Ditched Helicopter Award - Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee have put a lot of effort into their brand and it's been highly successful for them - but that's something they can destroy very quickly!

Competitors of theirs like Cafe Nero have loyalty cards - cards they stamp as you buy and you get a free cup when it's got six stamps - very simple effective.

Costa Coffee have now decided to follow suit - but just to be one better (they think) it's a plastic card which you have to register on line - Grrrrr- but I did it.

Then, what do I find? - the card is not accepted at the FIRST ELEVEN Costa Coffee shops I visit!! There is even a large card on the counter of most saying they don't accept it.
When asked they each told me it was because they were franchisees and it didn't apply to them.

So what Costa have succeeded in doing is to start to destroy that homogenous brand image in our minds and force us to recognise that there are Division 1 and Division 2 Costa Coffee shops.

So I contacted Costa Coffee and expressed my surprise at this turn of events. I get a "corporate" reply with all the nonsense about appreciating my custom and telling me that "some" of their shops can't accept the card because "they have the wrong tills". Unbelievable - even if it's true - and it appears to not be - they should have delayed the launch of the card until they had every shop on board.

So - for the very clever trick of introducing a Customer Loyalty card that does exactly the opposite - a DITCHED HELICOPTER AWARD goes to COSTA COFFEE