Social media has created a nightmare for fast-food workers. People love to share hacks that add work for the people preparing your food and beverages while also forcing them to know recipes for items that aren't on any sanctioned menu.
In some cases, people use social media to share secret menu items. That's actually how Starbucks (SBUX) Pink Drink started, and the chain later embraced it, bringing the beverage to its regular menu. That's great when the company gets involved and shares an actual recipe, but it's a needless hassle when the person in front of you orders something that hasn't quite gone viral, and your barista has no idea how to make it.
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Secret menus are one thing, and chains including Starbucks and McDonald's (MCD) have embraced them to various degrees. The other kind of social media fast-food hack -- finding ways to get better values -- has caused real problems, and chains are taking steps to shut them down.
Chipotle (CMG) seems to be a frequent target of people trying to manipulate its ordering system to get the most value for their dollar. You can, for example, get a free extra tortilla if you fill your buritto so much that it won't fit in one. That's a rather benign hack, but the chain has changed its online ordering options to shut down other loopholes.
That's happening at Starbucks as well as the chain is adding an extra charge to people who order some of its most-popular drinks in a special way.
Image source: Starbucks/TheStreet
Starbucks Adds $1 Charge For 'No Water' Orders
Starbucks customers have long sought to get their iced coffee beverages with more coffee by ordering them with no ice. The problem there is that the chain actually puts the coffee in the cup before it adds the ice. Your barista does not add more coffee when you ask for no ice, so instead of more drink, you get a non-cold iced coffee.
When it comes to Starbucks Refreshers -- a fruity drink line made with green coffee beans -- a viral hack has allowed people to get more of the Refresher base in place of the water. That's an added cost for the chain which plans to pass that cost on to its customers.
"Starbucks will charge extra when you customize your Refreshers with little or no water. This Starbucks Refresher cost change is a headache for customers and employees (who have to enforce it) alike. The change is expected at all Starbucks locations," The Krazy Koupon Lady shared.
The charge, which is expected to go into effect May 9, will be $1.
Customers will not, however, be charged extra for low or no-ice orders because that does not require baristas to add more of the Refresher base.
Starbucks Is Vulnerable to Menu Hacks
Since most Starbucks orders in the United States are placed via the chain's app, it's more vulnerable than most chains to social media influencers creating hacks. New CEO Laxman Narasimhan showed just how dependent the company is on its digital and mobile channels during his remarks at the company's second-quarter earnings call.
"Our attractive convenience capabilities, Mobile Order and Pay, drive-through, and delivery, we saw sequential improvement and now accounts for 74% of Q2 U.S. company-owned revenue. You can expect us to lean strongly on purposeful innovation to further capture the tremendous opportunity, both in what we do and in how we do it," he shared.
Starbucks has seen steady adoption of its digital platforms and its associated "Rewards" loyalty program.
"Our 90-day active Starbucks Awards membership added more than 400,000 members in the quarter in the U.S., bringing our total membership to 30.8 million members. In addition, we've increased membership by 4 million year over year in the U.S. representing 15% growth. Rewards and members account for 57% of U.S. company-operated revenue in Q2, which marks the highest contribution on record and represents growth of 3% on a year-over-year basis," he added.
