Starbucks Canada celebrates Earth Day with free coffee in personal cups on Sunday, April 22

Is it safe to assume the Earth Day deal is being offered in US stores, too? And on Sunday the 22nd? (Starbucks' PR agency)

Comments

[baristacee]

I haven't heard anything or seen anything about it, and I checked the portal for news today. We didn't do it last year or the year before.

[STARBUCKSGOSSIP webmaster]

US stores had the Earth Day free-coffee special last year. See this post from 2006:

http://starbucksgossip.typepad.com/_/2006/04/get_free_starbu.html

[Green Partner]

The US stores just had a national coffee break day and if you consult your promo guide you will know that we are not offering free coffee for Earth Day. All stores in the market I'm in whichis New England have brochures pointing out what partners are doing to support Earth Day in their local communities. Ask at your local store if you're a customers who wants to get involved or find a store that is hosting an event if your a partner who's store isn't involved in something and you want to be!

[baristacee]

Webmaster - I'm sorry if I implied that EVERY Starbucks in the US didn't do it. I do not have knowledge of that magnitude. I simply meant that MY store had done nothing of the sort.

[Taylor]

I can tell you that our district, at the very least, is participating. Cannot remember where we were informed.

[chi-town's best/angriest barista]

i've heard nothing about it in my area. but i think at my store, we'd give away maybe 5 cups of coffee. nobody seems to bring in a personal cup anymore.

[Scorpio370]

Here in Florida, NO, we had the Coffee Break, but are NOT participating in Earth Day coffee give away.

[Mr.Dazzle]

Personal cups are quite possibly one of our most disgusting practices. I am forced to accept a customer's dirty, unwashed cup that they've had since the 7th grade with two inches of yesterday's latte/foam/backwash in the bottom. I then dump it out in our sink, rinse it out with hot water, and begin make a drink in it. God forbid it is a mocha and I have to stir it - am I supposed to use the stir spoon? Or if I want to scoop some foam in or out of the cup? What then? Suddenly my dunksink is swimming with whatever bacteria or general nastiness was in this cup. Moreover, if you come in the drive-thru, not only do we have to wait untill you get to the window to make your drink, but I have to touch some lipstick-stained lid that hasn't been washed for weeks, so you don't spill it during the hand-off. No. Thank. You.

If you are looking to save the environment one cup at a time, start with a clean one - the one you hand to your barista. For our sake, and the customer in line behind you.

[Darleen]

Here in Florida, NO, we had the Coffee Break, but are NOT participating in Earth Day coffee give away.

Hey scorpio, can I ask what part of florida you're in???

[CuteBarista!]

90% of the personal cups i get at my store are clean. i generally don't mind rinsing them out if there's some crap in them. most of the people who have personal cups are regulars and i'm on a first name basis with them, anyway.

i always thank anyone who has a personal cup. it saves them money, it saves the store money, it saves the back of whomever takes the trash out every night (a very small bit, but still).

[espressolover]

I ALWAYS make a drink in a paper cup before it goes into a personal cup. People who are trying to save the environment by using a personal cup are ridiculously fooling themselves. My understanding by default is that people who are giving me a personal cup are just wanting to use their own cup -- not to contrubute to protecting the environment.

[Emma]

Espressolover-

I use a personal cup because it does help the environment. No cup, no lid, and no silly sleeve. Baristas remember me by my cup, therefore making me an easily reconizable regular.

I do feel for the baristas who are handed dirty cups, especially through the drive-thru. I bet they finished their drink and left the cup in the car overnight. I can only imagine what that would do on a hot day. Sick!

[extreme.right.wing.barista]

Emma, do you know for a fact that they are making you the drink in your own cup (including stirring it with the red spoon if your drink requires that)? Or do they make it in the SBUX cup and then pour it into your cup? If the latter scenario is true, then how is this helping the environment?

[chi-town's best/angriest barista]

i've never made a drink in a paper cup and then poured it in the personal cup. i've never seen anyone else at my store do this either. i also don't stir things in personal cups.

[extreme.right.wing.barista]

I have never made a drink in a personal cup unless it's plain coffee. As far as I know the store follows this procedure and the other stores in the district do the same -- the SBUX cup gets thrown away after you pou the contents into the personal cup. All it is is a convenience matter -- not a matter of trying to save the environment one cup at a time.

