The Starbucks Return Prank: Will Starbucks Really Return ANYTHING?
A comedy article
by John Hargrave | 08/24/2009 09:31 PM | 39218 views
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Starbucks prides itself on its unconditional customer satisfaction guarantee, as stated on its Web site:
We want you to be completely satisfied. If for any reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, you may return it for a replacement or refund of the purchase price.
But would Starbucks really replace anything? To find out, I decided to buy the most perishable item on the menu, keep it in my garage for several weeks, then attempt to exchange it.

"A Starbucks for every man, woman, and child."
I walked into a Boston-area Starbucks, approached the barista and asked, "What's the heaviest dairy-based drink you can make me?"
"Well, steamed milk," he said.
"Steamed whole milk?" I asked.
"How about steamed half and half?"
"Yes!" I shouted, ecstatic at this suggestion. How could you get more perishable than steamed half and half? This would be an amazing experiment. I felt like Louis Pasteur's retarded half-brother.

"Cafe au Lait, please, hold the Cafe."

"Not for the lactose-intolerant."
Tucking my receipt in a safe place (Thomas Pynchon novel, where it was sure to be undisturbed), I then drove home and placed my frothy mug' o cream in an equally safe place.

"Fuel-hardy"
And then I left it for several weeks.
As it turned out, I couldn't have picked a better time. It was an incredibly hot August, and we had several record days of heat and humidity. Inside the garage, the cream was heated to near boiling, curdling instantly and then beginning a long, slow process of putrefaction.
After several weeks, the drink was impossible to ignore, due to the overpowering stench that was now wafting into the house. It went beyond anything I have smelled, past "sour milk," past "rotting garbage," even past "decomposing animal." Maybe "month-old Bigfoot carcass" might capture the stink, or "Nazi death camp for skunks." I'm wrestling with words, much as my stomach was wrestling with everything it had ever eaten.

"Should have double-cupped it"
The cream had eaten through the seam of the cup, and flies swarmed around the lid as I nervously approached. I was half-afraid it would leap off the shelf and cover me in flesh-eating goo. I put on protective gloves and cautiously lifted the cup into a Tupperware container. Still, I was unprepared for what I found when I opened the lid.

"Life, everywhere"
Inside was something off a Wes Craven dinner menu: the half and half had lowered to a fraction of its original level, oozing out the side or consumed by the hundreds of tiny vermin drinking from the cup. Full-sized adult flies had drowned in the creamy beverage, squeezing in the drink hole and then unable to get out until they collapsed, exhausted, into rich Starbucks bliss.

This is what you get when you order a "tall latte" in Hell.
I struggled to remain calm as I noticed the veins within the cream were moving. The half-and-half was now a swarming pool of maggots, squirming through the cream like a living, breathing coconut pudding.
I gave my drink a new name: the Maggacino.
I drove back to the Starbucks with my Maggacino, prepared to test the limits of their return policy. On the way there, a few of the maggots got loose and began slithering their way across the passenger seat.

"Gotcha!"
I entered the Starbucks, feeling faint from the smell, and handed the Tupperware container to the barista.
"Could I get a replacement?" I asked. "I think this one has turned."
"What is in this?" he asked, recoiling.
"Steamed half and half," I said. "I left it in the garage."
"What do you want me to do with this?" He looked pissed, then ill. Then pissed and ill.
"I can toss it for you," I offered. "Unless you want to grow a zoo."

This is what the Starbucks return policy looks like.
"Are you crazy?" he asked.
"I think I may be, yes."
This struck him as funny, and he started laughing. "All right, man. No problem." He tossed the drink in the trash, then added, "But ... aaaahhhhhhhh!!". He moaned, his eyes watering, as the Starbucks filled with the stink of the drink. Another barista quickly ran over to bag the trash, then carried it outside, retching.
I've got to tell you, waiting for that replacement drink was the longest five minutes of my life. All the Starbucks employees were staring at me, whispering and trying to decide whether to phone a mental hospital, or perhaps an animal control center.
But I have to say: they didn't even ask to see the receipt. They made me up a new Steamy Creamy, and served it with a smile. Of course, there could have been a tiny spoonful of fly eggs in the bottom. I wouldn't blame them.

