A birthday flop redeemed

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Starbucks will give you a free drink on your birthday every year. Anything you want. Any size you want. You just have to be signed up through their app.

So, on my birthday a couple days ago I went into Starbucks to get my free drink. I opened the app. Clicked on the get your free birthday drink and presented the barcode for the barista to scan. Then the barista presented me with with a receipt that showed how much I paid.

I paid for my "free" birthday drink!

I then went and read the fine print on the app that said, "Tell the barista you're using this before you scan." I asked the barista about it and he said he was sorry, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. I needed to tell him prior to scanning the bar code. I couldn't believe it.

Later that day I went on Twitter and direct messaged @starbuckshelp and they made it right. Here was their response.

"Happy belated Birthday Alex, Thank you for reaching out to us. I'm sorry to hear about the confusion with your Birthday Reward, I can understand your disappointment. I'd be more than happy to make things right. Before I can do so, will you please reply back with your email address associated with your Starbucks Rewards account?... ... ...Thank you for providing your email address. Helping you celebrate your birthday is one of our favorite ways to show our appreciation for you. I feel terrible your Starbucks Card was charged instead of your Birthday Reward. I'd like to go ahead and make this right for you by adding the credit back to your card. I will be back shortly with the details. I've gone ahead and added $5 to your Starbucks Rewards Card ending in XXXX, bringing the balance from $X.XX to $XX.XX. The funds are available immediately once you refresh your app. Thank you for reaching out and allowing me the opportunity to make this right. If there is ever anything else we can do to help, please do not hesitate to contact us and anyone of us would be delighted to assist."

This was a good example of a bad customer experience redeemed by good support. Nice job on the support side Starbucks.

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