Christmas just isn’t right without those holiday drinks served in the iconic red cups at Starbucks… Peppermint Mocha, Crème Brulee latte, salted Caramel Mocha, and well that’s it. Starbucks announced that their Gingerbread Latte and Eggnog Latte were no longer being offered in the Pacific Northwest. Starbucks conducted consumer preferences’ research and concluded that BC and other Pacific Northwest regions were not fond of the Gingerbread and Eggnog latte.

However, Starbuck drinkers were outraged by this decision and took to social media to voice their thoughts on the situation by using the hashtag #wewantboth.

Starbucks listened to their customers and responded quickly with a personalized message on their company blog saying:

We are pleased to announce we’re bringing back the Eggnog Latte just in time for the holidays. It should begin arriving in most stores beginning the week of Nov. 17. And to our customers in the Pacific Northwest who also made it known you wanted your Gingerbread Latte back, we also are working quickly to deliver.  – Spokesperson from Starbucks

I think that Starbucks handled this hectic situation in a professional and timely manner. Starbucks could have ignored all of their customers’ comments, replied with a generic message, and not bring back the eliminated lattes. But instead, Starbucks listened to what their customers where saying and reverted their decision with a genuine message a day later.  It was important that Starbucks did not take the easy way out and simply reply with simple, automated, and generic messages. Customers are not numbers and they need to feel that they are heard. Social media is a tool used to create conversation and engagement, and that is exactly how Starbucks responded to this situation.  Good job Starbucks, you handled the difficult circumstance well, crises averted!