re saying. You must’ve gotten post cards for the overwhelming majority of those free drink rewards.
Personally, I didn’t much of anything to keep track of how many drink coupons I previously got in the mail. For a long while, it felt like I was pretty much getting the right number, so that was good enough. And even now, all I plan to do is log in to Starbucks.com now and then and see how many rewards are awaiting me. I can’t get my Android app to show me, so I rely on Starbucks.com.
There was a time in 2010, where it noticeably seemed like I was getting too few cards. Starbucks sent me a bunch of duplicate reward cards back then. It was pretty generous. And oddly, when I updated my addess to a different mailing address, it suddenly seemed like I was getting more cards. Back that was a long time ago.
@DeniseR – I am confused (still). Did customer service actually reference your prior phone calls in conversation with you?
I’m calling them right now … I am curious about how many rewards they will say I have. I can say that there menus have changed hugely since I last call them. Many more pressing things and waiting before getting to a real person. I think it’s been a long while since I’ve called.
Well, that was interesting. It reminds me why I do not call Starbucks customer service. I often have this sense that I personally know more about Starbucks than most of their CD reps. Who knows. I just asked how many rewards I have available, and “Mario” told me the same number as was on the webpage. I inquired about whether rewards would be taken away due to the duplication that happened with postcards, and he said “no” – The digital rewards that are available, are indeed available.
I inquired whether a Starbucks barista at the register could swipe a card and see how many rewards exist. He insisited that this functionality existed. We went back and forth, because I was so surprised and asked the same question in a new way – so the baristas at the register can look up how many rewards you have available – and he said “yes” again. For that part, I think he’s just totally wrong. I don’t believe that functionality exists. I’m nearly sure it does not.
Despite that it has been so long, I still question whether Starbucks moving their customer service to New Mexico was a good idea. I suppose there was a very good monetary reason to move them, but I think it would be better if Starbucks customer service representatives were really partners, and not third parties.
@Melody:
1)I called cust. serv. this morn with those online calendar pages with all stars and drinks earned visible for every day, every mnth as far back as April right in front of me.
On those dated pages (calendar), as of the last 48h (and not prior to that for me), one can see whenever there is a drink earned and NOW, which was never available before, (for me) not only the date earned but exp. date and also whether the drink was “redeemed”, “available” or “expired”. The mnth of Sept. all said ‘available’, altho no, I did not receive cards via USPS for those, I just assumed those were added to my card (according to my rewards available). Starting in August, with the exception of one reward, they all said “expired” and the date they would’ve expired. That would be about right, (that they exp. and were not redeemed because I knew I was not getting anywhere nr what I earned) since I was getting a card in the mail about every 5-7wks, one card. So, from August back to April, I had a total of ~21 rewards which all said “expired….and they didn’t expire for some weeks…much longer than the current 30 days of this new program. They were not ‘redeemed.’
2)So, in response to your comment/question ?, no, by no means did I get even maybe 5% of my earned reward drinks. Nor were they ‘stolen’ and used by someone else. They just expired. Either they weren’t sent or were lost. Either way, I never got them.
3)I’d called cust. serv. thru-out those mnths (and that only goes back to April) at various times. Once in a while they’d add $5. or maybe $10. to my card…..one time they sent me 2 drink cards (like the comp cards from the store) in an envelope in the mail. Those were a very few times. and in no way came anywhere near covering the cards I was not receiving.
4)They (cust. serv.) saw the history and thought they’d done enough in the past so they did nothing today, even tho they (someone) told me they were looking at the same calendar and earned drinks I was looking at.
5) I thoughtI’d said that in my earlier comment but apparently not. Maybe this is more clear.
6) I have been told by every store and sm that I’ve been in since this new plan that no, they absolutely cannot swipe one’s card and see how many rewards one has. That seems to be the case and I’m thinking whoever told you otherwise at “cust. serv” was nuts.
7)Yes, “cust serv” did very clearly reference my other calls (over the past 6mnths, I’d guess,) with them.
I hope this makes my comment more clear.
@purple1: thanx much for your support and comment. It means alot to me.
