

Posted: 6/5/2008 12:30:29 PM EDT
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Starbucks can't handle demand for free Wi-Fi Starbucks began offering coffee drinkers a way to get free Wi-Fi access at its shops on Tuesday, but some customers had a hard time cashing in. That's because some people were unable to access Starbucks' Card Rewards Web site in order to sign up for the program, which offers two hours of free Wi-Fi access per day to participants. Some visitors to the site were greeted with a pop-up window stating: "Due to overwhelming interest in Card Rewards we are currently experiencing difficulty accessing Starbucks Card accounts. We are working to fix the problem and ask that you please try again later." Starbucks announced the new program on Tuesday. People were encouraged to visit the Card Rewards Web page to either buy a new rewards card for $5 or to register an existing gift card to be part of the program. Users who sign up before July 14 will get a free drink, and everyone who signs up can use two hours of AT&T Wi-Fi access in Starbucks shops free every day. In order to get the two free hours every day, Card Rewards program users must buy something with the card at least once a month. A Starbucks spokesman said that the problems were on Starbucks' end, not AT&T's. "Customers overwhelmed the site when joining Starbucks Card Rewards," said Doug Cavarocchi, a Starbucks spokesman, in an e-mail. The problem started in the morning and was solved by midday on the West Coast. The problem affected visitors in the U.S. and Canada trying to sign on to Starbucks.com with a user name and password, he said, although other users trying to sign up for the program also saw the error message. The program follows Starbucks' announcement in February that it would begin using AT&T as the provider of in-store Wi-Fi service. For now, T-Mobile continues to operate Wi-Fi networks in some of the stores. Starbucks said that it plans to roll out A&T Wi-Fi in all of its U.S. stores by the end of this year. The program also follows the launch of the My Starbucks Idea Web site, where anyone can post suggestions for improvements Starbucks might make and vote on other ideas. A week after the launch of the site, which was built on a hosted offering from Salesforce.com, the number one suggestion was to offer free drinks, and number two was to offer free Wi-Fi. So who here goes to Starbucks? |
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I thought Starbucks bashing day was Tuesday?
Did I miss the memo? ![]() |
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Typical FourBucks customer...thinks that healthcare and ANYTHING to do with the internet should be free...
![]() "what happened to you, man? i mean like, you used to be cool..." ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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![]() Ummmm....errrrrr..... [hiding the big coffee cup I got with a gift card] I can get a signal from their router, from next door at Taco Del Mar! ![]() There are plenty of places to get on the 'net for free: -most Jack in the Boxes -my local A&W -the public library system here -Famous Dave's BBQ |
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Wow what a concept, give something away for free and then be surprised when too many people say, "OK, I'll take some."
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+1 and an addition |
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Internet is free @ Caribou, not sure why it's such a monumental task for Starbucks.
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Underestimating demand is almost as costly in these situations as overestimating it. |
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I may or may not have it on good authority that Another_Dude goes there.
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Oh noes, even the Starbucks ran out of internet...guess we'll have to head out to Californee.
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I don't get why people like sitting in public surfing the internet.
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the womenz! i picked up a few chicks there, much higher class than the ones i get at walmart ![]() |
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You have to do it when you're hopped up on coffee and doing homework. ![]() |
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I do it for work as Im too cheap to buy one of the cell phone network cards and I have to check my email every couple of hours. |
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Not all of us use it just for porn ![]() ![]() |
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Starbucks is still WAY behind the times on this...
2 hours... Big fucking deal... Bra-vo... ![]() Most places that offer wifi (Krystal, A&W, McD's, etc) do so as a courtesy for customers and a way to attract business (esp fast-food places... People surfing the web in restaurants do tend to buy snacks).... In general, they do it for FREE... Starbucks has been one of the few that charges... The reason they are having 'trouble' is because they are trying to meter it rather than just do what the competition does & let folks surf free... As a consequence, folks looking for free surfing will do so elsewhere... And will buy their snacks elsewhere too... |
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I don't think you understand the hold that starbucks has over people. ![]() I mean, where else can liberals sit and complain about gas prices...while they're sipping a $4 cup of coffee. ![]() |
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That is sad. If its that fuckin busy, close the damn computer and talk to other people.
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Who wants to spend 2 hours a day in a coffee shop? The one here is filled with dirty, smelly hippies.
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You like them hippy chicks eh? |
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For many places, maybe most, Starbucks is the only game in town. I drink plain, black coffee which is about $1.50 at Starbucks. My only other options are a granny place that closes right about the time I get off of work or a place that charges more than Starbucks for Community Coffee - that shit you get for free at the bank. Starbucks is not great, but it's decent. And living in Hee-Haw it's the only thing I've got. |
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Hark, a small shimmering beacon of truth in a world full of deception. Alas, the anti-capitalist forces have weakened... it is no longer known as Fivebucks... aye, now it is called Fourbucks. Soon the enemy shall relent. The truth shall prevail. Keep the faith my capitalist friends, and let the world know that a cup of coffee is still affordable. ![]() |
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Soon a gallon of gas will cost more than a gallon of coffee at Starbucks.
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Around here McDs makes you pay for internet. The only restaurant around here that actually has free Wi-fi is Panera, and the censors on it block everything. |
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