I have been a registered card member at Starbucks since my days as an undergrad, and have always loved the brand and their beverages.

I will be honest; I have had a few tiny problems with Starbucks in the past: the occasional barista who mixes your drink wrong, a long wait time, or even the in-store Internet malfunctioning; but these things are bound to happen a small fraction of the time when you shop there as often as I do. The Starbucks staff in stores and on the hotlines are AMAZING in terms of customer service and resolving problems immediately and appropriately. Given the number of times I have shopped there, I would say I have only had issues maybe 1% of the time; always resolved in a manner that made me a more active advocate for the company.

When living in New York last year, I learned of the Starbucks Gold Card, and decided to become a member to take advantage of the benefits. Since moving back to Canada, I left the address registered to my uncle's home so I could still take advantage of the free drinks when I visit every winter. Recently, Starbucks brought the Gold program to Canada, and I was ECSTATIC. I called the hotline immediately and had my American address changed to a Canadian one. Several hours later when reviewing my account online, I realised it no longer displayed “Gold” status, but “Welcome” status (the smallest reward level), and I was also showing only 5 stars toward a free drink. That morning I had seen 11 stars in the account. I called the hotline and spoke to another representative, who was incredibly genuine and patient. She reviewed my account and informed me that I did qualify for the gold level. “Perhaps there was a computer error” she said, as she re-awarded me my gold status. She waited on the phone patiently while I logged back onto Starbucks on-line and reviewed my account. I was once again a gold member; but now, only had 1 star visible in my account. I explained my confusion, and she discussed how difficult it would be to award me points on line, so she suggested sending me a couple drink coupons in the mail to make up for the inconvenience.

Starbucks, once again you have exceeded my expectations. I couldn't wait for the gold card to come to Ontario. Now it is here, and I already have some free drinks waiting for me!!!