I just recently discovered the Starbucks rewards and have been having a jolly good time for the past few weeks ordering fancy, creative, fun and way- to- hard- for- me- to- make- at- home, highly caffeinated drinks. Did I mention that I love coffee and the experience of sitting outside with my little dog pretending that I am back in Paris at a little cafe? So, Sunday, I waltzed in with anticipation of ordering a pretty and sweet Pumkin kind of fall drink. I said to the guy taking my order his much I love getting refills (I have been gulping down my sweet perfections, then getting a coffee to go on the rewards program). He looked like I was speaking Greek, then he looked to another worker and she came by. I repeated my enthusiasm, when she grabbed the rainbow right out of my sky and said, "You can only get a refill on the same type of drink. You can order drip coffee or tea and get a refill if the same." I wasn't really anticipating a discussion at this hour on a relaxing Sunday. Here it what she pointed out. The whole point of the rewards program is to keep free refills all day. You have to order the exact same drink and under no circumstances can you get a fancy express type of fluffy coffee drink then get a refill of a regular coffee. So the ONLY way to get a refill of coffee is to order actual drip coffee. We went around and around on this, ironing it all out. So let me get this straight, Starbucks. You ONLY reward cheap coffee drinkers...of any size coffee that can clearly be made at home. They sit at your tables all day, hogging up seats. This is your business plan. Reward cheapsters. Or me, I was going to enjoy the ambiance of a coffee shop in the fall, spend more and get my refill of the best caffeine and skip out until the next time. I have been doing thus at the place on 620 and this one on Anderson. The lady even said that if I have been free refills of PLAIN coffee after drinking a fancy coffee then that was wrong and that she would let them all know to stop this mistake immediately. So your staff WANT to give free refills only to people who order plain coffee. This is on the website and app. I didn't have my phone or my glasses with me so I couldn't check. I ended up getting the biggest size of BORING plain coffee. I had to add my own cream and sweetener. I choked it down in frustratuin and thirst, thinking all the while that my newfound gig was up. No more frilly drinks with a plain coffee refill. Then, discussion began outside as my Shi Tzu began making friends. So we were able to go online and check. Interesting stuff can be found on the Starbucks website. I went back for my free refill and explained that the website says what I had been saying. She stood her ground but at least this time said that she would check into it. She was the shift lead and there was no manager there. I hope that someday, this girl will own and manage her own company and that she will see what I was trying to explain. read more