[MILWAUKEE STARBUCKS REBEL]

In America we don't believe in the environment. The free market will take care of us

[cornfrost]

Sometimes when people make a venti caramel macchiato, the venti cup barely fits under the spout, especially if there is foam poufing up, so they put the shots in a short cup and then pour it on top. I find this remarkably annoying.

[Becca]

Green Partner:
The Canadian stores had a coffee break too.It's not a "one or the other" thing.

I've never seen anyone at my store or a neighbouring store make a drink in a paper cup then pour it into a personal cup. No, we don't stir them, but I know a lot of our customers who bing their personal cups in would rather stir their own drinks, then have us waste a paper cup.

For the caramel macchiatos, I pour the shots into the shot glasses and then into the drink, not into a short cup.

[Psuedonymph]

I make drinks right in personal cups...I just try not to fingerbang it with my tools. We use shotglasses at my store which I think makes it much easier to make right in a personal cup and helps with the cm problem.

[Scorpio370]

Darleen, I'm in Central Florida.

I do have to comment on the dirty cup problem real fast, all I ask is if you bring in your own cup, bring in a clean cup. If you don't have one, don't bring it in.

[brewed with room]

I'm sure some of the cups that come in are on the nasty side.
Just be thankful you're not emptying bed pans or mopping up gas station bathrooms. A nasty cup is very low on the "uck" scale in comparison.

No matter what the reason a person uses a personal cup, it is a Starbucks "thing" to promote a better environment by recycling and using less paper product, etc. It's absolutely ridiculous to waste a cup when you don't need to.
Gods...
The apathy and bullshit whining that comes out of some of you is really quite a bit more nasty than old coffee in a cup.

Dishwashers in a real resteraunt deal with far more disgusting things.... and get paid less. Suck up and deal with it.

Or just work the register... where you can handle money and credit cards from people who have been coughing into their hands, scratching their various asses, nuts and other private bits half the day, picking their noses and a host of other disgusting things.

Better yet...
Stay home in your bubble.
Or invest in some Purel.

Just quit whining about such inconsequential things when the environment is going to hell.

Sheesh!

[HopkinsBella]

ROTFLMAO, Milwaukee Starbucks Rebel. Thanks for the laugh. :)

And me bringing in my own cup will not compensate ecologically for the energy lost driving myself to the store that day, so no go for me on that. Nice sentiment, though.

But if you were going to drive yourself to the store that day anyway, why not save the use of a paper cup, lid, and sleeve?

[chi-town's best/angriest barista]

brewed with room-
sometimes our bathroom rival those of the gas stations, and that's disgusting, but there's not even a real reason for them to get that bad either, but that's beside the point. i'd much rather lick the goo in a dirty personal cup (but not in a mean spiteful way, since i don't wanna start another angry thread about that) than deal with some of the ick left in the bathrooms. one guy every day comes in with his cup half-full, asks us to dump and rinse it and make a red eye. and that is why jesus invented the shot glasses. no problemo.
bring on the mugs and tumblers!

[Mr.Dazzle]

Milwaukee Starbucks Rebel - Brilliant comment. Made me laugh.

Cutebarista! - It does not save the store money - remember that 10 cent cup discount...?

We drop more cups at my store in a day than the number of personal cups we get in a week...just a thought.

Brewed With Room - may I ask what humanity-saving, filthy and degrading job you have that gives you the right to criticize my concerns?

[Darleen]

Darleen, I'm in Central Florida.

Me too, wonder if we know each other? Look on your phone list in your store for me, and let me know if you know me.....that would be cool, I'd love to put a face to a name on here.

Mr Dazzle...
I'm an ER tech, APCA, and a psych tech. (Read:I get to do all the nasty stuff at the hospital. :) )
I started my "illustrious" medical "career" in a nursing home.

Clean up dead people, od'ing people, give old gentlemen foley catheters and old women enemas, help repair the crushed face of a teen in a snowmobile accident and the psyche of a bulimic girl and we'll talk about dealing with disgusting stuff, k?