"The replacement."
Later, I struck up a conversation with a couple of the baristas, and told them I was doing an experiment to test Starbucks' return policy. "Aww, listen man, next time you don't have to go to all the trouble," one of the baristas told me. "We'll pretty much give you a replacement drink for any reason at all."
So as I sit here finishing up my article in the comfort of the Starbucks, sipping a thick, creamy, vermin-free cup of half and half, I can say with confidence: Starbucks really will return anything.

Thanks to ZUG reader Nutbutter for the prank suggestion.
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Like This? Rate It!
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Hilarious
37 votes
4.3
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0 votes
0.0
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tuituiman
08/24/2009 10:22 PM
First.
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0 votes
0.0
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tuituiman
08/24/2009 10:27 PM
"I'm wrestling with words, much as my stomach was wrestling with everything it had ever eaten"
I'm intrigued to see this stomach with the ability to eat...
Mine lacks the required mouth, teeth, swallow mechanism etc...
Anyways. Hilarious! I guarantee Starbucks wouldn't have that same policy here in New Zealand. All shop owners here have really tight arses.
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Funny
2 votes
3.5
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peoriagrace
08/24/2009 10:38 PM
I guarantee Starbucks wouldn't have that same policy here in New Zealand. All shop owners here have really tight arses.
If the replacement came from their ass I don't think I would want one.
notice how I'm not positive
ewww what the hell is wrong with you?!
I don't know
I'm going to pretend I don't know you.
so that's not new
I HATE YOU
good I hate you too
Well we're in agreement then.
yes
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Funny
16 votes
3.9
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Thud
08/24/2009 10:38 PM
You need to find someone who used to work at the Starbucks in question. Bring the ex-employee with you, say he isn't working out at the new job and you'd like to return him.
I'll bet they ask for a receipt.
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0 votes
0.0
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Straw Trekkin Across the Universe
08/25/2009 12:23 AM
Not only was the subject matter hilarious, but it was very well written. I was gagging right along with you.
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Funny
1 votes
3.0
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cakes and ale
08/25/2009 03:00 AM
*Wipes Mailman's tears*
John! How could you? The Mailman wanted to smell that first. Twice.
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0 votes
0.0
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mandellia
08/25/2009 08:07 AM
BUT Why did he throw it!!
It could be a new recipe...In France, we had the courage to let the milk becoming a smelly-gelly, and now we make a great buisness with it!
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Chuckleworthy
4 votes
2.0
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Chix is in da house
08/25/2009 09:04 AM
You had me at "gotcha".
Which, technically, is what gotcha indicates.
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Amusing
4 votes
1.8
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Count Ravos
08/25/2009 11:27 AM
They made me up a new Steamy Creamy, and served it with a smile.
Just like hookers!
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0 votes
0.0
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A Summer Sweaty Ass......HAT
08/25/2009 02:12 PM
I probably shouldn't have read this while eating my breakfast cereal. Now the milk tastes a little off.
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Chuckleworthy
2 votes
2.5
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subhuman
08/26/2009 04:11 PM
It's easy to see the baristas replacing something like that...it's a great story to tell later on. I wonder if the manager would have gone for it.
Although one time when I was working at a plant nursery, some guy came in with something he had bought the year before and that had died, and they replaced that for him. If you can't kill something in a year from pure neglect, you've got the greenest damn thumb on the planet. Yet, they replaced it. Blows my mind.
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Chuckleworthy
2 votes
2.5
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Professor Nutbutter
08/26/2009 08:33 PM
Thanks to ZUG reader Nutbutter for the prank suggestion.
While I appreciate the credit, I'm not sure I still want it. Maggots! Ewww.
Excellent execution as always, Sir.
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Chuckleworthy
2 votes
2.0
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Pants
08/26/2009 08:41 PM
I bet John's car smells Frost-ing great after transporting that Shakespeare to Starbucks.
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0 votes
0.0
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Pop me, I'm Knobby!
08/27/2009 11:13 AM
Duuh... Fifteenth! *drool*
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0 votes
0.0
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Pop me, I'm Knobby!
08/27/2009 02:53 PM
I'd give him 5 clickies if he'd drank/chewed it..
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Amusing
1 votes
1.0
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Dead Pussy
08/27/2009 06:47 PM
"Steamy Creamy"
The newest porn movie courtesy of ZUG...
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Funny
