Starbucks vs. Einsteins
I had a coffee with a lovely girl this morning at the UNR Starbucks. I kept the cup all day. On my way back from the Wal this afternoon (there was a going-away party for one of my student intern coworkers who got a job) I stopped in to Starbucks to get my free refill.
To give a little backstory, I’ve been at Starbucks more often recently – our office participated in a recent KNPB user perception and awareness survey. Between administering surveys at various Starbucks across town and fueling myself in the final days of data entry and presentation preparation, I was at Starbucks almost every day. I’d buy one grande bold brew. Then, a few hours later I’d get a refill. It was the perfect amount of caffeine to get through the tasks at hand.
When I asked for my refill today, I didn’t have a receipt. That hadn’t stopped me before – the baristas knew me and didn’t seem to care.
However, today it was a young gentlemen (I use that word loosely) who asked me if I’d like a refill. I presented my cup and said, “Yes.”
He asked if I had a receipt.
I said, “No, but I promise this is the first refill I’ve gotten in this cup today.”
He said it didn’t matter – I needed the reciept.
I said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he said, firmly. “I’m sure.”
I left, irritated.
I ran into my friend and his girlfriend on the way to class. I told them the story and he showed me his girlfriend’s fancy new Einstein Bros. to-go cup that she purchased for $2.50. The first cup of coffee comes free with every refill costing only $1.
I turned around and went back to Einstein’s, which happened to be just upstairs from Starbucks.
“I’m gonna get an awesome to-go cup and walk past Starbucks proudly,” I thought.
Unfortunately, Einstein’s had only one color left. I guess the moral of the story is that despite the color, I still bought it.
April 8th, 2011 at 4:03 am
Too bad Starbucks wasn’t willing to side with the customer and give you a free cup of coffee, whether or not the cup was from the same day. Looks like they have lost a paying customer. This is a great example of how a new start up can absorb customers from the competitor! (CRM)
April 9th, 2011 at 1:38 am
[…] – no refill. He walked away empty handed, or rather, with an empty cup (check out his blog post here). But lucky for him, due to a friend, and a little thing called word of mouth marketing, he found […]
April 12th, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Great point Chuck. Customer experiences are heavily influenced by ease of use, and in your case, ease of use was enough to change your useage. Good stuff.
April 15th, 2011 at 3:22 am
Chuck! I love your lovely mug – I would have bought it simply for the mug. And as for Starbucks – I’m not surprised. The tough part about Starbucks is the service is never consistent. It’s good to hear that Einstein Bagels has such a good deal though!
Ashley
April 15th, 2011 at 3:33 am
Ashley, you have a lovely mug too, but that’s a different story! Thanks for the comment