Starbucks’ New Rewards Program:  Will it cheer or disappoint?

Rewards program in Retro:

 I have never been a fan of rewards programs, considering them, as many others do, to be clever marketing tools designed to make you compulsively shop, or eat, or both. When I was young, the makers of Binaca toothpaste and Horlicks came up with what was then considered to be a clever marketing gimmick. Binaca gave a mini toy free with  every toothbrush. Our favorite was the head and body of a dachshund, attached to the two ends of a toothbrush. If you could put together all the animals of the collection, you won a special prize. Ditto with Horlicks. The pictures of the various Horlicks family members – Suchitra, Sujatha, Raju, and, I forget the big Daddy’s name – lay scattered in various packs. You had to buy (find) them all.  I was among the many kids who pestered their mothers to buy more toothbrushes and Horlicks packs which I didn’t really need, just so that I could complete my collection.

That, on a larger and more slickly produced scale, is what any rewards program is all about. You’re given an impressive looking card, and told to do a whole lot of things to activate it, then you have to buy a whole lot of things at the same place to get something else, and so on and so forth. Then the company changes the rules, and you find that your collection of toothpaste caps or soap ends is worthless, and you have to start all over again, collecting dregs of coffee, maybe. The bottom line is, they’re the only ones laughing at the happy ending, because it’s been, obviously, written for them, by them.

The New Starbucks Rewards Program: What it entails

So I fail to understand what all the hoohah is, about the changes in the Starbucks Rewards Program. Disgruntled coffee drinkers are taking to social media in a big way to vent their ire at what they see as a bid to deprive them of the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Some threaten to go to Dunkin’ Donuts, some claim that they’re going to brew their own coffee at home. The crux of the matter is, while earlier on, you could get a star for every transaction or purchase, regardless of whether you bought the usual cup of coffee, or several coffees and things to eat, now, you’ll earn two stars for every dollar you spend. A Gold status now requires you to earn 300 stars, a tenfold jump from the earlier 30. And to earn a reward, you need 125 stars, as opposed to the earlier 12. So, to reduce it to money-spending terms, you need to spend 150 dollars to earn Gold status, and you need to spend 62.50 dollars to get a reward.

The new scheme is obviously designed to foil those who think they’re beating the system by insisting on a separate bill for each item, thus cleverly earning a star on each purchase. Some claim that they have reached Gold status in a few hours by thus splitting up transactions, no matter how long they hold up the line. Under the new order, the company claims, congestion in the queues will reduce, making for happier customers in the long run. And you get to make each dollar you spend, count.

So far, there has not been any official announcement to this effect, but members have been notified through email that the new rules will come into effect from April 2016. And that has been enough to set off a social storm in the coffee mug. So much trouble brewing, it’s enough to keep you awake at nights.

Whither Goes India?

As far as India goes, the official Starbucks website has not amended any rules, so it remains to be seen whether India will follow the rest of the world in due course. Here, to activate the card, you load Rs 200 into it,then you get a star every time you use the card to pay for a purchase worth Rs 3oo.  That brings you to the Welcome level. Thereupon, you need to earn at least 5 stars in the following 12 month period to graduate to Green level. From there, to move to Gold level, you have to earn at least  20 in the  following 12 month period.

In what has been widely perceived as a sop to ease the bruised feelings of aggrieved customers, Starbucks has announced that there will be many more promotional schemes to help customers earn twice as many stars. It remains to be seen whether these roll out quickly enough to retain customer loyalty, or whether the new rules will turn out to be just shooting stars.