‘I’m no mathematician, but I know when I’m being screwed!’ Starbucks customers lash out at new rewards program which takes longer to get free perks

‘I’m no mathematician, but I know when I’m being screwed!’ Starbucks customers lash out at new rewards program which takes longer to get free perks
Starting in April, Starbucks will award stars based on the dollars spent
People will now have to earn 125 stars for free item
New rules enraged customers who claim it'll take longer and cost more to get the same freebie
Customers used to earn a star per transaction, regardless of how much is spent
http://dollars-vedioonline.blogspot.com/2016/02/im-no-mathematician-but-i-know-when-im.html


Starbuck customers are lashing out at the coffee chain for changing the terms of its rewards program calling it a 'ripoff'.

The Seattle-based coffee chain says its loyalty program will award stars based on the dollars spent, not numbers of visits starting in April.

'Dear #StarbucksRewards, I may not be a mathematician, but I know when I'm being screwed. Thanks, but no thanks,' tweeted Kelly Deutsch, who objected that under the new rules it will take longer and cost more to get the same freebie.

'The new #StarbucksRewards is a #ripoff. Before: 12 Grande Coffees= $20= 1 free coffee. Now 80 Grande coffees = 1 free. Why bother?' tweeted another customer.

Starbucks Corp. says the change is the No. 1 request among loyalty program members and predicts it will lead to higher spending by customers eager to earn more stars
Currently, people earn a star for each transaction, regardless of how much they spend, and get a free food or item of their choice after earning 12 stars.
People will now have to earn 125 stars for a free item, with each dollar spent being worth two stars — meaning they have to spend $62.50 to get their free item. That means people who stick with options like plain coffee are losing out.
For instance, someone who regularly pays $2 for a regular drip coffee would currently earn a free item after spending around $24 over 12 visits. Under the new system, they would have to visit more than 31 times before they earn the perk.
Someone who gets a large latte for $4.45 currently spends around $53.40 over a dozen visits before getting a free item. That person would need to visit a couple extra times for the freebie with the new system.


Still, Starbucks Corp. says the change is the No. 1 request among loyalty program members and predicts it will lead to higher spending by customers eager to earn more stars.
In a call with analysts, Starbucks Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ryan said the vast majority of customers will earn rewards at an equal or better rate with the change. Without providing details, he said a 'small minority' of customers will earn rewards at a slower pace.
He added the change is not an opportunity to opaquely reduce the value of the program.
The current rewards system can also increase waiting times in store lines, Ryan said, because some people try to get additional stars by asking to ring up multiple items separately. Such instances account for 1 percent of all transactions, he said.

The change comes as Starbucks has been pushing to get more people signed up for its My Starbucks Rewards program

The change comes as Starbucks has been pushing to get more people signed up for its My Starbucks Rewards program. Loyalty members spend three times as much as non-members, and help push up profit, according to the company.

Last month, Starbucks said it had 11.1 million loyalty program members in the U.S., up 23 percent from the previous year.

The coming change will not benefit customers such as Vincent Fiorese, who works in construction management and spends less than $3 on a cup of coffee whenever he goes to work. But Fiorese said it wouldn't deter him from getting his coffee.

'It sucks, but what am I going to do,' he said.

Mother who did not know how to drive accidentally ran over and killed her three-year-old son the first time she ever got behind wheel of family car

Mother who did not know how to drive accidentally ran over and killed her three-year-old son the first time she ever got behind wheel of family car
http://dollars-vedioonline.blogspot.com/2016/02/mother-who-did-not-know-how-to-drive.html

Liam Turner was playing with his sister at home when he was run over
Mother Lindsey described how her foot 'slipped' and car 'jolted' over son
His father flagged down a passing ambulance but Liam died in hospital
Coroner Nicholas Holroyd recorded a conclusion of accidental death

A mother accidentally killed her three-year-old son while learning to drive the family car for the first time, an inquest heard today.
Mother-of-two Lyndsay Turner, 34, described how her 'foot slipped' and her Citroen C4 'jolted forward' and ran over her much-loved little boy Liam.
Mrs Turner was pulling into a parking area near their home in Adland Road, Watton, Norfolk, when she hit her son as he played nearby.
The boy's father Stephen, 37, moved the toddler from underneath the vehicle and drove him towards the hospital before flagging down an ambulance, the court was told.
Liam was airlifted to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital but could not be saved.
An inquest into the incident on June 7 last year was held at Norwich Coroner's Court today.
The inquest heard Liam was playing outside with his older sister on a hot summer's day when he died.
In a statement, Mrs Turner said she had asked her husband to teach her to drive and decided to move the car a short way to its parking space.
It was the first time she had ever driven the car. She did not have a provisional driving licence and was not insured.
'My foot slipped and it jolted suddenly forward,' she told police.
Mr Turner had supervised her moving the car from outside the vehicle.
Neighbour Amy Jones saw Mrs Turner pulling into the space in a 'stuttering' manner and heard Mr Turner shouting 'stop' followed by a loud crunch.


'Liam was bleeding really badly and I told Stephen to put him in the car and take him to hospital,' she added.

Pc Forbes Scott told the court Mrs Turner was on a public road and should not have been driving but the Crown Prosecution Service had decided it was not in the public interest to bring charges.
'There are no plans to bring any criminal proceedings in this case,' he added. He said there were no faults with the car.
The inquest heard Liam suffered a serious head injury and irreversible brain damage and died at the hospital's accident and emergency department at 8.16pm that day.
Deputy Coroner Nicholas Holroyd recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
He told the couple: 'This was an appalling tragedy and you both have my profound sympathy for this loss.
'There are very few parents who when looking back haven't said to themselves "that was a near thing", tragically this ended as disastrously as it did.'
Mr and Mrs Turner chose not to comment after the hearing.
In a statement issued shortly after his death, the couple said: 'We are devastated by the loss of our darling little man.
'Liam was a happy, content little boy who was always smiling and laughing.
'He had a wonderful sense of humour and brought joy to the lives of everyone who knew him. He was deeply loved.
'Life will not be the same without him.'