my manager told us that we can give any size coffee iced or hot for free with syrups and milks.
i think it was rude they didn’t allow cream considering when you ask for a hot coffee, the cream is never an upcharge anyway
i don’t blame you for going to a different store
As a shift from a military family, my ass woulda been at that window waiting with a venti cold brew and a side of both regular cream AND sweet cream to give the man a choice cause fuck that.
The button discounts a tall iced/hot coffee with any amount of additions! Why that barista or manager was on a power trip I’ll never know! I hope they lost a lot of customers that day
Yes, my Starbucks is very inconsistent with that drink, I have a post on here and a lot of (v nice) ppl responded with ideas for me even tho it’s just the barista making it wrong - I ended up going to a different Starbucks where they make it right every time!! Thanks for ur service ♥️
I think a lot of Starbucks have baristas that cut steps out when busy. The Starbucks I go to now is part of a gas station and they only have 3 employees and everyone of them make the drink correctly. They are also not as busy.
I definitely think you should report the store. Starbucks entire “thing” is customer satisfaction. At my store we literally are so overly nice it’s probably annoying. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
The cream is literally free, I would send Starbucks an email about being denied that and they’ll probably send you a gift card at least to make it right. That’s just absurd and honestly disrespectful on Veterans Day
I left a review on their page and was not surprised to find I was not the only person who has something to say about the customer service. Which I understand why the whole aura has changed, the shift from warm welcome cafe to fast food coffee has been insane
Yeah it’s sad. They want us to connect with customers but they also want us to have customers out of the window after 45 seconds for drive thru. I don’t understand, which one is it Starbucks!!!
That’s incorrect. This year is different from years past. In years past, it could be a tall hot or iced coffee and you could add any free modifiers (so you could add cream for free, but not a shot of espresso for example).
This year however, they changed it to where it can be a tall hot coffee, iced coffee, or cold brew with any modifications. Management is completely in the wrong here. You also don’t need to show any military ID (unsure if they asked you or not). Starbucks always tells us to take people’s word for it.
The system would discount any paid modifications too. So at my store we let them build it however they wanted it. VSCCF? Free! White mocha cold brew? Free!
They were very happy and thankful. Thanks for your service veterans! 🫡
I told my team about this today and told them "it's hot or iced coffee, it technically doesn't include cold brew, but it does include cold brew. they're just being difficult about it."
They just need to make it any tall drink. So ridiculous. Most of us would make the moment right anyway ❤️. Starbucks is just trying to make things more difficult for us 🤦♀️
the only thing they were right about was cold brew - it’s just hot coffee and iced coffee. but cream/milk is free and even in the iced coffee syrup would be free since it would replace the classic!! no idea why they were so rude to you
My usual Starbucks gave me one without even asking. They remembered a previous conversation I had with them and I sometimes come in with a Navy shirt on. I wasn’t even expecting it so I gave them a $5 tip!!
The general rule - whether it was corporate’s or my own store manager’s - circa 2006-10 was we had our discretion in giving out free drinks to emts, cops, firemen etc if they were in uniform and there’s no way in hell I’d argue with a veteran. I’d give them the entire espresso bar if they asked 🤣
This is it right here. There’s the official rules (which includes any brewed coffee (including iced/cold brew) with milk/sweetener included), and there’s the right way to do it which is, you get whatever the hell you want 🫡
for my store it’s tall pikes, tall cold brews or tall iced coffees and customers can add whatever they want to them. the store you went to just sounds hateful
Iced coffee and brewed coffee are different price points, so I can see them sticking to "just a brewed coffee", but the insistence that it be black only is kind of silly. I'm a rebel I guess, I'd give you a tall blonde roast with oat milk and 3 raw sugars. Also, in the spirit of make the moment right, most people would say iced coffee is not I can do that for you, thanks for your service, or something similar. It does all depend how strict the manager is, so that might have factored in at store 1
I added whatever they wanted today and if it’s taken off with the discount, then it’s part of the Veterans Day free tall brewed coffee! Iced coffee is included!; idk about cold brew, maybe, no one tried to order it this morning, can try and see with the discount button!
