Starbucks took a pretty big hit to their brand perception and customer loyalty recently. Last month, they announced a change to their loyalty program that left quite a few people unhappy. Although most of those customers admitted that they would still most likely go to Starbucks the next time they wanted a coffee, they also claimed less loyalty than previously.
The 50% drop in brand perception happened because Starbucks switched their program from earning a free drink after a number of transactions, to a free drink after a number of dollars spent. The result, depending on the size of your transactions beforehand, could result in spending more to get a free coffee. The logic behind the change is a simple one: some customers were trying to game the system by having baristas ring up each item separately, so they could get their free drink faster. The problem there is that they were holding up the line, something of a cardinal sin at a coffee shop.
With baristas having to ring up everything separate for some, let’s just call them rude customers, they were making other customers wait which, in turn, could make some of them leave. Loyalty programs are all fine and good, but when they actually start to hurt business, even a little bit, it’s perfectly reasonable to rethink them.
But, at the same time, Starbucks is kind of punishing innocent customers because some of their peers are jerks who hold up the line for their own benefit. Kind of a “if you can’t share nobody gets the toy” argument. That’s not the most elegant way to handle it, but the new model does make more sense, and is certainly easier to track and harder to game. The hard part is going to be convincing customers that the loyalty program, something they are by no means entitled too, is still worth their time.
What are your thoughts on these recent changes? Will this affect your decision on getting coffee at Starbucks?