Starbucks Coffee Company

I recently received an email that I first saw 18 months ago about Starbucks written by a Marine. The email caught my eye because I served in the Marine Corps 1972-1976, and we like Starbucks, so there was a concern. As shown below, Starbucks appears to be a good corporate citizen of the USA, so we continue to be their customer.

Semper Fi!

David Lee Hall
http://www.texas-ideas-progress.blogspot.com/


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Customer Relations <info@starbucks.com>
Date: Jan 28, 2008 2:04 PM
Subject: Response from Starbucks Coffee Company - Case # 5071414
To: David Hall <dhall.texas@gmail.com>

Hello David,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Starbucks regarding coffee donations to those serving in our armed forces.

You may have heard a rumor concerning Starbucks lack of military personnel support. This is not true. In 2004, we replied to an e-mail circulating on the internet that contained misinformation about the Company. Starbucks contacted its author, a Marine Sergeant, who subsequently sent an e-mail to his original distribution list correcting his mistake, the text of which is:

"Dear Readers,

Almost 5 months ago I sent an e-mail to you my faithful friends. I did a wrong thing that needs to be cleared up. I heard by word of mouth about how Starbucks said they didn't support the war and all. I was having enough of that kind of talk and didn't do my research properly like I should have. This is not true. Starbucks supports men and women in uniform. They have personally contacted me and I have been sent many copies of their company's policy on this issue. So I apologize for this quick and wrong letter that I sent out to you.

Now I ask that you all pass this email around to everyone you passed the last one to.

Thank you very much for understanding about this.

Howard C. Wright
Sgt USMC
1st Force Rcon Co
1st Plt PLT RTO

dated: August 17, 2004"

Starbucks, our customers, and our partners (employees) respect the efforts of the U.S. men and women who serve their country in the military. Starbucks and its partners (employees) have consistently demonstrated their support of military personnel in a number of ways.

A few examples of their generosity include:

· Each week Starbucks partners (employees) receive one free pound of coffee. On an individual, grass roots level, many partners (employees) in the U. S. have collected their free coffee and shipped thousands of pounds of Starbucks coffee overseas.
· Partners in our Atascadero, California store sent their personal weekly allotment of coffee to troops in Afghanistan so they would be able to enjoy a little taste of home.
· Our customer relations department in Seattle donated hundreds of pounds of coffee to the sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier.

On Sept. 21, 2006, Starbucks was honored with the Freedom Award during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Award, the highest award bestowed by the Department of Defense in recognition of an employer, was created in 1996 by President Bill Clinton and Secretary of Defense William Perry to publicly recognize American employers who provide exceptional support to their employees who voluntarily serve the nation in the National Guard and Reserve.

Starbucks employs approximately 90 U.S. partners (employees) who serve in the military and are currently on active duty. In support of their efforts, Starbucks provides a supplement to make up the difference between their military pay and their pay level at Starbucks before they went on leave. The partner (employee) can continue health coverage, and family health coverage, if enrolled, for up to 18 months. Partners (employees) are guaranteed a position upon return from active duty, except in rare circumstances, as permitted under the Federal Military Leave Laws; additionally, tenure at Starbucks is also kept while on active duty.

To enhance our U.S. partners' (employees) efforts in support of U.S. military troops, Starbucks is honored to extend our relationship with the American Red Cross in order to provide more coffee to relief efforts during times of conflict. On multiple occasions, Starbucks has donated a total of more than 100,000 lbs of coffee to the American Red Cross for distribution to those troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.

Additionally confirmation that this is an inaccurate rumor can be found at:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2004/n11092004_2004110908.html
http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/starbucks2.htm
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/starbucks-iraq.htm
http://www.amillionthanks.org/
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#starbucks
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/rumor.asp

Thank you again for writing. We ask you to accept our deepest appreciation to servicemen and women and we hope that you will remain a valued Starbucks customer. If you have any additional feedback or would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact us at (800) 235-2883 or email us at info@starbucks.com.

Sincerely,

Shawn H.
Customer Relations
Starbucks Coffee Company

If you would like to share your thoughts about your experience with Starbucks Customer Contact Center, please click on the link below to participate in a short survey. Your comments will be used to ensure that any future experiences with Starbucks Customer Contact Center meet your highest expectations.

http://www.starbuckscontactcenter.com/star_ccc_index.asp?group=CR&template=CR051

----Original Message----
From: David Hall
Sent: Jan 28 2008 8:22AM
To: Customer Relations
Subject: corporate social responsibility

Message:
My family and I frequent Starbucks at home and when we travel. We like your products, services, and locations. However, is the email below correct?

Recently Marines in Iraq wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to let them know how much they liked their coffees and to request that they send some of it to the troops there. Starbucks replied, telling the Marines thank you for their support of their business, but Starbucks does not support the war, nor anyone in it, and that they would not send the troops their brand of coffee. So as not to offend Starbucks, maybe we should not support them by buying any of their products! I feel we should get this out in the open. I know this war might not be very popular with some folks, but that doesn't mean we don't support the boys on the ground fighting street -to-street and house-to-house. If you feel the same as I do then pass this along, or you can discard it and no one will never know. Thanks very much for your support. I know you'll all be there again when I deploy once more. Semper Fidelis. Sgt. Howard C. Wright 1st Force Recon Co 1st Plt PLT Also, don't forget that when the Twin Trade Towers were hit the fire fighters and rescue workers went to Starbucks because it was close by for water for the survivors and workers and Starbucks CHARGED them!
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