Customer lost or customer gained?

As much as I've seen the "viral videos" of people going to certain coffee chains and saying how bad things have gotten, just for a coffee, I'm not innocent in my java addiction by any means. I still partake in the "every so often" expenditure, without trying to break the bank or break a diet.

Key phrasing is “try”.

I’m still making it at home, daily. Even though the only fancy thing I do, is pour some random Torani syrup in at the last second to give the caffeine a little more (sugar free) jolt. 

For context regarding the videos, the algorithm on the gym televisions where I watch a lot of Youtube, have had various "shock" videos "promoting”, “debunking”, and "raising questions" about what places like Starbucks is putting in their blended drinks (some silica powder that turns into something hazardous to workers) or that Dunkin' is doling out a $12.99 bucket (which rumor has it that the thing is just 2.5 medium, or 1.5 large iced coffees). The individual coffees are a lesser cost than the bucket, plus you can't get it refilled unless you purchase the drinks separately. If you want to go the route of the bucket, there are places online where you can buy just the bucket itself.

While I haven't witnessed any of this first hand, except for seeing how small the Dunkin bucket actually is, I can't confirm nor deny any truth to the videos I am seeing online. I'm just making conversation as part of something I do want to discuss, with the difference being, please watch the videos with a grain of salt and do your own research. 

My personal story relating to big coffee chains is the following:

One of the local Starbucks, which is in a Target, does not accept cash to refill the Starbies app. 

Let me explain, with a little more information…

If you are a Starbucks "member", especially one with the app, you can put money on an internal (digital) card and use that to pay for your food and drink. You can also use a physical card if that’s something you prefer; you just need to link it to your account. The card is refillable and as a member, you get a certain amount of points (stars) depending on how much money you (digitally) reload on to it.

Notice I’ve said “digitally” because this comes in to play with my issue.

This also means that whenever you make a qualified purchase on that card, you also get points (stars) that can be used for other purchases. The exception is you need to meet whatever the threshold is, in order to redeem said stars (currently, 25 stars equals "$1 off a drink customization, including an espresso shot, syrup or cold foam", for example). 

Going back to my challenge at the local Starbucks:

I went in one day, cash in hand, and wanted to reload my card. I was all set to put $30 on it, as someone had given me half the money as a thank you for doing something for them. 

When I gave the barista my cash, all the workers froze in place. Almost like I was doing something bad and they were worried what the next move was.

One of the workers ended up saying “We can’t accept cash” and the rest of the team also made mumblings about my not being able to pay with the bills. 

I asked why, and I was informed that this particular Starbucks is “a highly trafficked store. Due to so many people coming in and out and doing a lot of high value orders, the store has been frauded too many times. A lot of people have come in with cash and tried loading their cards with fake money, as well as using the fake money to make purchases. It’s more on the reload side than anything else, so cash isn’t accepted to load the card”. Everyone who goes in and wants to put money on their app, has to do it via credit or debit card. The store will refuse to take your money.

Now the interesting part is, if I didn’t want to use my account to pay for my item, I surely can use cash instead. I just wouldn’t get the star to dollar points that the card gives you (for every dollar you spend, you get X amount of stars if you use your Starbucks card as a form of payment. It’s a higher amount than paying cash or using a credit card). 

Why they accept cash to pay for the order but don’t allow you to use the same cash to refill your card seems weird to me. They were adamant about not accepting my money when I wanted to load my account up. They made sure I knew exactly how the store has had cash fraud and their new rule is they can’t take your money if you want to put it into your account. I could go to another store if I wanted to load my card with cash, or I could use a debit or credit card. I just wasn’t allowed to spend my thirty dollars there with cash. 

I ended up cancelling the order and ultimately canceled whatever coffee I was going to order, because my mind was boggled over this conversation. If they accept paper bills for one transaction, they should for the other. It truly doesn’t make sense to me (literally… sense / cents. Haha).   

