Talking to you, Starbucks.
In an effort to reestablish itself as a premium coffee brand, Starbucks is making some changes. Among them, fewer opportunities to earn Stars in their Rewards program. The idea, originally, was to create brand loyalty and to lure customers into their stores.
Per the Terms of Use:
Starbucks Rewards is one way in which Starbucks endeavors to reward and thank loyal customers for patronizing our business and purchasing Starbucks products. Starbucks Reward members are able to earn and accumulate "Stars" that can be redeemed for Starbucks Rewards Benefits.
One can earn Stars at a rate of two Stars for every dollar spent when paying through the Starbucks app. The more you spend, the more stars you earn and when you earn enough Stars, you get free stuff. For example, 200 Stars can be redeemed for a coffee drink such as a latte. 300 Stars can be redeemed for packaged coffee such as whole beans.
Additionally,
From time to time, we ... may offer you opportunities to earn additional "Bonus Stars" through special promotions.
Except, they also may not and that's what has been happening lately. No special promotions.
I admit it; I went to Starbucks exclusively when offered some sort of bonus in the form of more Stars which is to say my loyalty can be bought. I would go on Double Stars Day (earning four Stars per dollar), or on days when an extra 20 Stars were offered if I purchased a particular item or combination of items. Sometimes, I would be offered 100 Stars if I went a certain number of times in a week for any purchase of any size. If I wasn't getting something in the form of some kind of bonus within their loyalty Rewards program, then I wasn't going.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has been at the helm less than six months. Has the change in the Rewards program supported a shift in the perception of Starbucks as more of a premium brand?
Not for me. Loyalty goes both ways.
For better or worse, I've been a Rewards member forEVER and given a choice, I would always choose Starbucks over any other place for coffee. One reason, besides the Stars, is that I could count on a consistent product no matter where I went. I developed a taste for their coffee and had trouble enjoying coffee from anyone else. In short, I was addicted.
Two years ago, Starbucks had a promotion on their Christmas Blend coffee beans. I think it was half off at the time. I had never tried it so I bought a bag. It was good.
The following year, they promoted their Christmas Blend again so I bought another bag. Every time I went into Starbucks that December, I bought another bag so long as the promotion was still in effect. Before I knew it, I had more than a year's supply of Christmas Blend taking up residence in my freezer. (I just finished the last of it.)
The last promotion Starbucks offered was for a cup of coffee which I could get for free on the Monday following the Super Bowl. Big deal. I can get that in any church basement or hotel lobby. In fact, there's free coffee every day in the lobby of the clubhouse where I live.
I will not be getting a year's supply of that.
Ironically, at home, I generally brew coffee from beans that are roasted locally despite my recent stockpile of Christmas Blend coffee. I also seek out local breweries here and elsewhere. Other than locally roasted coffee for at-home consumption, I never developed the habit of supporting my local coffee shop like I've done with local breweries when out and about.
That's about to change. It's far past time that I developed a new habit: supporting local coffee.
Who needs stars anyway? If a Sneetch doesn't need them, then neither do I.
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