Sheep...regular or decaf?
I'm not a ground-breaking consumer. I confess to following some trends and falling into some lines. One line I fall into regularly is at Starbucks. What can I say? It's a block away from where I work, and the baristas (my own personal Spice Girls) give me what I want, what I really, really want.
However, because it is so close, I have become somewhat paranoid about going so regularly. No, it has nothing to do with health. I know that it's bad for me. But I try to choose well, opting for soy hot chocolates for my hot beverage, and mocha frappucino lights for my cold beverage. I know that these will add up to some sort of collective badness, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying their yummy goodness.
I have another favourite coffee place, one that rewards their customers for their frequent visits. You get a stamp card, fill it up, and they give you a freebie. It's a good system, except that the card illustrates your weakness...you have a visual record of how many times you've caved in to your personal demon/temptation. This could be counter-productive, but most people can't pass up a free...I mean good, thing.
Starbucks doesn't use this gimmick. They know that they've got us hooked. But they do have some sort of gimmick: the customer survey. Twice now, since I've been working at this new job and going to Starbucks daily, I've received an extra-printout on my receipt, a request for me to fill out a customer satisfaction survey. The carrot they dangle is the monthly draw for $1,000. All you have to do is fill out the survey and you're entered.
This seemed like a good deal. In the end, if you're lucky enough, you could win a bunch of cash. And all you have to do is answer a few questions. I was sailing through them until I hit the question: "How many times have you visited a Starbucks in the last month?"
I did the math. It wasn't difficult, but the truth was hard. For the last few months, I've been to the Starbucks, on average, 20 times a month. Now I'm sure that's probably a modest number. I know that my supervisor can go twice in a day (and have a venti non-fat latte...with a straw. I know what the straw is for. Do you?). But still, it was shocking. I couldn't believe that I was that much of a consumer-sheep,
So how bad have they got me hooked?
When I saw that the prize for participating in the survey is $1,000, I immediately thought "that would buy a lot of frappucinos." Someone must save me from myself.
I'm not a ground-breaking consumer. I confess to following some trends and falling into some lines. One line I fall into regularly is at Starbucks. What can I say? It's a block away from where I work, and the baristas (my own personal Spice Girls) give me what I want, what I really, really want.
However, because it is so close, I have become somewhat paranoid about going so regularly. No, it has nothing to do with health. I know that it's bad for me. But I try to choose well, opting for soy hot chocolates for my hot beverage, and mocha frappucino lights for my cold beverage. I know that these will add up to some sort of collective badness, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying their yummy goodness.
I have another favourite coffee place, one that rewards their customers for their frequent visits. You get a stamp card, fill it up, and they give you a freebie. It's a good system, except that the card illustrates your weakness...you have a visual record of how many times you've caved in to your personal demon/temptation. This could be counter-productive, but most people can't pass up a free...I mean good, thing.
Starbucks doesn't use this gimmick. They know that they've got us hooked. But they do have some sort of gimmick: the customer survey. Twice now, since I've been working at this new job and going to Starbucks daily, I've received an extra-printout on my receipt, a request for me to fill out a customer satisfaction survey. The carrot they dangle is the monthly draw for $1,000. All you have to do is fill out the survey and you're entered.
This seemed like a good deal. In the end, if you're lucky enough, you could win a bunch of cash. And all you have to do is answer a few questions. I was sailing through them until I hit the question: "How many times have you visited a Starbucks in the last month?"
I did the math. It wasn't difficult, but the truth was hard. For the last few months, I've been to the Starbucks, on average, 20 times a month. Now I'm sure that's probably a modest number. I know that my supervisor can go twice in a day (and have a venti non-fat latte...with a straw. I know what the straw is for. Do you?). But still, it was shocking. I couldn't believe that I was that much of a consumer-sheep,
So how bad have they got me hooked?
When I saw that the prize for participating in the survey is $1,000, I immediately thought "that would buy a lot of frappucinos." Someone must save me from myself.
posted by kuzcolike at
6:38 PM
2 Comments:
I don't know what the straw is for... is it so the teeth don't get mocha stains? I am dying to know.
On another note, I think the money they dangle is an illusion... have you ever heard of anyone winning their credit card purchases, or winning that sweet pot of take-this-survey-and-tell-your-friends money? Neither have I.
Well, thanks for bursting my delusional bubble.
But I'm still going to go back for more.
And yes, I think that the straw is to save the teeth.
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