Popular coffee chain Starbucks apologized on Wednesday for what it described as “erroneous” signage that limits the availment of senior citizens and persons with disabilities of their 20 percent discount.
During the hearing of the House Committee on Ways and Means on gaps in the implementation of discounts, privileges, and other benefits for senior citizens, PWDs, and solo parents, Starbucks Philippines Operations Manager Angela Cole said the company is taking full accountability for its mistake.
“We are very grateful for this opportunity to help us obviously with better implementation. As noted, we fully acknowledge the error in the signage in question,” Cole told lawmakers.
“We remain steadfast in extending privileges as intended. Allow me to share to be assured with everyone here that Starbucks has always and will continue to extend full discount privileges to senior citizens for their personal use and enjoyment of our honored and valued senior citizens and PWD customers,” she added.
Cole admitted that the signage displayed in one of their stores that went viral on social media was “not properly worded.”
“We are taking full accountability and acknowledge the mistake. We are really disappointed with the confusion that we had caused because of the erroneous signage,” she said.
The signage in question stated that seniors and PWDs can only have one drink and one food item discounted per day starting 15 January 2024.
Cole said that the signage has been removed in their stores, adding that the guidelines “were never followed.”
For his part, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, who chaired the committee, asked Rustan’s Coffee Corp., the local and only Starbucks licensee in the country, to address its mistake “substantially by making a buy-one-take-one offer to senior citizens and PWDs, like buy one croissant, take one beverage.”
“You violated the law. Saying sorry is not enough. We will consider initiating prosecution,” he told Cole, who promised to communicate Salceda’s request to her principals.
Salceda said he received a similar complaint against bakery products chain Goldilocks, which is allegedly limiting the 20-percent discount “to one slice for every cake.”
“We will look into this as well,” he said.