Wow Denise. I find it rude that customer service would reference your other calls with them in conversation with you. That’s very rude of customer service. The implication is that somehow today’s phone call is lessened in importance because they’ve talked to you in the past. Each phone call should be as important as the next.
My wife had an interesting service experience recetly that started off bad, became good, but eventually ended bad. She ordered a kids hot cocoa for my daughter but it never got got made so after about five minutes of waiting she went back to the counter to ask about it. The cashier apologized for the wait and asked the barista what happened and to make it right away. The cashier then gave my wife a coupon for a free drink on her next visit. Well about a week later she presents the coupon at a different location an she’s told the coupon was a counterfeit. We were going to follow up on it with either the original store or even an email to Starbucks, not because of a lost free drink but because a store apparently gave out a fake coupon, but we never did contact anyone about it. I was only reminded of this because of this current blog post. Is it possible that this store hands out its own coupons? Can individual stores do such a thing? I’m curious as to what might have happened and I’ll ask my wife if she is still interested in following up on this. The store that provided the coupon is a high volume store but more often than not the staff is on the grumpy side.
Love to hear this, it is wonderful when baristas have AWESOME customer service and do feel empowered and confident in taking care of their customers they are truly bariSTARS 🙂
I would also like to mention that I’ve noticed sometime with a mobile app/device sometime when you enter the store your device tries to negotiate between connecting with the stores wifi and connecting to your data network, sometimes this can cause a delay in showing your new balance and/or rewards! I at least know this to be for iPhones.
I recommend (before getting to the register) make sure your device is connected to wifi or wifi is disabled, make sure everything is refreshed and up to date 🙂 rewards and card balance should be hopefully accurate at that point 🙂 hope this helps!
apropos of absolutely nothing, NYT article on seattle & coffee:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/us/tullys-coffee-struggles-against-a-venti-starbucks-tide.html?_r=0
I get happy when i hear customers enjoy their experience and feel apreciated. It is those customers who make us baristas feel good about what we do 🙂
@purple1 I’m just speaking from experience, if you are courteous, calm, and polite to anyone that you are trying to get help from you are more likely to succeed.
@Melody I feel like the service representative must have felt that she was trying to take advantage of the system (people often do, especially at starbucks). Referencing the past calls tells me that the rep. saw that over the past several months, frequently another representative had added “$5. or maybe $10.” to the account in question.
Here’s the problem: Your barista cannot see on their screens how many rewards you have, they can no longer just click the button even if your rewards are expired, and the app is showing you rewards that were mailed to you.
the barista in the pacific place store could not check how many rewards i have, so i am pretty sure the cs rep was off on that particular statement. it seems that if that function were available, it would make things much easier for all 🙂
Keith it really bothers me that you seem to be missing the point. The person in question was asking for something she was due by Starbucks and had several times gone through the chain to try to get rewards that she was owed. Very polite all along the way. I really think and Melody has mentioned it herself that the customer service people were not polite or giving out proper customer service. There was no intention to scam the system. And the bottom line is that it does not matter how many calls you make to customer service and the results from each call if you are still not getting what you deserve. Also, if SB customer service feels a person should get some money added to their card no matter how many times, then that is fine. There is a rewards program that customers should be able to use and get all the benefits from.
@purple: Thank you!
@Keith: how in the name of God do YOU know my tone or anything other than what I wrote here about my call to cust. ser. ? I am guessing I’ve had many more yrs with cust serv (not Sbux, any one) than you, just guessing I’m significantly older than you. You insult me on this blog by saying “@Melody…..’she’ msut have been trying to take advantage of …..bl bla bla. ”
Seriously??? HOW would you know? and just to respond to that: NO, I strongly believe in fairness and definitely NOT trying to ‘take advantage’ of anyone….which is why I had all the FACTS right in front of me.
@Melody: I am deeply disheartened that you have not spoken to these remarks @me from “Keith”. YOU know me, you were here. We spent a good time together. I can’t even write any more.
@Melody I’m sorry that this has taken place on your blog, I really enjoy reading it and having an insider view on much of what you post about is really awesome.
