STARBUCKS FIGHTING A RUMOR THAT THE COMPANY IS UNPATRIOTIC!

Just this week a friend forwarded me an email that he sent out to dozens of other people.  That email indicated Starbucks coffee was unpatriotic.  Why?  According to that email Starbucks refused to send members of the military free coffee in Iraq.  Those marines allegedly wrote the coffee giant ask for free samples only to be told Starbucks doesn't support the war therefore they didn't send the troops any free coffee.  The Insite wrote Starbucks corporate office to get at the truth.  A spokesperson wrote me back pointing me to their rumor versus fact webpage.  A post indicated Starbucks has been hit with the rumor again this month but it has been in circulation in some form since 2004.  I have attached a portion of the email I received and the response from Starbucks!

Original email:  Recently Marines in Iraq wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to let them know how much they liked their coffees and to request that they send some of it to the troops there.

Starbucks replied, telling the Marines thank you for their support of their business, but that Starbucks does not support the war, nor anyone in it, and that they would not send the troops their brand of coffee.

So as not to offend Starbucks, maybe we should not support them by buying any of their products!

Starbucks response: On behalf of Starbucks more than 140,000 dedicated partners (employees), we want to set the record straight on an old rumor concerning Starbucks lack of support for the military and our troops. This rumor, dating back to 2004, claims a lack of Starbucks support for the U.S. Marines, and has evolved to include a lack of support for the British Royal Marines. In both instances, the rumor is not, and has never been, true.

When Starbucks learned of the original email, we immediately contacted the author, a Marine Sergeant, who subsequently sent an e-mail to his original distribution list correcting the mistake. Unfortunately, rumors have a way of continuing even after the truth has been revealed.