Look for your morning injection of caffeine to be more expensive, as Starbucks announced they’ll be raising prices for a third of their menu items. Bucks loyalists’ wallets may start to feel lighter as select sizes of brewed coffee will be increasing 10 cents to 20 cents, while espresso beverages and tea lattes will be seeing a 10 cent to 30 cent bump.
The good news is, your barista is seeing some of that cash — the price increase comes on the heels of the Seattle-based brand reconfiguring its image, after a petition floated around accusing it of “killing morale.” That grassroots movement paid off as Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz released a letter on the company’s Facebook page outlining a number of changes. As mentioned, one of the changes Schultz is implementing is increasing all partners (fancy term for employees) and store manager’s base pay by 5 percent or more, but the wage increase comes with drink price increases.
A few dimes may not seem like a huge price increase, but Starbucks lovers are not taking this lightly:
Starbucks increased their prices. Now I have to decide between air conditioning or electricity this month
— ejanny (@ejanosik1) July 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/AdamWolf77/status/752897975060271105
https://twitter.com/KMac220/status/752887183950962692
https://twitter.com/SharonDeniseAmy/status/752885938976501761
https://twitter.com/JackieFern5/status/752794772159467520
But some caffeine enthusiasts are applauding the company for raising prices and are taking this price hike in stride:
Reminder before you complain too loudly about the Starbucks price increase: They're also increasing employee pay by 5 percent or more.
— Shane Nyman (@shanenyman) July 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/_bananalynn/status/750712782648074241
https://twitter.com/emilypabdi/status/752898491895001088
It’s always interesting to see how personally people take their caffeine intake, but maybe they’re tweeting before their first cuppa. This is the fourth year in the row the company is raising drink prices, with the last price hike occurring in July 2015. It’s almost like clockwork, with Starbucks fans embracing for an increase every July.
But hey, as long as they keep those new, fancy frappuccinos coming, its all good.
(Via The Associated Press and Eater)