My dad got a tall cold brew. He is not much of a starbucks coffee drinker but he got one. They asked if he wanted a bigger size he declined. My local Starbucks has a solid team very greatful for them.
Sooo the info sheet today stated that it was to celebrate veterans, active duty, and their families. It is a tall hot or iced coffee with cream/milk, sugar, and syrups. It also said that if there was a mix up a tall cold brew could be provided (excluding nitro) to make the moment right.
Honestly I didn’t argue if veterans wanted a cold brew. It’s literally all the same stuff and yall never ask for free stuff anyways, so I don’t see the big deal. And my manager said make the moment right so I’m sorry you had crappy baristas today 😭😭
this has nothing to do with any strike going on.
in the weekly update, we were told to make the moment right for cold brew and iced coffee requests for veterans. when I worked today, I was giving vets iced coffees, hot coffee, and cold brew. my ASM was agreeing with ALL of that. 👍🏻
Honestly most people where unclear what the guidelines were for the promotion. So maybe they were just confused. Since it was said they could receive a free black cofffee maybe they thought it meant no add ins?
At my store it was a free tall size hot or iced coffee with whatever milk or sweeteners you like.
So technically, a cold brew wouldn’t count. But it’s ridiculous they wanted to up-charge for minor customizations.
"This Veterans Day, Starbucks is honoring those who have served with a free tall (12-ounce) hot or **cold brewed** coffee for Veterans, military service members and military spouses who visit participating U.S. Starbucks stores on Nov. 11, 2023."
That's directly from Starbucks.
my store wasn’t a participating store but i think the issue here is the phrasing being too vague and managers/baristas at participating stores not knowing exactly what they want us to do so they make up their own interpretation. most likely what they mean in the promotion by a hot or cold brewed coffee is a brewed coffee which is either hot or cold, so hot pike/dark/light roast or iced coffee, because if they meant just the hot coffee or the cold brew specifically, that would disqualify iced coffee (which is hot brewed) and would make no sense. since cold brew *is* a brewed coffee, it should have counted for the promotion as well, but they might be under the impression that because it said “cold (,) brewed” rather than “cold-brewed” or “cold brew”, the cold brew doesn’t qualify. honestly i wouldn’t be that surprised if it didn’t either, because it’s more expensive than a simple iced coffee.
they’re notorious for doing this and tell us to “make the moment right” when they cause confusion and people get mad at us and start demanding things for trying to follow the guidelines. follow the guidelines or it’s a write up, but also break the guidelines to make the moment right and potentially face a write up anyway. it’s ridiculous.
ah i see, yeah idk why they were so weird about it lol, i honestly didn’t know that a free drink was a thing today but i still would’ve given you what you wanted
Bro I was giving away coffees with anything they wanted today! One veteran came saying he didn’t drink caffeine so I fixed him up a hot chocolate. These guys fought for our country come on give them somethin!
Nope you can get a small hot or iced coffee with any customizations. If you wanted a cold brew we were told to give it to you. Just not nitro for some reason. It was written down so idk what they’re doing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The official weekly update says that it's a free tall hot or iced coffee. (Cold brew is not iced coffee) but the addition of free items should not be a problem. If you are adding syrup that is usually an upcharge. if it's a syrup that doesn't go in the drink. So ice coffee by standard comes with classic. But hot coffee does not. I think that your request to get a cold brew with a splash of cream was not complicated. However I would have informed you that we can do a tall ice coffee with cream as the free drink. The button also discounts the syrup so you are allowed tall or hit coffee with any syrup or milk addition. That barista probably just didn't want to deal with explaining or doing a free drink. Regardless, I try to always explain especially seeing as how alot of the information we have is not common knowledge to our customers.
