Following hot on the heels of the viral 3-drinks-for-1 Starbucks hack, chain employees have reported that the coffee giant will soon be instituting a charge for “no ice” drinks—and customers aren’t happy.
After several recent decisions and releases that have left fans of the coffee chain cold—including customers reporting “stomach issues” after consuming their new olive oil-infused coffees, discontinuing the popular raspberry flavored syrup, and upcharging for non-dairy milks—rumors have begun to swirl that guests will soon be paying more for no ice, light ice, or no water in their Starbucks Refresher drinks, a common request for those trying to get more “bang for their buck” from every sip.
@4rayah.sunshine Another price increase! What do you think of these changes? Will you make more drinks at home? #starbucks #starbiestok #starbucksrefreshers #priceincrease #starbucks2023 #starbies #refreshers #starbucksdrinks ##sheknows##lightice##greenscreen She Knows – J. Cole
TikToker: ‘Another [Starbucks] Price Increase Just In Time For Summer’
Last week on TikTok, Starbucks barista @4rayah.sunshine spilled the proverbial tea on the new fee, saying that the company will begin charging for Refresher customizations on May 9th. The TikToker also added no ice, light ice, and no water requests will all be an additional $1. @4rayah.sunshine also showed purported company documents detailing the new Refresher fees.
The new surcharge is intended to compensate for the use of more base in Refresher drinks in the case of no water customizations, and for the increased cup space to fill for “no ice” or “light ice” requests.
Commenters on the viral video were decidedly unhappy with the development, with one complaining “A company this big worth billions of dollars and STILL being greedy.” Other commenters added, “I only ask for light ice because when I don’t there is 5 sips for $7,” and, “I mean, they already lost me as a customer especially because they keep taking away my faves but I guess this really does it”.
Baristas added on to the thread: “just a reminder this is the company’s doing and us baristas have no control so please don’t take this out on the barista we hate price increases too” wrote one. “And we still don’t get paid enough for the amount of angry customers we’ll have to deal with because of this,” wrote another concerned Starbucks employee.
Starbucks Reps: 'Not Making Any Changes'
It seems that representatives of the coffee chain have caught wind of the spreading news, and their response has thrown all of the rumors into question. "Starbucks is not making any changes to their ice policy. We don't have anything to share regarding changes to Refreshers beverages," read a statement sent to Eat This, Not That from a rep at the company.
It's uncertain whether the new fee will ever be implemented, or if it was possibly scrapped after seeing negative consumer reaction after news leaked. It's also uncertain whether, if such a charge were to be instituted, it would apply to other iced drinks as well, like iced coffees and teas.
