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148 Comments
- Shmike9, on 01/22/2009, -2/+153How much do VOLUNTEERS normally get paid?
- pushforpeace, on 01/23/2009, -4/+42Why all the complaining on this thread? Service is to be done without expecting anything in return; that's why it's called volunteering. It's a nice incentive from Starbucks to throw in the coffee, but what's better is that they're promoting volunteering itself. I really could care less about the coffee.
- diizy, on 01/22/2009, -7/+37I see this as a great idea. Five hours is a little much for one coffee but still, I hope it gets people out there volunteering their time. In this economy its very important to start giving back to the community.
2 Cents - AtheismFTW, on 01/23/2009, -1/+31I love bashing Big Coffee as much as the next guy, but gimme a ***** break.
This isn't isn't a form of payment. It's a gratitude for those who want to help the community. Unless the stipulations include that "community" means "starbucks" and "service" means "serving coffee" then Starbucks doesn't have any more to gain from this than the rest of the community.
Sure, they probably have their profit-driven agendas, but this the kind of ***** that people need to praise companies for, not turn it against them. Save that for when they're dumping ***** in our rivers.
Discourage bad behavior, but on the same token, remember to encourage good ones.
If companies started using tactics likes these to drive profits, then we'd all be better off for it. - inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+29Wow dude that must have been a hell of a fine if you're still doing community service 14 years later.
- Haoie, on 01/23/2009, -3/+25It can't be called a wage.
You aren't supposed to be paid at all. Unless satisfaction is your price. - Julie188, on 01/22/2009, -2/+21Sounds great to me -- a free Starbucks will help you stay awake so you can do some community service.
- skamper, on 01/23/2009, -1/+19I work at starbucks. People are exploiting this. Terrible.
- parax, on 01/23/2009, -0/+18They're not hiring you to do community service, it's not a wage, it's a token of thanks for contributing to your community.
- NoLibertarians, on 01/22/2009, -6/+23Community service should be done for free . Especially young people who need to get out into the actual community and see reality, not just sit and home and say "people suck you know"
- bradkovach, on 01/23/2009, -0/+17I work at Starbucks, too. I wish people were even aware that we were doing the promotion. Hell, I didn't even know we were doing the promotion until I read about it on Facebook.
- UnaClocker, on 01/23/2009, -3/+19The last time a judge gave me community service, it was worth $5/hour towards my fine. That was 14 years ago.
- b8765g, on 01/23/2009, -1/+16I doubt Starbucks is trying to get you to quit your job.
- AManWithNoName, on 01/23/2009, -1/+15I'm getting rather sick of these starbucks-haters. Sure, they're not the best coffee house around (My personal favorite is Stumptown in downtown Portland, but I can't get that very often), and they have raised prices in general for coffee (Which is why you don't go and get starbucks every ***** day, and treat it more as a treat), but overall, they've got decent enough coffee for a decent enough price, INCREDIBLE service (I've never actually come across a barista who acted like they didn't want to be there, which is an issue in most fast foods), not to mention they're really easy to find if you need a quick cup.
By far the worst argument I've heard is that they ruin smaller coffee shops. Do a little research: The majority of coffee shops, chains or not, have only seen their profits rise since starbucks became popular. This is because before starbucks, most people were afraid of coffee houses...They saw them as a bizarre place where pretentious douchebags in turtlenecks and artist caps sat and pretended to be moody (Some people still think it, as per the McDonald's commercials). But then starbucks came along, with an open friendly atmosphere, and welcomed the normal folk along with the douchebags.
After trying starbucks, people started trying other coffee houses, maybe because of proximity, or price, or whatever. Starbucks served as a 'gateway drug' so to speak for coffee, and several chains have flourished because of it: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf saw a boom, as did Peet's, and Tully's had an interesting business model of getting as close as possible to busy starbucks locations and taking their overflow from long lines that met with major success.
It simply made an industry where there was only a niche interest.