@purple1 when you work for a great company like starbucks you get defensive when you think people are taking advantage of the awesome customer experience that each barista is trying to cultivate, people often come in looking for a fight and ruin the entire environment for everyone – yes the reward system has its issues, but no one is being forced to use it and I think there is more here than is being explained.
@denise r, I’m sorry you misunderstood my post, I was simply responding to how you talked about the experience here, if you are mad enough to use caps, misspell words, and strangely format your sentence I assume you are livid about the situation and I assume that comes through to the customer service representative on your call.
@denise r
what can I say, I’m sorry.
To be 100% clear: my first post clearly said call back and get a different customer service representative, you deserve every reward you’ve earned.
The customer service representative took the situation the wrong way and that’s what I said to Melody when she was wondering why the rep. didn’t help you out.
Keep your spirits up, give the new system time to iron some things out, call back with everything clearly written out in front of you and get those rewards. Make friends with your local baristas and commiserate with them about how poorly the transition is going.
@Keith: You know nothing of my relationships with the baristas I deal with everyday. and sorry the way I ‘format’ my sentences and make too many typos for this blog. You know nothing of me.
and yes, now I do feel pretty upset and “mad”. After your totally out-of-line comment to me, you’re telling me to ‘keep my spirits up’?
Again, you know nothing of me.
Wow. The exchange I just read is so very different from the comments in the new thread about favorite coffees.
Is it possible to just call a truce? Melody is a busy person who dedicates a lot of energy to her job and uses her spare time (and money) to create this place for us to come together. This is not the kind of environment she has envisioned for her blog and one she has tried to avoid even though more “controversial” subjects could generate more traffic.
I have to say, the thread with the PPR/Aged Sumatra contest truly is wonderful. It represents why we are all here.
@denise – I loved your story in the contest thread. I know that store well. I used to stroll my baby/toddler daughter up to that store when I lived in Oak Park. Reading your story reminded me of the times I would take my daughter to the store and get her an apple juice in the short cup and she’d call it her “coffee.” Your story made me smile. As did so many of the others.
@purple1 – I didn’t know you were more of a tea drinker. That’s cool. I’m a big fan of Joy tea (and Tazo Chai) and really liked Nicole’s guest post about it.
@Keith – I haven’t seen your comments yet on the contest thread. What hooked you about Starbucks?
Let’s get back to community.
Denise, I’m sorry your call to customer service wasn’t as productive (or friendly from the sounds of it) as it should’ve been. It sounds as if you either caught a rep on a bad day, or one who was new, or maybe someone who was limited in what he/she could do for you but phrased it poorly. I’ve been reading this blog for an awful lot longer than I’ve been commenting, and in that time, have seen enough of your comments to believe that you are not trying to scam Starbucks. I’ve had the benefit of reading your comments though, and the customer service rep has not. And there are definitely scammers out there. Case in point: last night, while I was in line waiting for my beverage, a customer in line in front of me was coaching her friend on how to get free stuff, and one of the ways was to call and claim that your postcards weren’t getting sent, and they’d more than likely send her free stuff. I simply turned to her when she was done and ever so sweetly told her that, as the manager of this store, I was quite happy that rewards were now digital and she’d never have to worry about calling about ‘missing’ postcards again 🙂 then I hung out and chatted with my partners near the bar, so I could ensure that there was no ‘I asked for no whip – I want a free drink’ action going on. It really sucks that there are people that try to take advantage of a generous ‘customer is always right’ policy – makes it so much harder for someone like you who is just trying to get rewards they earned!
To sum up, since I’ve been rambling, the CSR made a necessary judgment call, and it was the wrong one for your scenario (for whatever reason). Call back and speak to one who will make the right call :). And/or talk to your local store – I have a regular who didn’t get postcards for the longest time, and I made the judgment call to comp their beverage every once in a while. Sure, he could’ve been scamming me, but, you know, what, he was a regular. I knew they were earning stars, I knew he rarely went elsewhere for his coffee. And a couple of months later, he came up to me with a large handful of postcards, and admitted that he had been remiss in changing his address and now had all their cards and would I please take the cards now as he fel so bad. I told him to hang on to them, but to buy some food with his free drinks. He happily agreed, and now buys a sausage breakfast sandwich every morning, long after his free drinks ran out.