I haven’t tried any other Starbucks yet, as I have not gone to another location. I do want to see if it happens at any other place, because a franchise store in another bigger store has that much traffic, they get scammed on a routine basis? Here I thought the most problems lately were with cards still; that there’s somehow way for hackers to get your info within a certain radius of the card reader. People are still washing money and laundering it into other means… in this day and age? Cash is no longer king at this specific mermaid retailer, apparently. 

It is one of those “mind.blown” things to me. 

I did try again another day, and received the same information: Cash is not welcome to reload the app because the store is a high traffic store and they’ve been conned too often and the owner has made it a big rule that cash is not a valid option when reloading the Starbucks cards. It’s only welcome if you want to pay for your overall purchase. 

Which again, is one in the same – my “purchase” is reloading the app, which in turn, pays for my coffee. The other option is I can use the cash to pay for the coffee while scanning my app and not get all the points I would if I paid with the store card. It’s just a jumble now. 

The second time in, I just said fine; I’ll pay the cash for the coffee and that’s it. It’s not worth it to ask again. It really doesn’t even seem worth it to go to another location to see what they do, because I don’t frequent the brand that often to warrant it. I mean, if I get a coffee from them once a month, that’s plenty because they charge for everything again. 

Unless it’s a store by store basis, I’ve gone in and ordered an iced coffee with breve (cream) and all of a sudden my bill is higher because they poured the half and half in the cup. If I ask for “room for cream” and use the thermos on the side table that has the napkins and sugar, I’m paying less for the coffee. Same way one day the store tells me they don’t charge for syrup additions, and the next day, they do. Actually, I’ve gone into two stores that have done this, and they’ve both been in a Target. Maybe it’s a Target thing?

I feel like I’m strangely circling the wagon with this one because I just don’t understand the cash to fraud situation. I’m not defending anything by any means; I only want to know why the rule seems half baked. I don’t manage the store; it’s not my job. If they want to define the shopping experience, so be it. I will define my patronage by not ordering there too much. It is what it is.

On a relative side note,  I brewed a 10 cup carafe of Folgers decaf coffee last night and let it cool enough to put it in a recycled iced coffee bottle, to make iced coffee this week. I then added Torani syrup and Planet Oat creamer today and it was a new flavor for me.

The breakdown (how I saved myself some money instead of going to a coffee house):

I have an old school 10 cup Dominion electric percolator

. 

Mix that with two scoops of Folgers decaf ground coffee. The scoop I use is from the Orgain protein powder. It's something like 32cc and actually works well. 

I let all that do its thing and once it cooled down, I actually poured it into an old Starbucks Iced Coffee container (the type you get in the refrigerator section, pre made). Let all that hang out over night in the fridge. 

Today, I added (a new flavor for me) Torani syrup. I usually get sugar free, but World Market was giving away very specific fall flavors for members, and I picked up the Chai Tea Spice because free is free; I'll try it. 

It's normally a $10.99 bottle (and it's glass, to boot, so it has home heft to it) and it's definitely different in the flavor realm.

With that, I added the Planet Oat Oatmilk "Sweet and Creamy" Creamer.

Et voila; I had myself an iced coffee. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the Planet Oat bottle because I tore off the label so I could reuse the container. I bought one of those 64 ounce CoffeeMate Creamer vessels at BJ's last week and to make it easier on myself, I poured half of it into the Oatmilk container once I finished the oatmilk. #thingsyoudotosave. 

Overall, the Chai is an acquired taste and it gives off a different style of sweetness mixed with bitterness, I think because of whatever spices are infused in the syrup process. I know that "dirty chai" drinks are a bit of the rage with certain age brackets and coffee lovers, so adding this to a regular brew, rather than an espresso, is different. I know espresso is more of a condensed coffee, but when you don't have access to that type of bean, you have to make due with what's in your pantry. I think if there was a sugar free version of the Chai, I might try it, only to see if any specific flavors are toned down. It's truly a new experience and profile for me.  

When I finish this (giant ass) bottle, I'm going to try the coconut version. It was "on sale" and is the size of those small Mio packages - the type of squeezable container you can carry with you and put a drop or two of refresher in your drink. They're actually being referenced as "liquid drink enhancer" on Amazon and other retailers. It's worth the literal shot to see how this stacks up against other additions. If it can go in water or coffee, this may be a game changer.

