Starbucks National Cold Drink Special/Expires 9/2/08

Starbucks goes nationwide with cold-drink special
Morning customers get p.m. discount

By ANDREA JAMES
P-I REPORTER

Starting Tuesday, Starbucks Corp. will take a promotion previously confined to Seattle, Miami and Chicago and make it national.

To invigorate business during sluggish afternoons, the company is offering $2 cold 16- ounce drinks after 2 p.m. to people who bought something in the morning.

Starbucks baristas will stamp a "treat receipt" on morning receipts. A cold 16- ounce beverage costs up to $4 in the U.S., meaning customers save up to $2.

In mid-July, Starbucks rolled out regional promotions that varied in scope and length. But customers have been demanding consistency in promotions, said Brad Stevens, Starbucks' vice president of customer relationship management.

"We really want people to come back in the afternoons," he said. "The neat thing about this particular promotion, it really allows the barista to engage with the customer in the morning."

The promotion was well received in Seattle, Chicago and Miami, he said. It lasts from Tuesday until Sept. 2.

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