2 votes
3.5
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Frogpop
08/28/2009 06:48 AM
Movie? Steamy Creamy sounds like at least a sex act, if not a whole genre.
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0 votes
0.0
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Heartshapedleaf
08/30/2009 06:03 AM
Wow, you're lucky.
I'm a starbucks barista.. and if you had walked into my store with a cup full of live maggots I would have called the health department and told them.
And then I would have had you banned from my store.
It's funny and all, don't get me wrong. But bringing live maggots into a place where other people's food and drinks are made?? Would you really want to eat something if you just watched a customer return a cup full of maggots?
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Funny
1 votes
3.0
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Whistler P. McManus
08/30/2009 07:56 AM
Hey Leaf. It was a prank. I bet the barrista at John's Starbucks has something called a sense of humor. Perhaps you've heard of it. Now go polish your espresso machine, and next time, make it funny or I'll have you banned from here.
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Hilarious
3 votes
4.3
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Whistler P. McManus
08/30/2009 07:58 AM
[Note: I don't actually have the authority to have anyone banned. If I did, though, I'd ban a Starbucks barrista who referred to the franchise where he made his minimum wage as "my store."]
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0 votes
0.0
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Dogs Akimbo
08/30/2009 01:55 PM
the Maggacino
Nice.
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0 votes
0.0
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Heartshapedleaf
08/30/2009 04:11 PM
what i'm saying is, if someone called the health department after watching you walk in with a cup o' maggots... we could get shut down.
and lose our jobs.
great prank and all, but in my opinion a prank probably shouldn't risk the well being of others.
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Funny
4 votes
3.5
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carter777
08/30/2009 07:41 PM
and lose our jobs.
great prank and all, but in my opinion a prank probably shouldn't risk the well being of others
working at starbucks gives you a sense of well being?
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Chuckleworthy
2 votes
2.5
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Whistler P. McManus
08/30/2009 11:34 PM
Dude, you said in your first post that YOU would have called the health department. So YOU would have been putting the well being of yourself (and your co-workers) in jeopardy.
Then again, that would have been very altruist of you. It would have improved the well being of all the sheep who could no longer come in and pay way too much for the Shakespeare they call coffee at "your store."
And by the way, grande is Spanish for large, not medium.
Tall means having more than usual length, not small.
Venti is Italian for twenty. Maybe a venti coffee is 20 ounces, so I won't correct you there. Though relatively few Americans speak Italian, so to avoid confusion, I would change this one as well.
Thanks!
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Amusing
2 votes
1.5
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Heartshapedleaf
08/31/2009 05:04 AM
wow really?
have you even tried the coffee?
history time:
short and tall were the only two sizes we used to have.
americans got pissed and decided they needed a larger drink so grande came in to play texans needed something bigger so the invented Venti.
have you noticed that everything in starbucks is in italian??
vivanno. machiatto. venti. cappuccino. frappuccino. latte. americano.
it's all in italian.
just because america is located next to mexico does not mean every business that begins here bases their menu on spanish speakers.
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Amusing
2 votes
1.5
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Professor Fucksock
08/31/2009 07:52 AM
Starbucks barrista? Isn't that just a posh way of saying minimum wage servant.. How long was your Harvard degree in order to get the skills to pour me a Frost-ing cup of coffee? Don't you just love it when someone tries to backtrack their statement when it's written above them..
Can't really hide behind your starFrosts coffee degree dude.
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Funny
1 votes
3.0
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Whistler P. McManus
08/31/2009 09:06 AM
I have tried the coffee. That's how I know it tastes like liquid Shakespeare* filtered through used charcoal. That's how I know they over roast the beans to try to disguise the fact that by the time they get to "your store" they are stale. Roasted coffee beans have a shelf life of about ten days. Reputable coffee shops throw out beans that have been roasted more than ten days ago, or mark them as such and sell them at a discount. Starbucks stores use and sell beans that have been roasted months ago. It's Shakespeare coffee from a Shakespeare company that's selling nothing more than image to morons who flock like sheep to the latest fad.
Grande means large in Italian as well as Spanish, so we still have no explanation as to why you call that a small coffee.
I'm passionate about coffee, by the way. And off my medication.
*Note: I have not actually tasted liquid Shakespeare, and am basing my comparison on having smelled liquid Shakespeare and the assumption that it tastes about like it smells.
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Funny
