Oops - Starbucks Email Coupon Drama
By barista, on Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
DMNews gives us the lowdown on the Starbucks email coupon debacle in Atlanta.
Coffee giant Starbucks pulled an e-mail offering to its employees after distribution got out of hand.
The e-mail called “Try your coffee” offered customers a free Grande beverage between noon and 9 p.m. through Sept. 30. The small print directed customers to print the e-mail and present it to baristas.
It was distributed to a limited group of Starbucks partners and employees in Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 23, with instructions to forward to friends and family.
However, the e-mail spread faster than Starbucks predicted, landing in e-mail boxes coast to coast, as well as being sold on auction sites like eBay.
Starbucks said the offer is no longer valid because it was redistributed beyond the original intent and modified beyond its control.
Wonder what the baristas are going to do when customers who don’t keep up on their direct marketing news like they should start showing up on the 30th coupon in hand. Grab a grande iced black tea unsweetened, sit back, and watch the drama unfold.
Caribou Coffee Co. is cashing in on the promotion-gone-bad by honoring those Starbucks coupons at their stores with limits.
Caribou said Friday that it would give free medium Cold Press iced coffee, iced Americano or iced tea to On Sept. 8 to anyone presenting one of the Starbucks iced coffee coupon that has been widely circulated on the Internet.
Caribou, which has 416 locations in 16 states and the District of Columbia, said it will honor the Starbucks coupons from noon until the close of business on Sept. 8.
Need a coupon? Want to see what all of the hub-bub was about?