Twenty Bucks, Starbucks and Double Billed on MasterCard
‘œRemain calm. All is well!’ ‘“ Kevin Bacon in National Lampoon’s Animal House
Jeanine and I went to Atlanta for the weekend and here’s my bean counting story: We bought two tall coffees and a bagel at the airport Starbucks before flying out of John Wayne. I handed the associate my Starbucks card and she realized it didn’t have enough money on it so I handed her my credit card and told her to reload it with twenty bucks. For some reason this transaction flustered her and as the line started form, I was getting agitated along with the 10 people behind me wanting overpriced lattes. She finally figured it out and voila, we were on our way to Hotlanta.
Fast forward to Sunday morning as we’re taking a stroll with my friend through historic Ansley Park’¦ admiring the homes and chatting up prices of this one and that one. At the end of the outing, we hit a mid-town Starbucks and as I try to pay, the associate politely says, ‘œOh I’m sorry, your card is empty.’ Inside my head, I wanted to scream but instead I hand him my MasterCard and explain nicely that I thought I did this yesterday. He refills my Starbucks card with another twenty bucks.
I try to let it go. Okay, so I was double billed’¦ it’s not a big deal. In the back of my mind, I know I have the receipt and can prove to MasterCard that the first transaction didn’t register and they should dispute it on my behalf with Starbucks. But this is where time becomes money.
Ten years ago I might have taken the time to call MasterCard, but today I’m wondering if twenty bucks is worth my time and aggravation to set the record straight. We’ve asked this question before at Queercents: using the time/value equation or a formula related to your income that quantifies the time. John even pondered awhile back about when to pull the plug on bargain hunting if it took too much time.
So what do you think? At what point do you chase down the twenty bucks or just let it be? Perhaps it’s just the cost of doing business every now and then. This reminds me’¦ sometimes I’m on the receiving end of the mistake’¦ I recall taking a ‘œgift with purchase‘ not too long ago at another Starbucks.
What I did learn from this experience in Atlanta is that I can go online and check the balance of my Starbucks card. I can also reload at their website instead of relying on some associate to get it right. Now that’s worth my time!
Nina, I think no matter what income level I reach, I will always tell the offending business, “This is your mistake: fix it!” Yeah, it takes time, but it’s your hard-earned money, and companies should at least have to earn it themselves.
To benefit from a company’s mistake is another issue. They should have been more careful and not wagered on whether someone is an honest customer.
Corporate accountability is hot button issue with me.
How frustrating. I think anything over $10 is definitely worth fighting for. That’s at least 5 drinks you’d be missing out on, right? (I don’t drink coffee so I’m not sure how overpriced Starbucks is). Maybe it’s worth calling that Starbucks directly and seeing if they can do anything.
Now don’t take this wrong, but why in the first place are you giving them moneys prior to receiving goods? I have never much understood the logic here.
Hey let me give you 20.00 so I can redeem services later.
But that’s beside the point I would stalk the ceo till I had cafe grande lattes for a month because the entire point here is “Time is Money” redeem your worth.
And make them work for their money, don’t give them a built in captive audience, pay after your meal…..not before.
Uh Oh!!
A Hot Button issue for me as well. I REALLY get annoyed when I’m Double Billed for something. However it doesn’t happen to me except once in a VERY long time.
It might be because I Don’t carry around lots of Plastic Cards and can’t fathom the need for what is effectively a Gift Card especially from some place like Starbucks that is ONLY good there.
Now if there is some Perk… like 10% off each purchase… I might be able to see it… otherwise No.
And I’ve never had any problem with a clerk getting flustered when I pay Cash… (well maybe if I pass over a Franklin or a Grant… some of them can’t count Change worth a flip).
~ Roland
I understand why you are debating whether it is worth your time to dispute. Is twenty dollars worth half an hour on the phone? It depends on what your own salary range is. For me, twenty dollars would definetly mean me calling the company. For you, it may be trivial.
You may not have been billed. She may have accidentally just paid for the leftover part of the drink. Check your credit card statement to be sure.
I understand using rechargeable metro cards. It saves a lot of time in the morning. I suppose rechargeable Starbucks cards are the same…but I’d probably only use it if I were going to be going there a lot.
What’s the advantage to using the Starbucks card rather than a checking (debit) or credit card that earns points/miles? Seems to be convoluted and obviously troublesome. Notwithstanding that, you should get your money owed for sure and bring the error to their attention.
Well first of all, am I the only one that appreciates the convenience of a Starbucks card.? Hasn’t anyone else received these as gift cards? Jeanine’s brother buys me one every Christmas and by February I’m always reloading it. I like the convenience and typically only use it at the airport. It seems to get me through the “ringing up” process quicker than a credit card… unless of course, I’m reloading it.
Roland: “Some of them can’t count Change worth a flip” – which is exactly why I don’t like paying in cash… any amount seems to throw service workers for a loop these days.
Vixen: Yes, that’s my point exactly… is it worth the half hour I’d spend on the phone, not to mention the frustration? It is better to use my energy elsewhere and generate the $20 back in easier ways. For me personally, I don’t think the frugality (of chasing down the money) pays in this case.
Zach: I fill it using my credit card (which earns airline miles).
Hmmm…I guess I’m too cheap to allow someone else to have my money. If you’re using a credit card to refill the Starbucks card, why not just charge it to the credit card? Not sure I see the increase in convenience…and boy, I’m not one to leave $20 lying on the street…
mark.