3 votes
3.3
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Whistler P. McManus
08/31/2009 09:17 AM
And Frostsock, you're a noob who got beat up by a tard for acting like a douche. So shut up.
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Hilarious
4 votes
4.2
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Count Ravos
08/31/2009 11:40 AM
vivanno. machiatto. venti. cappuccino. frappuccino. latte. americano.
it's all in italian.
Actually, that last one is in Texan.
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Hilarious
5 votes
4.0
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Count Ravos
08/31/2009 11:40 AM
John, for your next prank you should buy a starbucks franchise, and then try to return it.
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Funny
3 votes
3.7
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Professor Fucksock
08/31/2009 11:49 AM
John, for your next prank you should buy a starbucks franchise, and then burn it.
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0 votes
0.0
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Heartshapedleaf
08/31/2009 04:43 PM
wow fyi
I am studying at a major university, and guess what. Starbucks pays for it with a very nice tuition reimbursement program.
We also get insurance benefits as well as a 401K, much more than I can say for a lot of other reputable jobs. All this for even part time employees.
And we don't start at minimum wage either. So... right there I'd say this job is a bit more glorified than most.
We DO actually throw away coffee when it's bad, regardless of what you think happens.
We try really hard to do our jobs well, and if you don't like our coffee, then don't go to starbucks. Easy. There is a reason we don't advertise, we don't need it. Next time you're at Mc Donalds and pay $2 for an iced mocha, just know it's basically gas station coffee with chocolate syrup and cool whip.
Also, Americano is Italian for American. It's shots of espresso and water, it's the Italian/European answer to American coffee.
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Funny
4 votes
3.2
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Professor Fucksock
08/31/2009 04:46 PM
A major university eh? Hamburger college?
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0 votes
0.0
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Alarm Clock the Chubby Robot
08/31/2009 05:24 PM
"Steamy Creamy"=make a deposit in the backdoor while the gas is on.
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Funny
11 votes
3.1
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Dogs Akimbo
08/31/2009 05:24 PM
I don't know what's sadder: trying to justify working at Starbucks, or feeling like you have to justify it here.
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Funny
1 votes
3.0
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Alarm Clock the Chubby Robot
08/31/2009 05:31 PM
Most people who go to Starbucks would get a nutrional benefit if they ate maggots and would not in any way jeopardize their "well being". They'd very likely be much better off.
Also, Leaf, you are perfect for Starbucks. Stay there after you get your degree. You may just run them someday.
Lastly, none of ya'll put words in a Texan's mouth! We can barely handle the ones coming out of our own, and don't need it any more complicated. Frost!
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Funny
5 votes
3.4
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businessline
09/03/2009 09:33 AM
for your next prank you should buy a starbucks franchise, and then try to return it.
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Hilarious
6 votes
4.5
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Frogpop
09/03/2009 10:12 AM
it's all in italian.
Cafe au lait is french. Dunkin Donuts is right, Starbucks speaks Fritalian.
Frappuccino is the worst of them all.. "Frappe" from french meaning to hit or beat (and used in New England to mean an ice cream milkshake type drink) and "-uchino" from the italian for "we all wear khakis, but we're so snooty we should be wearing chinos, and I bet our stupid lemming customers couldn't even tell the difference".
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Funny
2 votes
3.5
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Count Ravos
09/03/2009 10:47 AM
for your next prank you should buy a starbucks franchise, and then try to return it.
You should try to read the thread next time. I already posted it. Give me your clickies, or I'll set you on fire with my mind.
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Chuckleworthy
1 votes
2.0
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Count Ravos
09/03/2009 10:49 AM
I bet our stupid lemming customers couldn't even tell the difference.
Obviously not. Everyone knows lemmings are mostly blind.
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Chuckleworthy
1 votes
2.0
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Bill the Squirrel
09/03/2009 11:37 AM
My wife loves Starbucks for some strange reason.
I thought when you said "No taste" it meant something different. Like a reference to her marrying me.
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Hilarious
8 votes
4.3
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John Hargrave
09/03/2009 12:28 PM
I had an idea for a follow-up prank: I should buy a Starbucks franchise, then try to return it.
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Funny
5 votes
3.2
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Whistler P. McManus
09/03/2009 12:34 PM