Sigh, I’ve rambled on again too long…I hope you get this issue solved to *your* satisfaction so you feel valued 🙂
Rebecca, I have to head out the door, but I want to respond, and I especially appreciate David’s lucid comment too.
I think that one thing that happens in customer service is kind of a ‘repetitive fatigue’ from seeing and talking to a sequence of customers who all say the same thing. It’s a strain on customer service to keep each case fresh and alive.
I have heard stories of baristas who get ticked off at simple questions from customers, and think that is part of the repetition fatigue that happens when it seems like everyone is asking you the same questions or wants the same thing. It’s hard to remember that each customer is valuable and that each one is unaware of the conversation or call before him or her.
It’s unfortunate, and even unfair for Denise, but I certainly think that also could have played into what’s happening when she called Customer Service. I would gamble that right now, CS is overwhelmed with calls where it seems like every customer has something to say or expect over the rewards. The first caller gets a fresh willing customer service representative who makes the situation right. The 30th caller gets barked at.
It just would not surprise me if Denise got someone on the phone who was burned out on calls about missing coupons or rewards or any number of things that relate to the rewards.
Ugh, I have more to say, but this already is a ramble, and I have to go. Seems like I can only catch up on Friday nights and the weekends.
@CD Couldn’t agree more. Just posted my story to the contest page, enjoy!
@Rebecca, I’m really glad you commented and shared that story – it was exactly what I was trying to say, but obviously my comments above have been misinterpreted. Much like you, I’ve been reading longer than I’ve been commenting, but to start us both off on the right foot, let me extend a warm welcome to this community.
Oh, absolutely that fatigue sets in. I used to work with five year olds, haha, so talk about hearing the same questions over and over and over 🙂 And the reason that fatigue sets in is because the reps are human. The baristas are human. The customers are human. And therefore, interactions can be less than perfect, and well, human 🙂 It’s why I always counsel my team to give the customer the benefit of the doubt, and to react less to the words that they are saying and more to the unspoken need they’re trying to have met – not feeling valued? Feeling unheard? Simply having a bad day? Lack of caffeine? 🙂 and you know what? We have very few customers who leave unhappy :). I also emphasize that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: when changes roll, we educate our customers so there is no lingering confusion to cause misunderstandings. When we see someone make a face when they taste their drink, or look confused, or mutter to themselves at the condiment stand, we ask how we can make it better. When someone orders something incorrectly, or when we help them modify their beverage, we teach them how to order it so they can get a consistent product at other stores.
And we also sometimes fail at this, cuz we’re human. But I think that because of the culture we’ve created in our store, we’ve created more understanding customers too – I have had two brutal weeks at work – a LOT of circumstances out of my control, combined with me not feeling very well, and I’ve had customers rally behind me, and encourage me, and be totally understanding when we were short staffed, and I was less than my usual cheerful self. Howard always talks about viewing our business through the ‘lens of humanity’ and the longer I work here, the more I understand that it’s not only a *great* business strategy, but also benefits *me* 🙂
Well, I got a birthday wish on Facebook from a partner, and then in the comments, another partner turned up and offered to treat me a drink. I already had used my birthday rewards by then, but that was an offer too good to be turned down! The 1st partner then offered to treat me a cake instead. Later that day, I went to their stores and I got 2 free drinks and a free slice of cake. Its just a small thing, but they sure made up my day… =)
Happy Birthday Khaled! That’s a great little story to hear! It’s nice that Starbucks baristas made your day great. 🙂 I’m glad you shared your customer service experience.
And by the way, since this episode, there hasn’t been a single glitch getting a reward whether the Colombia from the Clover or a bistro box or whatever. Seems to be true – you can use the rewards on just about everything except no Evolution Fresh juices as rewards and no Evenings food. I am thoroughly liking the new rewards!