Oh...
I forgot to mention that a year ago, my fiance and I started our own roadside assistance business.
I've laid in slush and snow, changed tires in forty below weather and unlocked cars in 102 degree heat.
Give me a bit of sour milk in yesterdays cup any day.

[Katy]

Right on, Anonymous.

We work at Starbucks, guys. There are so many more gross things in the world than an old cup. Yeah, there are plenty of gross things that people do to us, but hey, I guess that's just humanity.

Take the personal cup, rinse it out briefly with hot water, make the drink (not stirring), and deal with it. Environment or not, it's not a huge deal.

[harmaa]

Who cares about rinsing out a dirty cup? You're supposed to rinse out any personal cup with hot water before using it anyway, to warm it up. Doesn't make much difference if there's some old coffee or whatnot left in there. You're not the one drinking it, after all.

Also, you're supposed to use shot glasses to pour shots into personal cups. Personal cups aren't supposed to actually touch the espresso machine. It's a health standard thing.

Those of you who make drinks in paper cups, then pour them into personal cups - you depress the hell out of me. :/

bulimic girls are not disgusting. be careful what you say about that one.

[brewed with room]

No, bulimic girls aren't disgusting.
Cleaning vomit out of their laundry basket and dresser drawers is. :)
(The anonymous posting was me. I forgot to put my info in there. Grr)
Yanno...
I use a personal cup mostly because my stainless steel mug keeps my coffee hot for a good long time. But I also like the idea, a lot, of not wasting a paper one if I don't have to. I may be only one person but why create garbage unnecessarily?

[rightattitude]

How about when we mark a paper cup, then put the paper cup inside a personal cup and slide it over to the bar person for them to make the drink? We DO NOT use post-it notes to mark personal cups.

But... we do have post-it notes available for just that purpose, printed with the boxes that are on the side of a paper cup. I guess you guys need to order some.

[Mr.Dazzle]

I'll reserve my right to complain, thank you very much.

I'm glad there are people like you, Brewed With Room, that have the wherewithal to do jobs that I wouldn't even go near. Honestly, thank you. However, I am also sure that you have never, a day in your life, complained about your job...right?

You see, its all relative. I'm a Barista. You're a nasty hospital stuff doer, and I respect that. I get to complain about my job. You get to complain about yours. The difference is, I don't go on medical forums and patronize its members about their "petty" complaints. You like room and so do I, so leave mine alone.

[brewed with room]

Eh..
We all complain about our jobs.
Most of us just don't do it where our customers can hear us.
*shrug*

I fully understand that y'all get a lot of crappy customers and deal with a lot of picky jerks.
I don't think some of you understand that a lot of the customers who read this blog often get to feeling like we can't do anything right.

Starbucks allows us to customize. Yet y'all complain about it
Starbucks encourages travel mugs and carafes. Then y'all complain about it.
It's sort of a mixed message, yanno?

All the complaints leave me feeling like I just shouldn't bother going in anymore.
And yet I DO understand that, usually, y'all are talking about extreme annoyances from the most extremely annoying people, not the general public.
Again, it feels like a mixed message. It feels like the customer is doing something wrong by coming in and expecting to get what Starbucks advertises; consistency, customization and good enviromental practices.

I use a travel mug. But I really only drink brewed coffee (maybe a special to try them out or a breve on occasion but that's rare) so I know it's not my mugs yer talking about. Hell, half the time I take it in the bathroom and rinse it before I order! Lol. But it's still kinda crappy to hear that you guys loathe having to deal with them and that you'll, seemingly, go out of your way to create waste even when the customer is trying to do something good.

Really...
complain about your job all you like. It would just be nice if ya didn't leave good customers feeling like crap when you do.

~peace

[chi-town's best/angriest barista]

just a note: a lot of the crap we complain about (the excess of customization, the frappuccinos and all the stupid new drinks) are not things we, the baristas, can control. and if it were up to us, i think there would be a whole lot less of those options available, but alas, we are merely corporate drones acting out the wishes of the company. and making your "quad venti 4 pump non fat no foam no whip extra hot (190degree) sugarfree vnailla mocha" just so you can feel competant like you've made a solid decision. yeah, you know who you are and we know you do that just to piss us off and feel good about yourself. stop it. the majority of customers are not like that. i just get lucky and get the ones with complexes or something.

