August 5, 2008 | Retail gone wrong
Want to know what’s blowing my mind this morning? This story. The bottom line is that through September 2nd, 2008, Starbucks will sell you any grande iced drink after 2:00 p.m. at half-price with your receipt from a morning purchase.
Tell me something: Is there a single one of you who reads Want Not every day and habitually visits Starbucks? I’m thinking probably not. Furthermore, I’m guessing that even for a typical budget-conscious person who has prioritized a fancy-coffee-a-day habit, the chances of you then returning for a second coffee later in the day are slim.
I’m just going to go out on a limb and say that folks who are hitting Starbucks twice a day really don’t care about saving $2 on their afternoon iced latte. But kudos to Starbucks for acknowledging that we’re in a recession, and what this country needs most of all right now is more fancy caffeine. Way to go, Starbucks!
August 5th, 2008 at 9:43 am
We really only do SB while traveling, and we got this deal this past weekend. Worked it perfect for us, too, as my DH got his big drink in the morning and I got my $2 drink in the afternoon - and I always get grande iced lattes when we go. It worked perfectly! But you are right… most times its just getting you back in there to spend another $2 you wouldn’t have spent!
August 5th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I’ve had two $15 Starbucks gift cards (a prezzie from a grateful client) rattling around in my purse for the last FOUR MONTHS, because it galls me to pay that much for coffee even if someone else is paying for it! So I agree, the thought of visiting Starbucks twice a day on a regular basis just blows my mind.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:57 am
This post cracks me up because I had the SAME set of thoughts when I first heard the commercial last week. Something along the lines of “You have them all in the morning, and now you’re trying to addict them in the afternoon, too? Nice try, Starbucks”
August 5th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Okay, I have to admit I have a bit of a Starbucks addiction…. but 2 in one day would be a bit much even for me. I usually get it once or twice a week, I can’t imagine how my stomach would respond to having 2 in one day. I think I’ll save my $2.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Okay, I’ll be the lone wolf and admit to sometimes drinking SB in the morning and the afternoon. I usually don’t pay both times, but it will be nice to have the savings just in case. In the mornings I am finishing at the gym and SB is my reward and the afternoon is when I sometimes schedule/attend meetings. And drinking coffee 2X a day is one side benefit of working an unconventional schedule.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Well, THAT isn’t the most generous promotion I have heard, BUT Starbucks is giving free Vivano smoothies to people who have registered Starbucks cards today and next Tuesday between 2pm and 4pm. It is NOT advertised very well, BUT it has been verified!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I go more often than I should but never twice in one day. Yikes!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I’ll also own up to visiting Sbux regularly, but by that I mean maybe a couple times a week. And I bring my own mug for the environment and the discount. I couldn’t handle it twice in one day, but it does sound like a good deal for someone in a situation like Kristine’s!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
One of my husband’s co-workers has a serious Starbucks addition and goes at LEAST twice a day and sometimes three times a day! I sent him the link…
August 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
For the price of those two SB runs, I can buy a can of Chock Full of Nuts at Costco and make coffee at home for a month. (Okay, it’s not fair trade, shade grown, organic or even “gourmet”, but it does the job…) I can’t fathom spending that kind of cash for coffee.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I used to meet my dad for breakfast, but now we find Starbucks is cheaper and healthier. (A nonfat latte is better than eggs, bacon and hash browns). So today I’ve bee there already, and later this afternoon, I’m meeting a friend there for drinks. Again, it’s cheaper and healthier than meeting for pie at a restaurant or even for an alcoholic drink. It’s not about the coffee–it’s about an inexpensive place to meet.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Hi, my name is Binky and I’m a Starbucks-a-holic.
I confess that while I don’t go every single day, there have been days (yes, perhaps more than a few) when I’ve gone in there twice in one day. It’s right downstairs! In my building! And I work in a crappy area so there’s not much else around except a skeezy Subway and a questionable Hunan palace where even health inspectors fear to tread. And once in a while, the morning latte isn’t enough. I need an afternoon hot chocolate to get through the day.
So thank you, Mir, for being my enabler.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
i’ll be the *really* odd woman out and admit that i don’t drink coffee.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
This from the company that is closing 600 stores and putting 1000 workers out of jobs. Yet they can afford this promotion? Obviously the markup on those lattes must be HUGE.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
It’s such a silly sounding promotion. BUT, I will say that I’ve considered standing outside the Starbucks in the morning to ask random strangers for their receipts. THEN it would be totally worth it!
August 5th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
*raises hand*
I’m a fierce bargain hunter but I’ll admit to my Starbucks addiction. BUT, for the most part, I drink their coffee, which after my reusable cup discount is only 10ยข more than coffee at the gas station down the street. And sooo worth it. I’ll admit to occasionally splurging on a $4 drink, but for the most part, it’s not a terribly expensive habit. I do small freelance jobs and set aside the coffee money, and everyone knows I’ll barter for Starbucks cards.
Twice a day, though? I think I’ve done this deal two times…so I get morning coffee + a foofy drink for the price of the foofy drink. Not spectacular, but sometimes it gets me through the day.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I’m pretty frugal, so most times when I go I’m picking up ground coffee for work on their dime … but every once in a while I do stop in just for me.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:33 am
I’m so glad that I no longer live 2 blocks from a Starbucks (in a big city downtown) so that I, too, can wonder at and pity those who make their cash offerings to their caffeine gods way too often.
(But you folks who aren’t posting? The ones excited about this deal? I’m secretly one of you. Tip– moving to small-town Arkansas will TOTALLY kick your Starbucks addiction. But you’ll have to buy a pricey espresso machine to do it.)
August 6th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I go twice a day pretty regularly. And I don’t drink coffee. Part of it is I get an iced tea in the AM, save my cup and get a $.50 refill in the afternoon. Sometimes the iced tea lemonade is my lunch. And I often go during lunch hour to use the wifi for free because my school won’t allow me to access certain sites, like gmail or facebook.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
If you get a newspaper, you might want to check inside to see if there’s an ad for this promotion. Because in my newspaper (Chicago Tribune), the ad says all that stuff about the receipts, but also has a coupon for the same deal, no receipt needed. All I had to do was cut it out. They’re not in there every day, but I have a handful waiting in my purse for when I start back to work next week.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Heh. There’s at least one guy who I regularly freelance for who knows I’m doing it for less than I normally charge (mostly because it’s REALLY EASY work), and who thus throws in a $5 or $10 Starbucks gift card when he sends me my checks. And because a majority of my daily walks take me past a Starbucks (and ALSO because while it’s easy to make my own coffee, I have yet to figure out the correct proportion of water, coffee and ice to make an iced coffee), I probably get myself an iced coffee there a minimum of three times a week during the summer, and sometimes as many as five times a week.
But never twice in one day! That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.