Putting too much ice in iced drinks could potentially cost businesses millions of dollars, as Starbucks is learning the hard way. Chicago resident Stacy Pincus has filed a $5 million class action lawsuit against the coffeehouse chain for filling coffee cups with too much frozen water.
Pincus is alleging that although the company sells beverages in Tall, Grande, Venti, and Trenta sizes, there’s so much ice in them that customers are only getting half the amount they actually pay for. In addition, she’s accusing the chain of charging more for iced drinks than for hot drinks, which she believes is a huge rip off. The lawsuit mentions that in 2014, iced tea was actually the most profitable product on the Starbucks menu.
“In essence, Starbucks is advertising the size of its cold drink cups on its menu, rather than the amount of fluid a customer will receive when they purchase a cold drink – and deceiving its customers in the process,” the court documents filed by Pincus states. They also mention that while the Venti is supposed to be 24 ounces, the actual amount of the drink served is as little as 14 because “large pieces of ice take up more space.”
In response to Pincus’s accusations, Starbucks has dismissed the lawsuit, stating that customers should expect ice to be an essential component of every iced drink. They also said that if any customer was unhappy with their drink they would be more than happy to remake it.
But Pincus is demanding that the chain make their cups larger in order to accommodate the promised quantity of the beverage, in addition to ice. She’s accusing them of breach of express warranty, breach of implied warrant of merchantability, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and fraud. She also wants to represent anyone who has purchased a Starbucks iced drink in the past 10 years and is interested in joining the lawsuit.
Photos: Starbucks/Facebook
Sources: TMZ, Courthouse News