I know there are a lot of Starbucks fans out there! So, what do you think about this? In downtown Seattle, at the Russell Investments Center Starbucks location, cash (paper money) is no longer accepted.
Starbucks Testing No-Cash Policy
Via the SeattleTimes,
Starbucks tests no-cash policy at downtown Seattle store
Starbucks is experimenting with refusing cash at a posh location in downtown Seattle. Since Tuesday, your money is no good at the cafe inside the Russell Investments Center unless it’s in the form of plastic.
A Starbucks spokeswoman said the store at Second Avenue and University is the only one to test accepting “only cashless forms of payment.†The company isn’t saying how long the experiment will last or whether it will be expanded to other locations.
The no-cash test may open Starbucks to criticism that such a policy discriminates against so-called “unbanked†people — who don’t have a bank account and therefore are less likely to be wielding plastic.
Bottom Line
This is certainly an interesting idea. On one hand, I hardly ever have cash on me and never opt to pay for things with cash. And I can see how paying cash slows Starbucks down. But, on the other hand taking away the option seems extreme. I’m not opposed to the idea, however. What do you think?
HT:Â SeattleTimes
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I like the micro-aggression that the newspaper has against “unbanked” people. The “So-Called “unbanked”” How about the “So-Called “White”” people 🙂 I wonder how they would feel if this was compared to being unfair to people requiring photo ID.
I have mixed feelings about this issue. If the reason is truly a speed of pay issue why don’t they just round all the prices to the nearest dollar. Better yet just round up all prices to next even dollar for those paying cash and donating it to charity or Oprah For President or whatever they would do in such a situation. Maybe it’s a sign of how skilled the cashiers are at making change. Maybe homeless people won’t be able to buy coffee anymore as they are “unbanked”. In reality it may not be that big of deal. Many toll roads no longer take cash, vending machines are moving that direction.
I like this policy in premise, though maybe an alternative would be to have a machine on site where one can buy and load SBUX cards with cash. It’s not just about the time it takes to handle cash at the time of purchase but also later when the barista has to count the till. And then you have times when someone could be quickly rung up by any available employee but only someone with an active till can do it, so it may appear that there are people refusing to help customers. But if there’s no cash, there’s potentially no issue of till assignment and sharing. Not to mention making loss prevention much happier.
Starbucks is a one world company with no loyalty to America they will force you to buy their way if they can get away with it please protest this audacious move by corporate one world jihadis just say no America we will keep our freedom
When the dollar dies so will our freedoms stop Starbucks and corporate dictators like it we cannot allow them to take our freedom away this is a very serious move on their part and part of a much bigger plan