Freebie Gets Out of Hand for Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation has called a halt to an internal promotion offering free iced coffee to staff after the campaign spread to thousands more people than intended.

The 12,000-strong coffee chain emailed employees a voucher in the southeastern US offering a free Starbucks iced coffee, with instructions to forward it to friends and family.

However, the coupon – which stated “Stop by your neighborhood Starbucks Coffee between noon and 9pm for a complimentary iced grande beverage” – soon got out of hand and began appearing on internet chat rooms.

Realizing the scale of the unintentional offer, Starbucks moved quickly to issue a statement explaining that the offer was “redistributed beyond the original intent and modified beyond Starbucks’ control.”

Effective immediately, the offer is no longer valid at any Starbucks locations.