E-Paper
US couple charged ₹3.6 lakh for Starbucks coffee. What happens next?
The Oklahoma couple was incorrectly charged a gratuity amount of $4,444.44 at their neighbourhood Starbucks outlet in Tulsa.
An American couple, Jesse and Deedee O'Dell, had to pay nearly ₹3.6 lakh ($4,456.27) for two cups of Starbucks coffee, according to a report on CBS News. The Oklahoma couple, whose usual coffee run included an iced americano and caramel frappuccino for around ₹820 ($10) for the past 16 years, got the jolt of their lives when Deedee’s credit card was suddenly declined at a shop a few days later.
After realising that they were incorrectly charged a gratuity amount of $4,444.44 at their neighbourhood Starbucks outlet in Tulsa - leading to the insufficient balance in account - Jesse contacted the coffee chain’s district manager. He was reportedly informed that they were facing trouble with their network and were given two cheques amounting to $4,444.44 to make up for the blunder. However, both the cheques bounced due to a typo. The mix-up forced the family of six to cancel a non-refundable vacation to Deedee’s hometown in Thailand.
The couple apparently had to reach out to customer service around 30 - 40 times to resolve the matter, the New York Post quoted them as saying. A Starbucks representative, however, blamed the couple for the error, saying that Jesse had placed the huge tip. The father of four denied the claim saying he selected the ‘no tip’ option and called it a ‘network issue’.
A complaint registered with Tulsa police was later withdrawn after the couple encashed a new set of cheques delivered by Starbucks. Jesse also cautioned other Starbucks customers to look out for similar ‘network errors’ in their bills.
Starbucks is known for its exorbitantly priced coffee. Last year, the world’s largest coffee chain revamped its menu to include items such as masala chai and filter coffee to woo more Indian customers. Recently, a Twitter post of the company’s advertisement for its ‘ajji-approved’ (grandmother-approved) filter coffee for ₹290, excluding taxes, had gone viral. Users criticised it by commenting that grandmothers surely ‘wouldn’t approve’ of such an expensive filter coffee.
