SEATTLE -- Starbucks Corp. has been sued for $114 million over its recall last week of a coupon that entitled the holder to a free large iced drink being promoted by the Seattle coffee retailer, said the Associated Press.
Peter Sullivan, the lawyer who sued on behalf of a 23-year-old Starbucks regular who felt "betrayed" when her coupon was not honored, accused the company of fraud and said he will request class-action status to include the "thousands who were misled" by the offer.
On August 23, Starbucks emailed the coupon for [image-nocss] the free grande drink to selected employees with instructions for them to forward the coupon to friends and family. The offer was valid through September 30.
But, Sullivan said, Starbucks got jittery and refused to honor the coupon after the company saw how widely it had been distributed. "I believe they were surprised by how successful the promotion was," the lawyer said. "The excuse proffered by Starbucks, that they did not believe that an offer released over the Internet would be so widely distributed, is ridiculous," he said. "Clearly, Starbucks chose to initiate a viral marketing campaign to counteract their slumping sales."
A spokesperson for Starbucks said company officials had seen Sullivan's press release, but not his court papers and would have no immediate comment.
Sullivan said he saw lines of coupon-carrying caffeine customers outside Starbucks coffee shops in New York in response to the promotion, and when they could not redeem the coupons "they felt let down and angry." One of those people, Sullivan said, was his client, Kelly Coakley of Queens, who works as a paralegal and administrative assistant in another Manhattan law office.
The $114 million the lawsuit asks for approximates the average cost of one cup of Starbucks coffee a day for all of the people turned away for the 38 days the offer was valid, Sullivan explained. "That's a very conservative figure," he said. He did not explain how they determined how many people had tried to redeem the coupon.
Meanwhile, the Denver Post said that Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. will honor Starbucks' discontinued coupon promotion. For one day only, this Friday, Caribou will accept a widely circulated offer from Starbucks for a free iced coffee between noon and the close of business, said the report.
Customers who bring in the now void Starbucks coupon will receive a free medium Cold Press iced coffee, Iced Americano or Iced Tea.
"We want to introduce gourmet coffee lovers to a great new product, Cold Press iced coffee," Michael Coles, CEO of Minneapolis-based Caribou, told the newspaper.
Caribou will also provide a free-drink offer to its email subscribers. Coupon holders are allowed to claim one drink Friday while supplies last.
In other Caribou news, the company also announced that it will offer free wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) service for its customers across the United States through a partnership with Wandering WiFi.
Customers will have access to free Wi-Fi during the first hour, and then will be asked to make a minimum $1.50 store purchase, about the price of a small cup of Caribou coffee, for each additional hour to receive a Wi-Fi access code.
Caribou operates 416 coffeehouses, including eight licensed locations in 16 states and the District of Columbia.
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