Starbucks kicks off its Christmas season on Thursday

Christmas has always been a big deal at Starbucks, writes Lewis Lazare. "But with the company celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, the decision apparently was made awhile ago to make this holiday the biggest and brightest ever." On Thursday, Starbucks stores will begin to show off their bright red holiday decor. (Chicago Sun-Times)
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Comments

[Becca]

If people are going to bring up nutrition, might as well mention the snowman cookie: 420 cal, 21 g of fat
yummmmmyyy

[S.O.]

Noticed the signs and the cup were red this morning. Said to myself, huh. Drank the coffee.

Eggnog latté, huh? Note taken, thx.

[njbaristachick]

The snowman cookie, like most of the other seasonal cookies, probably can last through a nuclear holocaust...supposidly the have a shelf life of 3 months or so?

[Boston Starbucks Rebel]

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, and the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

[CNYBarista]

I walked into work on Thursday and groaned like a lot of people. And I can honestly say I hate every single one of the holiday drinks. And I am also one of those people who do not celebrate Christmas, but whatever. I have to agree that, like it or not, it is the season. Starbucks is not the only place decked out for the holidays already. It has started everywhere.

I also had to correct a girl when she complained that she couldn't get a peppermint mocha all year long. I told her we have the stuff all year, it's just not on the menu board. She the proceeded to announce that fact, VERY LOUDLY, to all her friends who gave a chorus of "SHUT UP!!!!"'s. Yeah, that's my location for ya.

The website is live, the website is live! Bring on the tradition!

[njbaristachick]

The only thing that does bother me is the lack of Hannukkah stuff...The town we're in has a large Jewish population (myself included) and several of the employees are Jewish themselves (myself included again...We used to have more though)...Anyway, I guess my beef with it is, is that the Hannukkah merchandise seems to get less and less...Now they have truffles instead of gelt? It confuses me slightly...(Though I will eat the truffles...Chocolate is chocolate.) Oh well...We'll put up a menorah in the store when the time comes

[Sheik]

Does anyone have regular Peppermint Mocha customers that get the Pep Mocha all year round that complain about the price increase? Pep Mocha is "White Mocha price" during the holidays but it's cheaper when the "MINT MOCHA" button isn't on the POS. They get charged for "Mocha" + "Add Mint" the rest of the year and it's cheaper. Guess they're paying "White Mocha Price" for those damn red sprinkles.

get them to order it the way they would normally and ask the barista to ring it in that way;

there are a few drinks that work out better with a bit of unconventionalness
...g.lat anyone?

[Sheik]

Since the holiday drinks were brought back, I can honestly say I haven't had a customer order a regular Eggnog latte. Do customers know how stupid they sound when they order a "Nonfat Eggnog Latte?"

Even worse: "Can I have a SOY Eggnog Latte?"

*eye roll*

[njbaristachick]

Someone ordered a soy eggnog latte...I had to convince them that there's still dairy in the eggnog...They still didn't care and wanted it anyway...I'm like "Well as long as you know there's still dairy in there..."

Nonfat is hysterical though...Eggnog, not matter how you slice it, is going to be fattening...You want to watch your weight, get a regular cup of coffee and a sense of control...

I HATE EGGNOG!!!!

[Lauren.]

how much does a peppermint mocha cost?

[SAHRIJAL]

I LOVE MY TOFFENUT LATTE, MAKE ME CONFORT WHILE Im TAKING BREAK TIME. MANTAP KERINA ......

[PEP'D OFF]

In Seattle a Peppermint Mocha SHOULD cost $285.00 (TL MOCHA) plus .30 cents (ADD PEPPERMINT) plus tax. However, during the "Holiday Season" it's keyed as (TL PEP MOCHA) $3.25 plus tax. That's a .10 cent increase! I asked what I was getting for the extra .10 cents and was told "for the sprinkles". I then asked if their registers had a "no sprinkles" key that would deduct the .10 cents and was told "no"!? I was told by a mananger to "just tell the cashier to ring it up the old way"!? The "old way"? She meant to say the "right way", or the "honest way"! WHY should I be one of "THOSE" customers! The sad thing is...I'm still going to buy the damn drink cause it's the best drink on the planet and nobody makes it the same way...Really the extra .10 cents is a "sucker" fee!

[PEP'D OFF]

Thank you for taking the time to contact Starbucks Coffee Company.

We have moved to line pricing on our promotional Holiday beverages (Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread Latte, Eggnog Latte), pricing them at the same level as other promotional beverages (e.g. Pumpkin Spice Latte) and at a premium vs. other year-round beverages.

There are 2 reasons behind this:

Rather than have promotional beverages priced at multiple price points, we have established them at the same price point to reduce confusion & simplify communication. One price for any promotional beverage.

All the promotional beverages have higher costs than normal beverages. The eggnog in the Eggnog latte is more expensive than whole milk. The limited time, promotional syrup, whip cream & nutmeg topping on Gingerbread Latte add cost. The sprinkles on Peppermint Mocha add cost as well.

Thanks again for writing. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact us at www.starbucks.com/customer or (800) 235-2883.

Sincerely,

Jonathan M.
Customer Relations
Starbucks Coffee Company

(FROM PEP'D: I'm paying more for my Pepperment Mocha because eggnog cost more!?????????)

[Christina]

I used to be a partner. I had to quit this May to take another job. I remember that around the holidays, we used to have a customer shopping day/week of like 20% or something. Could anyone tell me when that day is? I would appreciate it. I miss getting my markout!

[Chelsea]

I have a question...this is my first christmas season with Starbucks as a partner, and I know that we get a holiday discount...my question is..can we use that holiday discount online? if so, how?

[Jessica]

when is partner shopping week? i'm going through a store transfer and am so lost in everything!