In the end, it's easy to say "to each their own and to each experimenting with flavors" as I shall leave it here. Hopefully on the next coffee run, I learn something different and get a new idea for my home brew. You never know what to try unless you pay the full price first. Only then can you start saving at home and making variations to your liking. 

Cheers;

See also (aka links to Amazon for the products I used to make my coffee):

• Folgers Simply Smooth Ground Coffee, Mild Roast, 23 Ounce Canister
  
• Torani Coffee Syrup, Chai Tea Spice Flavor, Pump Included, 25.4 Fl Oz (third party seller)
  
• "Percolator" (keyword) (possible third party sellers)
  
• Planet Oat storefront (possible third party sellers)
  
• Torani Sugar Free Coconut Liquid Drink Enhancer, Water Flavoring 4-Pack, 1.62 Oz Ea (third party seller)
  
• "Dunkin bucket" (keyword) (this is not the branded bucket; but sellers with knock off sizes for sale)

Is it a secret if they willingly tell you?

When I went to the library the other day, I asked about the decals on the bookshelf:

• Where does the library pick them up - is it a specific site or store? 
• Are they widely available anywhere else? 

The librarian told me, rather openly, that another person "Google image searches the images, prints them, and then laminates them". I asked about the main sign, and was promptly told "that's done by someone at the main library. In the admin offices, there's a design team who works on all of those posters". The person I was talking to didn't know where the designer got the images to put it all together, as they only knew the posters arrived as you see it. Therefore, insight was limited for the creation of bigger stuff. Small stuff was different - it was all done at this branch. 

I had went on to say how I saw the pictures the other day and was really intrigued, but didn't know, or think to ask, where they came from. I know so many people (including myself) who would love the have the cryptids hanging around as decoration, but couldn't figure out where the pictures were from. The librarian basically / begrudgingly agreed with me, as I think she wanted me gone at that point because I asked her a seemingly weird question. 

I did thank her for her help and told her I appreciated the information. 

There you go; or there I have it: Whenever the library switches over to a new theme on the book case, someone in the facility goes to Google, looks for various images, meticulously cuts them out, and then the images are laminated (and cut again). 

I honestly didn't think it was that easy. Kind of taking the cheap way out, but I also understand why they would do it. It's more economical to find your own photos and tape them up, rather than continuously buy sets of decals you may not want all of (let's say it is a pack of 100 and you only want 5 or 6 images from that pack). 

Plus, depending on your printer situation, you're "only wasting" ink for a dozen or so small images. Packs of card stock or other paper can be on sale a lot too. A laminating machine basically pays for itself after the first few uses, especially if you've got a lot of things you want to put behind a plastic sheet. 

Proof it doesn't hurt to ask and the answer you get may surprise you!

Cheers;

See also (aka ideas to help home crafters):

(links via Amazon)

• Laminating machine
• Laminating sheets
• Paper cutter
• Crafting scissors
• Printer Paper
• Printer (research says any printer can work, just as long as you change the settings to print photos)

Out, about, and everywhere none the same

Fair warning, this is another Halloween and random storm inspired post. 

The fall season is upon us, y'all. More and more stores are loading up their aisles with the cinnamon scented broomsticks, autumn runners for the tables (in the shape of leaves), orange and brown colors are coordinating themselves with the bite sized candy bars that need to be handed out to tiny human beings.

I had gone to Kohl's the other day and they had a giant display by the registers of various spooky related decorations. One in particular, caught my eye. 

It's small enough to sit on a table, but can also be hung on the wall. "LIVED LAUGHED LOVED" sign, on what looks like it could be a tombstone. Kohl's price is $11.99 currently; yes, I left the price tag on in the picture. I didn't cover it up; I wanted to show what stores are selling things for out in the real world. 

Due to it being a Kohl's collaboration with a design group, I couldn't even find it on the store's website. I think it must be an in person purchase only, as the sku and article numbers, according to Google, state it's a drop ship product. Meaning, there's no record of it online anywhere. The numbers are for internal use only, done by whatever business to business set up the companies have going. 

