Starbucks 2008 Planner
Dec 1st, 2007 | By Jeric Peña | Category: Life, Random Thoughts, Starbucks
After drowning myself with Starbucks Coffee for almost a month (awww, that’s 24 drinks all in all), at last, I got the Starbucks 2008 Planner (Dec 2007 – Dec 2008). This year’s planner is quite smaller than the previous one. The paper is quite thin meaning it’s much lighter than last year’s planner, spaces for notes are quite small and it comes with a pencil instead of a pen. OUCH! How I wished it’s a mechanical pencil. LOL! I still plan on collecting more stickers for another planner which is reserved for my older sister. Hahahahahahahaha!
Have a more organized new year, everyone! 
I am at The Medical City 3x a week for hemodialysis and I always buy 2 cups of coffee at the Starbucks so I can rack up the stickers. Take note, I could save by buying myself a large venti size coffee but I buy 2 short sizes to get more stickers.
For the last 2 weeks or so, my maid [who buys the coffee] has been forgetting to bring the sticker card. HOWEVER, the crew at Starbucks insist that this is okay since we can, according to them, combine the stickers from more than one promo card.
This morning, I ordered coffee #24. I was excited to finally get the planner.
My maid came back with the coffee BUT WITH NO PLANNER. Why? Apparently, you can only combine the stickers from NOT MORE THAN 2 PROMO CARDS. Since most of my stickers are in 2 promo cards and 6 are spread across four others, they say I do not qualify despite the fact that I have already bought 24 cups of coffee. I was upset!
I have to admit, the rules clearly say “maximum of 2 promo cards” on the card itself. It probably is my fault for not reading it. BUT, why did the crew say otherwise? Was it so hard to remind us that only 2 cards can be combined? What’s with the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude?
This doesn’t really pose such a big problem for me, ‘coz I will definitely be buying more coffee the next time I’m at the hospital. I’ll probably qualify for 2 planners by the time the promo ends. BUT what about the other buyers who don’t know about this rule, who are trying so hard to buy 24 cups of coffee just to get the planner? What happens when they buy cup #24 like I did, and the cashier tells them “Sorry, despite buying 24 expensive cups of coffee, you STILL don’t qualify ‘coz your stickers are spread across more than 2 cards”? What difference does it make if I have 24 cards with 1 sticker in each one or 1 card with 24 stickers in it? Either way, I bought the required quantity of coffee!
I texted my other friends who were also accumulating stickers to get the planner and they also didn’t know about the 2 card maximum rule. They didn’t even know that you must buy 12 regular coffees and 12 christmas flavors to get the planner. My point is that despite the fact that they said so in the rules, nobody really reads the rules and it would be much easier if their crew told us about this rule up front, because this is apparently a VITAL RULE to qualify for the planner. You don’t hide this rule amidst the fine print, hiding in plain sight!
When the nurse saw I was kind of upset over what happened, she jokingly said, “Don’t get upset, it’s only a planner. You can buy them real cheap at National Bookstore, much cheaper when the new year begins.” She has a point, but that isn’t the point. I could care less about the planner, I dont intend to use it. My point is I felt I was victimized by this promo to buy more coffee!
Another annoying thing is, part of the proceeds from this promo will supposedly go to charity, So they are actually trying to make you buy more coffee thinking that it’s for a “worthy cause”. I don’t mind giving to charity, but I dont appreciate the fraudulent tactics.
@Giehar: I’m sorry to hear about your problem with regards to the Starbucks Planner Promo. I understand your plight. But, this incident should teach us how to become more aware about the rules of a certain promo we’re participating in. Since it’s written on the promo mechanics we can’t do anything but follow it (even though how small it’s written on the promo card). In the first place they have a “NO PROMO CARD, NO STICKER” rule.