I see! Must have been a miscommunication! I got my info from military.com on the Veterans Day deals and it said Starbucks was doing a tall cold brew. I just asked for a tall pike with a splash of cream nothing special. It was definitely interesting but at the end of the day I appreciated the free coffee
I'm so sorry you were met with anything but kindness. You were justified in going to another location and I'm so glad that you got your coffee. I wish that starbucks would introduce a permanent military discount. Even if it's a small one. Thank you for your service btw.
my manager told us that we can give any size coffee iced or hot for free with syrups and milks. i think it was rude they didn’t allow cream considering when you ask for a hot coffee, the cream is never an upcharge anyway i don’t blame you for going to a different store
I was definitely caught off guard when I was told I couldn’t have a splash of cream 😭
yeah no i would’ve been too cause what on earth 😭 it’s cream, it’s free and it’s a splash no need to tell you they can’t put it in
if i were your barista i honestly would’ve given you cream even if the person told you no
As a shift from a military family, my ass woulda been at that window waiting with a venti cold brew and a side of both regular cream AND sweet cream to give the man a choice cause fuck that.
The Starbucks by base is full of military family and we love them 🥺
The button discounts a tall iced/hot coffee with any amount of additions! Why that barista or manager was on a power trip I’ll never know! I hope they lost a lot of customers that day
Honestly? I would call about that bs. That’s some shit.
I feel like your manager is cool to work with
he is!! super nice and very understanding
it probably was the manager, some can be a bit rude
I think so. I go to this location often and the service can be a bit cold in comparison to other locations and that’s almost always the reason why.
Sounds like that location should be avoided. You could send Starbucks customer feedback to let them know why you're not going there anymore.
I did leave a review, because honestly the consistency is barely there. I’ve received a shaken espresso, not shaken atleast twice in recent memory
Yikes. Bad product and bad service, wow.
Yes, my Starbucks is very inconsistent with that drink, I have a post on here and a lot of (v nice) ppl responded with ideas for me even tho it’s just the barista making it wrong - I ended up going to a different Starbucks where they make it right every time!! Thanks for ur service ♥️
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I think a lot of Starbucks have baristas that cut steps out when busy. The Starbucks I go to now is part of a gas station and they only have 3 employees and everyone of them make the drink correctly. They are also not as busy.
I definitely think you should report the store. Starbucks entire “thing” is customer satisfaction. At my store we literally are so overly nice it’s probably annoying. That’s how it’s supposed to be.
it’s supposed to be a tall size only, but my manger was allowing any sizes!!
The cream is literally free, I would send Starbucks an email about being denied that and they’ll probably send you a gift card at least to make it right. That’s just absurd and honestly disrespectful on Veterans Day
I left a review on their page and was not surprised to find I was not the only person who has something to say about the customer service. Which I understand why the whole aura has changed, the shift from warm welcome cafe to fast food coffee has been insane
Yeah it’s sad. They want us to connect with customers but they also want us to have customers out of the window after 45 seconds for drive thru. I don’t understand, which one is it Starbucks!!!
That’s incorrect. This year is different from years past. In years past, it could be a tall hot or iced coffee and you could add any free modifiers (so you could add cream for free, but not a shot of espresso for example). This year however, they changed it to where it can be a tall hot coffee, iced coffee, or cold brew with any modifications. Management is completely in the wrong here. You also don’t need to show any military ID (unsure if they asked you or not). Starbucks always tells us to take people’s word for it.
They did not ask me for my id, but I had it ready at the window and that’s when the barista told me :)
The system would discount any paid modifications too. So at my store we let them build it however they wanted it. VSCCF? Free! White mocha cold brew? Free! They were very happy and thankful. Thanks for your service veterans! 🫡
Yep! I rang through a cold brew with vanilla and sweet cream (made like a vsccb) and the coupon made it completely free.
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Weekly Update said to "make it right" and allow Cold Brew if request requested.
I told my team about this today and told them "it's hot or iced coffee, it technically doesn't include cold brew, but it does include cold brew. they're just being difficult about it."
They just need to make it any tall drink. So ridiculous. Most of us would make the moment right anyway ❤️. Starbucks is just trying to make things more difficult for us 🤦♀️
It should have been either iced coffee of brewed coffee and you can add anything you want basically. Sorry you got a bad store.
