Welcome Red Cups!!

Words cannot express the excitement I experienced this morning when Starbuck’s showed up on my Twitter feed.

“Good morning, the Red Cup is here this morning.”

Those who aren’t members of the Starbuck’s clan may be confused. Not I. It’s their annual holiday cup, and it’s arrival means that the holiday season has officially begun.

Yes, Halloween was just three days ago. But who cares? I’m always up for a little holiday spirit! I promptly got out of class, and speeded to the nearest Starbuck’s.

Most people probably don’t put very much thought into the cups they drink out of, but the people at Starbuck’s certainly do. They’re smart for doing so. It’s something that gets the public excited about their company, thus increasing sales, and thus adding to the bottom line.

Some may argue that a simple cup would have no impact on sales. I disagree. I would argue that a large number of Starbuck’s customers love the company and love its coffee. However, sometimes it’s just more economically savvy to make your own at home, or opt for gas station coffee instead. For this demographic, the cup brings them back. It gets them excited about the brand, and in the store.

Yay for the Red Cup!

Rebecca Minkoff…the flash sale that wasn’t

My obsession with Rebecca Minkoff bags began a few years ago while strumming through the pages of a magazine.  They are the best: unique, cool, laid-back…awesome.  The only drawback: they usually cost at least $500, even on ebay.  A few weeks ago, Rebecca informed her Twitter followers that she would be having an Online Flash Sale.  A flier on her Facebook page promised never-before-seen deals.  I was pumped.  It also warned that since this would be the first time they would be using their new server, some delays could occur.

That was an understatement.

The sale was to begin at 8 a.m. Eastern time so I was wide awake and on the site at exactly 7 a.m. our time.  Nothing.  Nothing would come up.  I went back to sleep, assuming they were having problems.  When I checked back two hours later, the problems continued.

On her Twitter page, Rebecca apologized for the inconvenience and promised the site would be up in 30 minutes to an hour.  Hours went by with no word from her, and the Web site was still down.  She had hundreds of Twitter replies about the sale.  In the beginning, they were friendly.  Then people got impatient.  The Facebook page was blowing up with comments from fans.  No one knew anything, and people were angry.

Finally, at 5 p.m., eight hours after the sale was supposed to begin and 7 hours after Rebecca’s last communication with customers, this email was sent and posted on her Facebook page.

I will continue to be obsessed with Rebecca Minkoff bags, and I will still be a loyal customer. However, this event was a PR nightmare. Technical difficulties happen. We expected it. However, the fury of customers could have been prevented with more communication. An hourly update would have been ideal, but they did nothing.

Next time, be smarter.