Customers have noticed that their usual Starbucks orders have increased in price—yet not in quality. And their complaints are valid, too. Business Insider found that menu items have increased in price by anywhere from 50 cents to $1.00. And the worst part, customers have reported that the menu items haven’t increased in quality in return for the extra dough, in fact, many people think the quality has gone down. Keep reading for all the details.
Starbucks Menu Price Increases
According to Business Insider, "prices on Starbucks menu items increased from $0.50 to as much as $1.00." A spokes person for Starbucks confirmed this, stating that the prices in California increased as a response to the new minimum wage law.
In April, the new law AB-1228 that mandated a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers went into effect, and as a response, a lot of companies like McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, and Wendy's have raised their menu prices. Yet a lot of customers think that Starbucks and other fast food companies are simply using the minimum wage increase as an excuse to raise their prices.
Reddit Users Slam Starbucks For Inflated Prices
In the Starbucks subReddit category, customers have been starting thread to source some customer opinions about the recent price hike. "I'm at the point where I'm embarrassed to say the total," one employee wrote. "I really do feel bad. It's not worth the price by any means in my opinion. Everything here you can make at home for a fraction of the cost if you invest in it."
"I'm using up what's left of my gift cards and I'm done," one person responded.
"Every time I tell someone their total for a singular drink I internally brace myself for being yelled at for such steep prices," another employee shared.
"My caramel macchiato with soy is just shy of $9," another person shared. "I'm out Starbucks. Nothing you make tastes good enough to pay that price!"
"I stopped going a few months back," a final user wrote. "The coffee doesn't even taste good anymore."