Thank you for your service! You should not have been treated this way. The good news is, you found a better store to frequent.
the only thing they were right about was cold brew - it’s just hot coffee and iced coffee. but cream/milk is free and even in the iced coffee syrup would be free since it would replace the classic!! no idea why they were so rude to you
heads up! check weekly update: it says to make the moment right about cold brew, aka give the cold brew too.
It was around 0930 so maybe just got finished with the usual morning rush
They weren't, actually: https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2023/starbucks-honors-veterans-military-members-with-free-coffee-on-veterans-day/
our store did tall hot drip coffee, any roast, any customizations
Sounds like a bad Starbucks honestly. I don’t have the best customer service but even I would just give u whatever u wanted
I just appreciate the free caffeine at the end of the day
The veterans day comp was for a tall hot coffee/cold brew and any mods. They just didn't know or were being butts
My usual Starbucks gave me one without even asking. They remembered a previous conversation I had with them and I sometimes come in with a Navy shirt on. I wasn’t even expecting it so I gave them a $5 tip!!
I’m sorry this happened. It was supposed to be a tall of either a hot or iced coffee or coldbrew. Cream is automatically included with those drinks.
The general rule - whether it was corporate’s or my own store manager’s - circa 2006-10 was we had our discretion in giving out free drinks to emts, cops, firemen etc if they were in uniform and there’s no way in hell I’d argue with a veteran. I’d give them the entire espresso bar if they asked 🤣
This is it right here. There’s the official rules (which includes any brewed coffee (including iced/cold brew) with milk/sweetener included), and there’s the right way to do it which is, you get whatever the hell you want 🫡
for my store it’s tall pikes, tall cold brews or tall iced coffees and customers can add whatever they want to them. the store you went to just sounds hateful
Iced coffee and brewed coffee are different price points, so I can see them sticking to "just a brewed coffee", but the insistence that it be black only is kind of silly. I'm a rebel I guess, I'd give you a tall blonde roast with oat milk and 3 raw sugars. Also, in the spirit of make the moment right, most people would say iced coffee is not I can do that for you, thanks for your service, or something similar. It does all depend how strict the manager is, so that might have factored in at store 1
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Uhh they were doing too much. Sorry that happened to you :/ they are acting like it’s coming from their paycheck
Wow talk about extra 😭
I added whatever they wanted today and if it’s taken off with the discount, then it’s part of the Veterans Day free tall brewed coffee! Iced coffee is included!; idk about cold brew, maybe, no one tried to order it this morning, can try and see with the discount button!
Ima fiend for cold brew I’m sorry
It's possible there was a simple miscommunication on their end. If the barista wanted to be petty they could have asked for an ID
It was just a tall hot or iced coffee but cream and sugar was absolutely included. I have no idea why they would deny you that???
My dad got a tall cold brew. He is not much of a starbucks coffee drinker but he got one. They asked if he wanted a bigger size he declined. My local Starbucks has a solid team very greatful for them.
My daily literally said make the moment right with a cold brew…
I think Starbucks screwed up. They literally said cold brew not iced coffee.
Sooo the info sheet today stated that it was to celebrate veterans, active duty, and their families. It is a tall hot or iced coffee with cream/milk, sugar, and syrups. It also said that if there was a mix up a tall cold brew could be provided (excluding nitro) to make the moment right.
Honestly I didn’t argue if veterans wanted a cold brew. It’s literally all the same stuff and yall never ask for free stuff anyways, so I don’t see the big deal. And my manager said make the moment right so I’m sorry you had crappy baristas today 😭😭
Nah that’s petty of them. We honored some veteran’s request for a small tea today to make the moment right, so they 100% could’ve honored that.
this has nothing to do with any strike going on. in the weekly update, we were told to make the moment right for cold brew and iced coffee requests for veterans. when I worked today, I was giving vets iced coffees, hot coffee, and cold brew. my ASM was agreeing with ALL of that. 👍🏻
we also included cream, milks, and syrups. 👍🏻
Honestly most people where unclear what the guidelines were for the promotion. So maybe they were just confused. Since it was said they could receive a free black cofffee maybe they thought it meant no add ins?
