Starbucks makes a concoction of espresso, steamed nonfat milk and sugar-free cinnamon syrup that it calls a Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Typically, Giselle Matsui needs two of them to make it through the day.
Matsui is an audiologist who lives in Chanhassen. After months of forking over $3.90 plus tax for a Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte, she figured out that she could save 40 cents by ordering the same drink off the make-your-own latte list, specifying nonfat milk and a shot of cinnamon syrup.
Alas, Starbucks baristas haven't always cooperated with Matsui's cost-saving scheme. They ring up the make-your-own latte as a full-priced specialty drink, and she protests.
"They of course get cranky," Matsui told me. "That isn't fun. You're constantly having to explain yourself. I don't want to pay 40 cents more. I love this drink. I get it every day."
I did my own undercover buy of the make-your-own cinnamon latte at a Starbucks in downtown Minneapolis. I got the drink at the cheaper price, no questions asked. I actually got it twice. The first one was snatched off the counter by a thief, which is something that happens every so often, the barista told me.
Although Starbucks declined to grant me an interview, I got the following statement from Amy Lemen, Starbucks local marketing manager:
"If the customer is ordering a latte with the addition of Cinnamon Dolce syrup -- a premium syrup -- then she is essentially ordering a Cinnamon Dolce Latte and should be charged the corresponding premium drink price, as shown on the menu board. If she is being charged otherwise, our baristas are charging her incorrectly. We apologize for that oversight."
Starbucks is working "to clarify pricing structures for all of Starbucks' many possible drink combinations, with the goal of avoiding similar confusion in the future."
