*THE FINE PRINT

 

On Monday Caribou Coffee has a promotion of coffee for a dollar.

Today I found out it is only for the dark roast. Usually the dark roast is what I order. The past few visits to Caribou have included purchases of dark roast coffee. Probably one of the last three visits was on a Monday for the dollar special.

For whatever reason when asked if I’d like light or dark roast, I selected light. As the transaction was being rung, that’s when I found that the promotion is only for the dark roast.

Instead of paying one dollar, the total with tax came to $2.23. That’s the regular price and I was a bit disappointed to not get the Monday Special.

It’s experiences like these that drive consumer cynicism. When there is a deal, there is almost always a catch. If the actual deal was better communicated, I would not have been less than delighted on this visit. The order would have been for the regular dark roast if getting the deal was that important.

Certainly this is not enough to drive me to exclusively to Starbucks. It will certainly give me pause before I have to make a choice between Caribou and the Starbucks just a few doors down.

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT

How many customers have had a less than delightful experience at a retail business?

What should a business do to prevent service failures from happening?

How can firms better communicate what the deal is and includes?