In Consumer Reports blind taste test, McDonalds coffee beat Starbucks. We're not talking about milk, syrup and sugar infused drinks with vague coffee flavoring here. We're talking about plain old black coffee - the way Jesus intended us to drink it. Consumer Reports said, about Starbucks, "We didn't think it was possible to burn coffee."
So don't knock McDonalds. And don't knock gas station coffee. Exxon mini-marts sell Green Mountain coffee, which also beats Starbucks in blind taste tests, and has more corporate integrity in terms of fair trade practices, environmentally friendly practices and proper dating of their beans.
Finally, and also from Consumer Reports, ultra-cheap supermarket brand coffee beans Eight O'Clock Coffee beat Starbucks coffee beans in another blind taste test. Starbucks coffee was criticized for "burnt and bitter flavors."
The only time Starbucks wins is in opinion polls - never in blind taste tests. Which tells you that sheeple like the Starbucks experience and recognize the branding, not that the coffee is any good.
Now, I'm sweaty and I have to Shakespeare. Where's my fannypack, this workout is over.
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Hilarious
2 votes
4.5
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Count Ravos
09/03/2009 12:42 PM
I had an idea for a follow-up prank: I should buy a Starbucks franchise, then try to return it.
With my mind, John. WITH MY MIND!!1!oneOeN
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Hilarious
1 votes
4.0
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Bill the Squirrel
09/03/2009 12:43 PM
I brew my coffee and drink it before leaving for work. I doesn't taste burnt or bitter. It tastes like coffee. I bet in a blind study, Whistler would preffer my coffee over Starbucks. Because Starbucks sucks ass.
And, hey John, for your next prank, why don't you buy a Starbucks and try to return it.
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0 votes
0.0
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Professor Fucksock
09/03/2009 02:34 PM
Hey John, for your next prank you should buy a Starbucks franchise, then try to return it.
I hope nobody tries to copy my idea...
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Hilarious
1 votes
4.0
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Count Ravos
09/03/2009 03:19 PM
Happy Birthday Ravos!
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Funny
1 votes
3.0
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Whistler P. McManus
09/03/2009 03:32 PM
It's your birthday, Ravos? Well happy birthday, old boy. Let me buy you a Starbucks.
Franchise.
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0 votes
0.0
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Count Ravos
09/03/2009 03:59 PM
It isn't my birthday, but that was also an ongoing thing Autra posted in just about every other thread.
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0 votes
0.0
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Pram
09/04/2009 06:00 AM
Would you really want to eat something if you just watched a customer return a cup full of maggots?
Why, yes. Yes, would.
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0 votes
0.0
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Pram
09/04/2009 06:04 AM
Sorry folks, I missed the "I" in that last post. I'm choked up with emotion. After all, someone is dragging my beloved coffee brand through the health department! Shakespeare, I make coffee too- no matter what I add to it, I can't get close to the taste of old roasted beans (hey, that's a great nickname for the Starblechs barista in this thread! "Ol' Roasted Beans". And if they were English... Ye Olde Roasted Beans.
Speaking of beans, kudos to you, John, for having them to post that prank.
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0 votes
0.0
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John Hargrave
09/07/2009 12:45 PM
Clicks to Whistler for the word "sheeple."
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0 votes
0.0
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peoriagrace
09/07/2009 07:24 PM
Man you coffee drinkers are sure uppity about your coffee brands. I like many beverages; but despise all coffee. It all tastes burnt to me. I don't like several brands; but am not easily offended by people working for said brands
By the way who likes the Kopi Luwak coffee?
I also thought we were being nice to noobs? Does Heartleaf not count as she was dis'n on John?
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Side-splitting
1 votes
5.0
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dasypy gal
09/08/2009 08:20 AM
I received a pound of Kopi Luwak for my b-day a few years back. It was quite nice.
However, after I drank it I had the sudden urge to poop in a box then lick my butt clean. Unfortunately, my tongue could not reach.
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0 votes
0.0
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Frogpop
09/08/2009 10:12 AM
It defies reason that Millie would sleep with you.
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Chuckleworthy
1 votes
2.0
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You make me feel so Ravos
09/08/2009 10:51 AM
Starbucks should just market it as "aged" beans, and try to convince all their foolish patrons that much line wine, coffee beans are better with age.
It doesn't have to be true. Next thing you know, the people at starbucks will be denying there are any beatniks in their coffee shop. And people will actually believe them.
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0 votes
0.0
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TropicalChris
11/07/2009 05:41 AM
Ahhh...a day in the life of a Democrat...accomplishing so much for society and the world as a whole.
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