[tallamericano]

If starbucks and baristas were really serious about helping the environment, they would encourage people to get the for here ceramic cups. Also, they might put the french press option on the menu, since a lot of people do not even know this is an option.

Also, they might put the french press option on the menu, since a lot of people do not even know this is an option.

There isn't a french press button on the pos, this is what we use to sample coffee...I love how poeple tell us how to do our job when they have no clue what they're talking about

Anon: There is an 8 cup fpress button on misc screen. It may be different in your zone, but my stores have always had this option.

For earth day, I'm starting a promo today (Friday) to run through Sunday, If a customer buys a tumbler they get their drink (made in said tumbler) for free. Personal cups are a big thing in my store and anyhting we can do to encourage more customers to use them is a plus for me.

To the partners making drinks in paper to pour into personal. That is wasteful, I understand that a personal cup doesn't save the environment, but you are also not looking at the bigger picture in your store. Wasting of product, however small, can really bulid up. Ask your SM to show you the P&L and discuss controllables. As a barista, you may think this doesn't affect you, but it does. When controllables are out of wack your SM will try to fix it in other ways (i.e. labor) and then everyone gets hurt.

[Caplattegirl]

Darleen bulimia girl are not gross.

Also since I am bulimia, I clean myself up. And don't make a puking mess when I am done.

So shut the f**K up. I am so sick of people degrading eatting disorder.

Also dirty cups are nothing. How about taking 10 laxatives after eating some thanksgiving dinner? Now that's gross. Not fun and don't take laxatives anymore.

[Taylor]

Since when do people admit publicly to being bulemic? Do you troll the pro-ana sites on Livejournal too? That's your business, as is anyone's opinion on it.

Regardless, shot glasses are there for a reason, so are those little plastic shot cups. Why on earth would anyone try to shove a full venti cup under the spouts to pour shots into a caramel macc? I haven't seen glass shot glasses since the old machines, but we have a plastic one at my store and I don't use anything but. Besides, you're "supposed" to pull shots into a clear container so you can "examine" them for quality prior to adding them to the beverage, per a manual somewhere.

[coffeeguy]

"Just quit whining about such inconsequential things when the environment is going to hell."

No freaking kidding. And for those complaining of germs. You know what happens to bacteria when you fill the cup full of 200 degree hot water?

They die and fast. Rinse twice from the hot tap and bang no problem.

[Chicago Red Cupper]

My local Starbucks is giving away really nice 16oz plastic tumblers for free today for Earth Day this weekend. Sure, the tumbler is made up to look like a paper Starbucks cup, but it's a nice gesture. I'll have to watch to see if this Starbucks makes my drink in a paper cup when I return next week with the tumbler. If so, it will defeat the whole purpose of this giveaway. I hope not, because I love my local Starbucks. It's way better than the one across from Chicago HQ at Washington & Clinton. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. I am never going back there.

Happy Earth Day!

[Mike Miller]

My local Caribou is offering a free drip coffee to those who bring in a personal cup today (Sunday 4/22) in observance of Earth Day. Don't know if this holds true of all Caribous. I will post this to the weekend open thread as well.

[CuteBarista!]

at my store, anytime someone buys a tumbler, we always give them the drink for free.

having worked in both suburban and now a city store, i can say for certain that people who live in the suburbs are a) far more into ridiculous customizations and b) far more wasteful.

i started out at a store in suburban Philadelphia, and it was ridiculous. then i went to a store in suburban Houston (it was in the Inner Loop, but let's face it, all of Houston is suburban), where every. single. person. ordered a drink with five or six modifications. it was annoying and made me want to kill myself.

then i came to the store i am currently at, in Philly, where our customers are, amazingly enough, adults. they can put the Splenda in themselves. the vast majority of them are happy with a black coffee, and i've seen eye rolling from them numerous times when someone rattles off an excessively customized drink.

as for you people above who discourage use of personal cups and make a drink in a paper cup before pouring it into a personal cup, what the hell is wrong with you? if you think that one cup doesn't make a difference, try multiplying that a thousand times a day, every day, across the united states and world.

Milwaukee Starbucks Rebel's comment was sad but true. americans really think that capitalism is going to save us all. trust me, it isn't.