I couldn't find the specific artwork on Amazon, but I found other related items (kind of). It's not completely the same, but some of them are rather funny and cute, but disturbing at the same time. See link below.

Later on, I was in a completely different store. this place had the room / space for the giant scarers. The items reliant on constant air being pushed in, props the size of real people (or bigger), signs that basically say "you're not invited but still come over!".

 

I guess it's the year of the cowboy, based on how many wild west themed decorations I saw. 

The benches are pretty neat though, I must admit. I keep seeing them pop up in different stores and they're rather sturdy looking. I haven't tried sitting on one (most stores don't let you test the product), so I can't say how great it is. One of these times I'll attempt to touch it and see how it feels and goes.

Providing I don't get squirreled into seeing something else. 

This week we also had to pick up a friend at the airport. They had to come at the last minute due to some issues going on in their house (they're snowbirds). The day we picked them up, the rain was coming in fast and furious. It was "so bad", they heard a giant bang of thunder in the airport, and thought it was part of the construction happening, since there are major renovations going on in the local terminals. 

But alas, the whole thing passed by the time we got our friend home, and they had a reprieve for a few hours before the sky opened up again. 

Welcome to summer! It's still rainy season! 

I had a pickup request at the library, and every time I walk in, it seems like they've got a totally new display going on. 

This time, it's Halloween adjacent; all the cryptids going on. I didn't get a photo of the books and movies they had on the bookshelf, because I was too amused by the decals. 

I even said to one of the librarians "I love the stickers" and she laughed, saying she does too. I don't know if she was being honest, but she does seem to be like someone who would internally appreciate the decorations. 

I couldn't find the exact ones on Amazon, but I found others. I don't know where the library orders their decorations from, or if they have someone who works there, that does everything. Considering one of the signs had the library system logo on it, I think it's all printed in house; so anything is possible with the decals. 

If you're wondering what I picked up, it was a 1959 move, "On The Beach" starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Perkins, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire. 

The synopsis (via Google) is:

"After World War III, Australia is the only remaining haven for mankind. However, wind currents carrying lingering radiation all but condemn those on the continent to the same fate suffered by the rest of the world. When the survivors receive a strange signal from San Diego, Cmdr. Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck) must undertake a mission with Lt. Peter Holmes (Anthony Perkins) to see if there is hope for humanity -- leaving behind Moira (Ava Gardner) and Mary (Donna Anderson), the women they love"

I intend on watching it later. When the storms arrive this afternoon (like clockwork. Haha).

Speaking of library, I've got another pickup request there today, so I supposed I should get myself in gear and go pick it up. It's the "book on cd" version of "Zoo 2" by James Patterson. I read the first book, but want to be able to see how the second book continues the story. I've already started a new book, so maybe a CD might help in the car. Who knows. 

Until more things pop up in stores and in my feed, stay healthy and hydrated; safe and sound. Don't be afraid of things that go bump in the night.

Cheers;

All photos taken on an iPhone 17 and edited in Photoshop

See also (aka things on Amazon):

• "cinnamon scented broom keyword search
• "lived laughed loved halloween" keyword search.
• "cowboy skeleton" keyword search
• "halloween skeleton bench outdoor" keyword search (this came up with more skeletons than any bench search)
• "dead and breakfast halloween" keyword search
• "transparent cryptid stickers" keyword search
  
• "cryptid decals" keyword search
• "Zoo (2 book series)" by James Patterson search
• "on the beach 1959" keyword search

More... new... goodies....

I was back at Lowe's this weekend for some pickup stuff around the house and they've got their Halloween decorations out in full force. Quite literally, as soon as you walk in, the whole left side of the front of the store has everything you would need to decorate your house from the lawn ornaments to the hanging door skeletons and little bowls for the tables. 