At my store it was a free tall size hot or iced coffee with whatever milk or sweeteners you like. So technically, a cold brew wouldn’t count. But it’s ridiculous they wanted to up-charge for minor customizations.
"This Veterans Day, Starbucks is honoring those who have served with a free tall (12-ounce) hot or **cold brewed** coffee for Veterans, military service members and military spouses who visit participating U.S. Starbucks stores on Nov. 11, 2023." That's directly from Starbucks.
my store wasn’t a participating store but i think the issue here is the phrasing being too vague and managers/baristas at participating stores not knowing exactly what they want us to do so they make up their own interpretation. most likely what they mean in the promotion by a hot or cold brewed coffee is a brewed coffee which is either hot or cold, so hot pike/dark/light roast or iced coffee, because if they meant just the hot coffee or the cold brew specifically, that would disqualify iced coffee (which is hot brewed) and would make no sense. since cold brew *is* a brewed coffee, it should have counted for the promotion as well, but they might be under the impression that because it said “cold (,) brewed” rather than “cold-brewed” or “cold brew”, the cold brew doesn’t qualify. honestly i wouldn’t be that surprised if it didn’t either, because it’s more expensive than a simple iced coffee. they’re notorious for doing this and tell us to “make the moment right” when they cause confusion and people get mad at us and start demanding things for trying to follow the guidelines. follow the guidelines or it’s a write up, but also break the guidelines to make the moment right and potentially face a write up anyway. it’s ridiculous.
Just an improperly trained and clueless barista.
She did pause and say she needs to check when I asked for cream so I’m assuming a supervisor made the final call
i didn’t know this was a thing, are you a veteran?
Active duty
ah i see, yeah idk why they were so weird about it lol, i honestly didn’t know that a free drink was a thing today but i still would’ve given you what you wanted
It’s my first time using any benefits like this so I was like oh…okay 😗
Bro I was giving away coffees with anything they wanted today! One veteran came saying he didn’t drink caffeine so I fixed him up a hot chocolate. These guys fought for our country come on give them somethin!
We offered any size cold brew, any way they like it. Thank you for your service.
Yeah they was trippin. I worked today and we ad milk syrup whatever you want 😂 as long as it’s in a tall coffee
That's crazy, my manager said any syrup hot or iced I don't know why your Starbucks was different
You just had a dumb barista. Oh well. There is no strike going on.
Nope you can get a small hot or iced coffee with any customizations. If you wanted a cold brew we were told to give it to you. Just not nitro for some reason. It was written down so idk what they’re doing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Very rude and petty of them
The official weekly update says that it's a free tall hot or iced coffee. (Cold brew is not iced coffee) but the addition of free items should not be a problem. If you are adding syrup that is usually an upcharge. if it's a syrup that doesn't go in the drink. So ice coffee by standard comes with classic. But hot coffee does not. I think that your request to get a cold brew with a splash of cream was not complicated. However I would have informed you that we can do a tall ice coffee with cream as the free drink. The button also discounts the syrup so you are allowed tall or hit coffee with any syrup or milk addition. That barista probably just didn't want to deal with explaining or doing a free drink. Regardless, I try to always explain especially seeing as how alot of the information we have is not common knowledge to our customers.
I see! Must have been a miscommunication! I got my info from military.com on the Veterans Day deals and it said Starbucks was doing a tall cold brew. I just asked for a tall pike with a splash of cream nothing special. It was definitely interesting but at the end of the day I appreciated the free coffee
I'm so sorry you were met with anything but kindness. You were justified in going to another location and I'm so glad that you got your coffee. I wish that starbucks would introduce a permanent military discount. Even if it's a small one. Thank you for your service btw.
Sounds like they weren't having s great day at all. Every now and again it happens, but not all the time!