Consumers in Washington D.C. attempting to redeem coupons received via e-mail for a free 12-ounce Crème Frappuccino were in for a disappointment. The coupons, which were very similar to those mailed out by a local radio station, were fake.
While a few retail locations redeemed the coupons before the hoax was discovered last Tuesday, the parent company alerted its stores to the fake coupons. Audrey Lincott, a Starbucks Corp. spokeswoman, declined to speculate on how many free drinks had been given away, either as a result of the fake e-mail coupons or those mailed by the radio station.
Unlike the legitimate double-sided coupons mailed out to 5,000 listeners of radio station Z104, the fake coupons bore an expiration date of 7/17/02 and were printed on single-sided pieces of paper. The real coupons expire in October, Lincott said.
Starbucks apologized to consumers in a statement, and said that the matter had been referred to authorities. Lincott said that while there were some instances of vocally disappointed consumers, most of the retail outlets mollified them with small free samples of the drink.
Starbucks is based in Seattle.