I didn't get pictures of everything, but the new animatronics are out. They seemed to have last year's DJ still for sale, but this year they've added some punk rocker skeletons, Disney / Pixar, creepy dolls and other big skeletons to the mix. The light up punk rock skeletons reminded me a little bit of Día de los Muertos skeleton dancers. They were really cute and unfortunately, the "test me" button didn't work on the Disney/Pixar stuff so I didn't get a video of them. Rest assured it was Mickey and Minnie as "The Mummy", Stitch in a costume, as well as Mike and Sully from "Monsters Inc" as movie monsters. 

With the first picture, the skeleton holding the candy bowl, that's pretty neat because you don't have to worry about constantly holding the bowl or passing it around. If you stood it next to you to "trick" the kids, they'd probably not know what to do first. I could see some random small human being so confused. 

Although, for the adults who want to have a party, I did find two skeletons holding a coffin, that could end up holding iced beverages or anything else you need for fun.

The pumpkin head scarecrow I've seen in various animatronic form - both online and in other stores.

The winged creature skeleton and upper half skeleton are two of the new features this year. The half skeleton box says he's a Grim Reaper Ground Breaker. Solely based on you plop him on the ground and he looks like he's coming up from the dirt. Much like the skeleton I saw at Costco the other day. The ground breakers really must be the new things this year because I don't recall seeing them in the past. 

Rather, I don't recall animated ones. I remember growing up, we had a family friend who would do his house up in haunted form and he'd have a heck ton of stuff out and around. If I recall correctly, he had smaller ground breakers - hands and arms, legs and feet, all dislocated and everywhere on the front lawn. I know I've talked about this plenty of times before. Technology is getting better with these things so we're able to add more oomph to them. 

There's a Grim Reaper mist maker available on Amazon and it's just the head. It looks like one of those things you could start your haunting with - put it by your front door to "welcome" the guests inside. Add to the illusion that maybe something might come scurrying your way once you pass the threshold. 

Which is not to be confused with the mouse maze floor at Spooky World in Berlin, MA, in the early 1990s.

Man, did I just pull that memory out of left field. Hot damn. That's crazy. I have such vivid recollections of going there with my youth group and really having fun with it. 

Wow.. even as I type this, I can't believe how it's all coming back.. the trips there. I remember we were told not to encourage the performers while on the hay ride, nor were we allowed to make contact with them. But I didn't listen. I high-fived one of them as we went around the corner and asked him how he was. He answered "Great!" as he high-fived me back. 😄 

Yet the "Mouse Girl" and some sort of "Mouse Maze" is another thing that sticks out. I remember walking through the tent like "o...kay.." and at some point I looked down and we had been walking over clear PVC flooring. Underneath our feet was a labyrinth full of scurrying rodents! The mouse girl was within a few feet of where the floor mice were. 

Crazy times, I tell you, crazy times! The things we remember when we least expect it! 

I guess, with the Coraline-meets-Wednesday-Addams-meets-Sally looking girl in the single picture after the ground breaker, she's cute and all, but she does have a Tim Burton feeling to her. I found various "creepy girl" animatronics on Amazon, but they're not close to the one at the store today. This is a "Haunted Farm" thing, it seems; they have other dolls you can buy. 

We all know the witches so it's not that hard to find them around. But with the last picture, it seems like the employee was so dehydrated from the Florida sun, he needed to take a break for a few minutes. Which ultimately, might have turned into a few days. He still looks a little parched. 

Overall, when I went to find most of the items on Amazon, I think the "Haunted Living" brand is specific to Lowe's so the search came up with other types of animatronics. Searching for "Halloween Animatronics" also came up with something different, but has similar items as the search for Haunted Living. "Haunted Hill Farm" might be the knock off - literally (because there are some really close look a-likes and scrolling the page I saw one that looked like the DJ, but in a different outfit). 

I'm still sitting here like, "da fuq am I remembering??" as I type all this. The power of just free-writing and going on about random things. This is what happens when I start a post - I get squirreled over something and then start thinking about something different. It is also why it takes me a few hours to write my posts. Just because the time stamp says one thing, trust me, it's hours later. I get too involved in research and writing, and before you know it, there's my afternoon gone. It's okay though; I am keeping things sharp and ready for the next round of adventures. 

Until then, be safe, be well, and stay hydrated. You don't want to end up like that last guy!

Cheers;