TL;DR: LEAVE STARBUCKS ALONE! *crying* - Somnambulism, on 01/23/2009, -1/+12Why so much negativity? Why is Starbucks bad for giving you something for free?
Edit: Coffee doesn't cost $5 at Starbucks. What are you guys talking about? They're giving away a 12oz drink that cost less than $2... - Azerael, on 01/23/2009, -0/+10Your job pays you in paper cups?
- DyceFreak, on 01/23/2009, -0/+10UnaClocker... I believe he said VOLUNTEER...
I dont think court ordered community service counts as volunteer work... - nbluth, on 01/23/2009, -3/+12what the *****?
- Linguo, on 01/22/2009, -4/+13Bo-prah was talking about this earlier.
- twiztidsinz, on 01/23/2009, -1/+10Bribe you to vote?
Man.. I hope you didn't... show them that the corporations don't own you!!!........ - cutlerchris, on 01/23/2009, -1/+10I agree. There's a lot of people out there that don't know how to get involved in volunteering, who to talk to to get involved, or what even really needs to be done in the community. Starbucks is now giving those people that connection that they were looking for. Oh, and by the way, here's a coffee. It may be a little bit of a publicity stunt, but just about everybody has had a coffee from Starbucks and have decided whether they like it or not, so I don't think they are expecting this to change a bunch of people's minds.
- ASfinkterSezWut, on 01/23/2009, -0/+9yer paid way too much if you miss the point on this one...
- twiztidsinz, on 01/23/2009, -0/+7No but they sometimes provide food/drinks for volunteers.
Also, this isn't really PAYING you, it's just an incentive. - UtahApocalyse, on 01/23/2009, -2/+9I actually run a non profit, fully unpaid. I put in probably 20 hrs a week on it..... Do I get a franchise??
- nbluth, on 01/23/2009, -1/+8yea 85 hours is intense - at my school we only had to do 40 but some people didn't even make that :S
- JamesBondJr, on 01/22/2009, -1/+8mmm, I wonder if I can use my school service hours for this too. Whats that.... 28 cups of coffee aww yeah
- twiztidsinz, on 01/23/2009, -2/+8[citation needed]?
- nils, on 01/23/2009, -2/+8Buried as inaccurate.
The idea is not that you should volunteer to get a free coffee, but that you should volunteer and then get a free coffee as a bonus. If you volunteer just to save $1.75 you not only are a sad, cynical person, you also have too much time. - inactive, on 01/23/2009, -2/+8if you want to help out your community by all means do it. Do not do it for a cup of coffee. If someone wants to give you a cup of coffee and you are going to help out you community anyway that good for you.
- Soave, on 01/23/2009, -1/+7No thanks, this story isn't about Obama.
- thepuma77, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6Okay, give me your credit card number and I will make sure you don't drink the *****.
- GTPilot, on 01/23/2009, -1/+7ok, you first.
- CrimsonBlur, on 01/23/2009, -0/+5Yes.
- Azerael, on 01/23/2009, -0/+5People suck, you know.
- liquisoft, on 01/23/2009, -2/+7Getting free coffee for helping your community is awesome.
We should all be helping out our communities anyway. The coffee is just a bonus. - fmaxwell, on 01/23/2009, -0/+5I'll try to make this so simple that even you can understand it:
Suppose you volunteer at an inner-city youth center (this is hypothetical -- we all know that dicks like you don't do volunteer work). It gives kids a place to go, and hopefully guidance and role models, so that they don't end up associating with a criminal element. That reduces crime. That reduces costs for insurance and police. It reduces the need for federal spending on programs for at-risk youths. It leads to a few more kids becoming productive taxpayers rather than being supported in prisons with tax dollars.
I think that you really need to come clean with why you hate Barack Obama so much. His policies are not radically different than those of other mainstream Democratic Presidential candidates. Yet you don't seem to harbor the same kind of hatred for the other Democratic candidates such as Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Bill Richardson, or Dennis Kucinich. Gee, what's is different about Barack Obama? Hmmm... - oboshoe, on 01/23/2009, -5/+10Starbucks doesn't CARE if you donate time or not.
