Starbucks Encourages Customers To 'Come Together', 'Pay It Forward'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Any customer who buys another person a beverage at Starbucks Wednesday through Friday will be given a free tall brewed coffee in return.
The company launched a "Come Together" promotion inspiring employees and customers to set a moral example for Congressional representatives.
"The U.S. federal government shutdown, the pending debt and default crisis, waning consumer confidence and the general sense of unease these and other events have instilled in the minds of so many have created another period of uncertainty in our country," Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and CEO, said in a letter Tuesday to employees. "Please join me in helping our customers Come Together to support and connect with one another, even as we wait for our elected officials to do the same for our country,"
The company is encouraging customers to commit acts of kindness by giving free coffee to those who "pay it forward" the rest of the week.
"We once again find ourselves asking a simple question: What can WE do about it at Starbucks? After all, we're just a coffee company," Schultz said. "Our business was built customer-by-customer, one cup of coffee at a time. Every day in our stores, we bear witness to small acts of human kindness that reflect the generosity of spirit at the core of our guiding principles. Most often, these are the little gestures that best embody our commitment to our communities and our care for our customers, and one another."
Schultz released an initial letter Monday to business leaders across the country asking them to put citizenship above partisanship.
"I'd like to encourage you to consider what your companies and organizations can do to help shift the norms of our country back toward civility, compromise and problem-solving," he said.
To read the entire letters, click here.
