When Kelly Coakley tried to redeem her free Iced Grande at a New York Starbucks last month, her coupon was refused.
Feeling “let down, angry and betrayed” Coakley, who is paralegal and Queens resident, is now suing the coffee giant for a cool $14 million with an accusation of fraud.
On 23rd of August, Starbucks emailed this free coupon to its selected employees saying that it was valid until 30th September, and may be used by recipients’ friends and family.
Coakley’s lawyer said that when Starbucks realized how widely popular the coupon became, it got them nervous and so they re-neged on the offer.
“The excuse proffered by Starbucks, that they did not believe that an offer released over the Internet would be so widely distributed, is ridiculous. Clearly, Starbucks chose to initiate a viral marketing campaign to counteract their slumping sales.” Sullivan says.
When asked where he came up with the rather large $14 M. figure for the denied Iced Grande, Sullivan explained that it was the cost of a Starbucks drink for each of the 38 days of the freebie offer – for ALL the people turned away when they attempted to redeem the coupon.
Of course, we still dont know how he found out exactly how many people did try and redeem the infamous coupon.
Starbucks has yet to comment since Sullivan’s submission of court papers.
Originally posted on September 6, 2006 @ 9:12 am