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 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.