How much money do you think Starbucks lost yesterday?

The real question is…

“How much money is Starbuck’s losing because of the studies that show America now prefers Dunkin Donuts and McDonald’s coffee?”

They didn’t lose any with me – I find their coffee completely undrinkable. Blech.

And isn’t their profit margin ginormous to begin with?

How do you know that some company didn’t pay an enormous amount of money to ensure that Starbucks would give coffee to voters, free of charge?

It may seem free at the end of the line, but somewhere, someone is paying.

I bet it was a loss leader. I bet they actually made money.

you know, caffeine and sugar don’t touch me. I can drink a large Dunkin Donuts coffee right before bed and go to sleep just fine. But I drank a large Starbucks a few weekends ago, and it made me high as a kite… jitters, shakes… it was horrible. And the crash? I can’t even talk about it.

Right, Gail? That’s what I was thinking. I’m sure they at least broke even. If anything, the baristas were probably just pissed because they were probably slammed all day.

I read someplace that Starbucks actually had to give coffee to anyone, regardless of whether or not they voted, because otherwise what they were doing could violate laws that prevent voter bribing.

@ squirbel: Even if something or someone paid Starbuck’s to launch that campaign, it was deemed illegal. So in the end, Starbuck’s had to give away a free cup of coffee to anyone who walked in the store. This was to ensure that no party was able to gain advantage from it. For instance, let’s say Starbuck’s new that its customers were 65% Republican and 32% Democrat. If they gave free coffee to voters only, they would be swinging the vote. It could even be seen as bribing voters. Now, of course, even if there is a party difference in Starbuck’s customers, it’s probably less than 1%, but the principle still stood.

Instead, it became ”Happy Voting Day!”

Who’s concerned with legality? The question was about how much money was lost.

@Squirbel: thanks…all I wanted was a number…a guestimate :P

They made money. I got my free coffee. I saw a lot of people getting their free coffee plus a not-free cookie, or something similar, on the side.

@ squirbel, windex: Sorry, I just really wanted to share that info since I’m sure a lot of people didn’t know that!

Good question, by the way

Blech or not its free muaaahhhssss

I work at Starbucks. They lose a lot of money with me.