A lawsuit filed against Starbucks
What do you do when you’ve ordered a Starbucks iced coffee that you think is watered down with too much ice?
A) Return the drink and ask for less ice.
B) Sue.
A Chicago woman represented by a litigation law firm has picked option B.
A lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Illinois accuses Starbucks Corp. of misleading customers about the ice-to-product ratio of its cold beverages.
“Plaintiff alleges that…Starbucks has engaged in the practice of misrepresenting the amount of Cold Drink a customer will receive,” the lawsuit states (link to complaint). “As a result of this practice, Starbucks’ Cold Drinks contain significantly less product than advertised, by design and corporate practice and procedure.”
The lawsuit offers the example of a Starbucks venti-sized iced coffee, which it says typically costs $2.95 and comes in a plastic cup holding 24 fl. oz. Under Starbucks’ “standard practice,” coffee is filled to just above the head of the logo’s siren figure and the rest is cubes of ice. “Accordingly, a Starbucks customer who orders a Venti Cold Drink receives only 14 fluid ounces of that drink – just over half the advertised amount,” the complaint states.
Starbucks says customers can request less ice.
“Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage. If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it,” a company spokeswoman told CNN.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed by Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge in Chicago. The lead plaintiff is a Starbucks customer and Chicago resident identified in the suit as a woman named Stacy Pincus, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Source: WSJ