They are not going to hire the COFFEE Police to check up on your community service.
They just want you to say "wow, starbucks is an awesome community minded company that does great things".
And if there lucky, to say "hey that free coffee I got last week was pretty good. I think I'll buy one this morning. Here's $5 bucks".
And what did it cost them? about 25 cents to make a cup and the cost of the flyer.
Oh yea.. they also got a bunch of diggers talking about it who might tell their friends. - Kriztov, on 01/23/2009, -0/+5At first I thought you said Bro-prah. I thought you were talking about the new zealand version of oprah
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -2/+6Many high schools have mandatory community service policies. I know that I had to complete 85 hours for graduation.
- desuexmachina, on 01/23/2009, -0/+4In all the places I've ever volunteered they had free coffee for volunteers. If you volunteer to make the coffee when it runs out you'll get the kind of coffee you want all day.
- guitarh3ro, on 01/23/2009, -1/+5Would I be considered a dick if I get the coffee and don't do the hours?
- CrimsonBlur, on 01/23/2009, -1/+5The description to this submission (and hence the article this links to) is one of the most absurd things I have ever read. Community service isn't about a dollar amount, that's the freaking point! Community service isn't a job where you expect compensation.
The fact that Starbucks is promoting community service in any meaningful way is a good thing. Getting a free coffee for putting a sticker on is just an added bonus.
Starbucks is not just "cashing in" on Obama's inauguration, though they may get more business thanks to this initiative. They have been doing things like this for years, this is just the next step they have taken. Whether or not they were inspired by Obama's commitment to community service is relevant only in that someone else thought that was a great thing, so what's wrong with that?
I find it hilarious that the same people that think we all should do more for the world thinks it's illegitimate for a company to provide incentives to customers for doing the right thing. - fmaxwell, on 01/23/2009, -1/+5@vault
You wrote: "So can't you just fill it out with fake info and get the free coffee?"
Yes, if you want to commit criminal fraud and your word is worth that little, you could.
"Stupid Marxists."
They are banking on the vast majority of people sucking less than you do. It's a pretty safe bet. - malex, on 01/23/2009, -2/+6Right. Because after the last 8 years, NOW you're worried about the Constitution.
I swear to Christ you people must have had your sense of proportion removed at birth or something. - fmaxwell, on 01/23/2009, -1/+5@Eurynom0s
You wrote: "I still don't see the value of forcing people to do things they don't want to do."
Homework? Exercise? Going to school? Cleaning up after themselves? Stopping at stop signs?
The value of required community service is in teaching people that they have a moral obligation, as members of a community, to contribute to their community -- not just to do things for personal gain (my apologies to the Ron Paul supporters who are now grasping their chests and experiencing shortness of breath). - emjaymj, on 01/23/2009, -0/+4That's kind of what they're doing. You pledge the 5 hours.
- brownsound00, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3probably
- emjaymj, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3"Community service should be done for free . Especially young people who need to get out into the actual community and see reality, not just sit and home and say "people suck you know"
A cup of coffee isn't really much of an incentive for 5 hours of community service. The people who will actually take up Starbucks on this offer are practically doing it for free, and probably would have done it anyways. Unfortunately, I think most people will just lie, it's not like proof is required. - emjaymj, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3I had to do 10 hours per year of high school as well. It's actually required in public schools here though.
I spent it at a really nice old folks home (not the kind that looks like a hospital and smells like pee), and played card games with the seniors. Wasn't really a big deal. - TVarmy, on 01/23/2009, -0/+3To be fair, the program does pay them virtually nothing, so it will get them out and at least get them to try volunteering. Most people can tell intuitively that five hours of work is a lot for one cup of coffee; it's a small incentive meant to push people on the fence about volunteering over the edge.
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