Thursday, August 07, 2003

don't bullshit me, Starbuckos

I had heard about how it was cheaper for a business to offer free WiFi access to customers than it was to charge for it and sent a note to Starbucks asking them to consider free WiFi access in their stores (right now you have to get a T-Mobile account). Here is the response I received:

"Dear Mr. Glass,

Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.

Thank you for your inquiry about the pricing of our
WiFi accessibility. I can assure you that Starbucks
values your comments and I shared your feedback with
the appropriate department for their attention.
However, T-Mobile, not Starbucks, is responsible for
the pricing of this internet service. If you have
questions about or need help with the high speed
Internet access at Starbucks, please call T-Mobile
customer service at (800) 981-8563.

Thank you again for contacting Starbucks. If you
have any further questions or concerns, please
contact us at info@starbucks.com or call (800)
23-LATTE to speak with a customer relations
representative."

and then here is my response in return...

"hi, thanks for the note.

but, really, are you saying that Starbucks, king of
coffee in the entire world, cannot provide free
wireless access in their stores?

I have a wireless network at home that can have
unlimited users and I pay $50 a month.

That seems like chump change to a monolith like
Starbucks -- even if it was in every store.

I understand the spin and know that you are saying the
party line, but i am sure that you know as well as i
do, that Starbucks COULD provide free wireless if they
wanted to.

keep you job, my friend, but don't lose your soul."

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