At Starbucks Gossip bloggers and commentators are talking about Friday's $114 million suit against Starbucks (SBUX) for the coupon debacle, which my colleague Sarah Gilbert reported on right here. A class-action suit was probably inevitable given our litigious age and the company's profile. Starbucks has given the fact that the coupons were alterted and distributed beyond their intended scope, and the reason for cancelling the promotion.Comments at Starbucks Gossip are running about 2/3rds against the suit (by my very rough estimate) last time I checked. Some posters sound bemused over the whole mess, while others are outraged. P. Scranton said, "No wonder attorneys are held in such low esteem." Some people did write in to express feeling "betrayed" by Starbucks -- angry that a large company should get away with pulling back this freebie without some sort of penalty. Starbucks (some consumers seem to feel, anyway) picked up the ball and went home after too many people decided to play. JavaGrrl, who identifies herself as a longtime employee, says that the company was "embarrassed" (all caps) by the entire episode. For me, that embarrassment is punishment enough. I don't want to see a suit go forward, the stock fall, and the costs passed on to the consumer.
The comment that had the funniest, and to me, the most sensible take on the entire matter was this from DeusX: "I think I will be suing my ex-gf of ten years ago, I have a 'good for one free backrub' coupon signed by her with no expiration date."
Five winners of a weak dollar
For a quick-read on the U.S. economy, check the price of gasoline
Closing Bell: What Friday 13th curse? (ANF, BA, GENZ, DIS, PALM, PLA)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-11-2006 @ 9:18PM
Vince Chan said...
The litigious nature of our modern society surely knows no bounds!
A blogosphere friend of mine, Monkey Boy, pointed out a John Cleese (Monty Python) letter to America which included this point:
"You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun."
Lawyers are something else, but can we get these people (who were even thinking of joinging the class action suit) to stop with their nonsense?
http://www.monkeyboy.ws/monkeyboy/2006/09/john_cleeses_le.html
9-12-2006 @ 2:32PM
Andrew said...
Typical America, I am suprised that the weather man is not being sued becasue he predicts sun for little Johnny's birthday and it rained. Seems to me that would have a finanical impact far abouve the FREE drink in question here. And how did something that was free all of a sudden get a monetary value? I have not seen the coupon but generally they plainly state that it has no cash value. It just blows me away at what people feel they are entitled to at someone elses expense. So the coupon is no longer vaild, that's Starbucks right, get over it.
9-12-2006 @ 2:32PM
Kenneth E. Worley said...
It's unfortunate that there are entirely too many lawyers in this country, which creates a feeding frenzy for individuals in this country that want something for nothing. It's part of our decay that gets passed on from one generation to another.
9-12-2006 @ 2:32PM
Deusx said...
Thanks for the compliment, although many would probably admonish you for encouraging my poor behavior.
9-12-2006 @ 2:58PM
Kristen said...
It's funny, one of the arguments for the law suit is that is that Starbucks should have known that something sent out on the internet would get out beyond their control, but couldn't the same be said for the woman who felt "betrayed"? In this day and age when you see a coupon like that come by email, shouldn't a savy person (she is a paralegal) stop to think that it might not be real?
9-12-2006 @ 2:31PM
b schmera said...
yet it was real
9-12-2006 @ 11:41PM
mEE said...
wait....who;s trying to get their 15mins of fame this week? I hope justice is served and that the court seeks capitol punishment in this matter. Or the settlement of $1.85, the price of her venti coffee.
11-27-2007 @ 5:31AM
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