Woman sues Starbucks for $5 million over amount of ice in cold drinks
ASSOCIATED PRESS / MAY 2014
The Starbucks logo is seen at one of the company’s coffee shops in downtown Chicago.
CHICAGO » A Chicago woman is suing Starbucks for more than $5 million for allegedly underfilling its iced coffee, tea and blended drinks.
Plaintiff Stacy Pincus argues in the lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Chicago, that the amount of ice Starbucks uses in its drinks means customers get less of the actual beverage.
Starbucks’ cold drink cups have three black lines on the outside that are intended to be fill lines for the beverage, and baristas typically fill the rest of the cup with ice. The lawsuit states that liquid filled to the top black line on a Venti cup typically only gives a customer 14 ounces of beverage, even though the stated ounce total on the menu is 24.
The lawsuit also takes issue with the fact that iced drinks cost more, even though they have less total liquid.
In a statement, Starbucks said it believes the plaintiff’s claims are “without merit.”
“Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage. If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it,” spokesman Reggie Borges said.
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The lawsuit seeks class-action status.
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©2016 Chicago Tribune
27 responses to “Woman sues Starbucks for $5 million over amount of ice in cold drinks”
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Throw this lawsuit out!
but it’s from Obama’s home turf. Must have merrit.
Anybody that goes there, deserves to be screwed over. I NEVER EVER go to Star*ucks, Whole Paycheck, Scamway sandwiches, McDrugs, and the rest. Why bother when we have so much better, like pho, poke bowl, acai bowls, and sushi.
Iced drinks should be served without ice. That is what the lawsuit wants.
Smaller cups filled to the top would have been okay?
Heh?
Only in America. The problem is, if it goes to trial, she could win. If she wins, that would put virtually every restaurant on notice that, if they put ice in their drinks, this lady will be coming after them.
all starbucks has to do during trial is just put a cup of iced coffee on the table in front of the jury in the morning.
by the end of the day there will be no ice in the cup. it will be filled, to the top, with just beverage.
full cup, no ice, no case. water under the bridge.
‘Murikka…F * * K yeah!
(She’ll probably claim pain ‘n sufferin’ as well)
Not saying the plaintiff suffered $5 million in total damages, but some fast-food places do have a habit of adding too much ice. A sum of $5 million does get one’s attention though.
The customer should order iced drink and specify. One ice cube or 2 or 3 or ..of 5/8 inch size, and have the order signed by customer and service..
Could she (as well as others who agree) just opt “not to go there”? I’m not certain, but perhaps Star Bucks could file a frivolous harassment counter-suit. Let this go to trial (don’t settle)and hopefully we’ll see how this plays out. Perhaps a script for yet-to-be made movie or the pilot of a made-for-TV reality series…”Filing Law Suits for fun and profit”
I prefer the extra ice. It works as part of the formula that creates the perfect balance. I hate it when I get limp dick cold drinks with some ice floating on the top!
One of my favorite Portuguese restaurants on the mainland would put some fresh fruit in with the pitcher of Sangria. It really did add to the taste. But, when you ordered a refill pitcher, they would add more fruit which means you get less Sangria. So, we started dumping the fruit out on the table. Of course, this was AFTER we had gotten our food…you know what I mean. Anyway, after that we had Sangria, they told us we didn’t have to dump the fruit and they had stopped doing that.
Ever notice a can of sardines contains only 3 sardines instead of 4 ? Or cut up into bits to make it look like more.
Portions of food served in restaurants is less and you end up paying more.
All food / beverage establishments are doing it to stretch their portions to make it go farther.
Starbucks is no different. All Big chain establishments are targets by the public.
How do you join the class action lawsuit? lol
Correction: Did you hear the term “packed like a can of sardines”? It is because sardines are cheaper than the oil from the fish. Hence, more sardines means less of that costly oil.
When it comes to money and lawyers anything goes. Sad. America is going downhill fast.
They should make her pay all the court costs.
Who is her lawyer? I recently opened a can of vienna sausage with the MIDDLE SAUSAGE MISSING!!! Fighting mad, I am. Completely spoiled the VS ritual. Ended up having WAY too much ketchup left over. Shorted on the sausage, wasted ketchup. I’ll be reaonable. $2 million should cover.
You got to be kidding. Don’t like Starbuck drinks, go somewhere else.
This lawsuit and others like it is a total waste of tax dollars as in frivolous lawsuits clogging up our court systems. I went to a Zippy’s restaurant and ordered a mini chili dog plate and got a half of a hotdog. Do I sue them for shorting me a half a hotdog? No. I simply don’t go back. Then there is that ever present “deal” on tv commercials for Burger King that states 2 for 5 bucks only to find 2 for 6 bucks at your local Burger King. If anything, those types of commercials that do not state in bold text that Hawaii is excluded, should be the source of a lawsuit for false advertising. Yes, they may put a disclImer but they are in very fine print. They should go as far as requiring companies to do an audio disclaimer regarding higher prices in Hawaii.
Interesting about Burger King. The ones I’ve passed by locally do indeed have a large poster taped to their street-facing windows declaring the “2 for 5” offer, right alongside “The Angriest Whopper” poster. I’ll make it a point to swing by and ask about it in a day or two.
Less total liquid? That lady needs to learn that if you melt the ice, it turns to liquid.
Just like ingredient labels, the first terms you read usually indicate the larger portions…It’s not coffee on ice, it’s iced coffee. 🙂 Lots of ice, little bit coffee lol
This is probably the same lady who would try to sue you when her large beef stew didn’t contain a 8 pound slab of meat with a 9 pound potato and 6 pound carrot.
All she had to do was ask the barista to separate the ice. It’s like buying a saimin to take home, separate the dashi. We’d be having lots of frivolous lawsuits for people claiming their saimin noodles were too fat when they got home.