Come on! Starbucks is selling a beverage at a temperature that is to hot to consume? How can the consumer miss that? Whoever orders cold tea? Maybe iced tea, but cold? or room temp or tepid? I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it. How hard can that be? I’d bet that this idiot would sue for burning himself on his red-hot stove because the stove was too hot to touch, correc? and why should a company sell a product like that? (sarcasm intended).
I work for starbucks (paying my way for school), and I’ve been burned several times. I’ve had the shuttle water (the water we use for the tea) poured directly on my hand several times, yes it does hurt, it does get sore, but it doesn’t cause third degree burn.
When we put the lid on it’s secure, if it isn’t you can tell because it comes off when you pick it up. Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence. Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people. Just because you did something stupid doesnt’t mean someone else should have to pay for it
Just for a few of you, I wanted to point out a few detail about the McDonalds case that you may find interesting.
The McDonalds coffee served at the time of the case was in a styrofoam cup. What caused the liquid to leave the container was not a spill, but rather the styrofoam itself melted. Styrofoam melts at approximately 250 degrees. The cup melted into 2 parts and the coffee was spilled on the clmt.
Third degree burns can happen when you the human skin is exposed to temperatures as low as approx 170 degrees for as little as one second.
McDonalds had been warned several times in the past concerning the unsafe condition of serving that hot of a product in that kind of container.
The original claim amount was reduced significantly upon appeal.
My point being that a company knowingly and willfully continued to do something they had been warned about in the past that directly led to bodily injury to one of its patrons, and you people sit back here and claim it is a frivilous lawsuit. I think not.
I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.
Recently I ordered tea at Starbucks & as is my custom because I like my tea this way, I put sugar and cold milk/half&half in and stirred before taking my first sip. I took my very first small sip & sustained noticeable burns in my mouth that lasted almost a week- from one sip. I can only imagine how bad it would have been without the added cold milk or if I taken a larger sip- not to mention spilling it. This tea was DAMN hot & I have alerted Starbucks of the problem. This is not frivolous folks- its a very real problem & Starbucks should have more concern for its customers’ and employees’ safety. I have had tea that was a bit too hot before, but again Starbucks tea is too damn hot.
McDonald’s fixed their problem and there is no reason Starbucks should not do the same. Yes, of course there is a consumption of risk with any hot product- but this is over the top.
I can correct you by your own experience probably- have you ever felt how hot steam is when cooking & draining pasta or pouring large quantities of hot liquid, or burned the roof of your mouth with cheese from scalding hot liquid. It is not only fire which causes burns.
“I drink tea; there’s no reason for tea to EVER be a temperature that destroy nerve endings and cause me to have to have a skin graft. It’s in a cup that keeps it warm; no need to go overboard.
This isn’t about him spilling the tea; it’s about Starbuck’s having enough sense to set a reasonable and consistent temperature for its products.”
OMG- Thank you and Amen for stating this fact. If home coffee and tea brew machine manufacturers have to comply with consumer safety- Starbucks and other companies should have to as well.
In the long run, it would save Starbucks money in energy costs, and increase employee productivity due to not having to stop to deal with burns (that the employee on here confirmed happens).
“I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it.”
This is a key statement, because in reality, you should not HAVE to do this. When the product is given to you, it should be delivered and in the form of a product ready for immediate consumption as all food products typically are.
“wait a while before I taste it” is extremely subjective and there can easily be a set safety standard (a safe temperature that the product is delivered) so that people would not have to wait a subjective amount of time & actually risk some form of injury from merely sipping- and yes Starbucks tea is this hot as I recently experienced, even after “waiting a while”. This is about quality control and consumer/employee safety.
“Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence”
Bull! I have never spilled Starbucks coffee or tea on myself, but I have had MANY of their crappy lids come off, especially with the wasteful policy of using multiple cups to mitigate their TOO HOT products- they KNOW this is a problem.
“Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people.”
Writing ‘caution’ is not a justifiable defense to negligent behavior on behalf of a company for many reasons:
1. The customer may not see it.
2. The customer may be blind.
3. The customer may not read the language the text is printed in (ex.tourists & other non-native speakers, dyslexic people)
4. The customer may not be able to read (ex. illiterate)- 14% of U.S. adults according to most recent statistics.
5. Caution signs are not a justifiable defense, any more than those silly safety ‘waivers’ people are forced to sign before doing recreational activites- they are simply designed to fool ignorant customers into believing they have no right to sue & the company has no liability or duty to the safety of customers. Untrue!
“Just because you did something stupid doesn’t mean someone else should have to pay for it”
Kinda like your stupidity of getting burned multiple times, by your own admission right? You are making a wide-ranging assumption that the customer is at fault for getting burned, when it would not be a problem for the customer (nor you) if the liquid was at a safe temperature.
“I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.”
Thank you for posting this piece of common sense! It seems the knee-jerk & thoughtless(lack of critical examination of the facts) reactions to cases like these seem to be the norm on here.
I disagree with your assertion that the insurance industry is for the protection of people- more and more it is an industry that seeks ways to NOT protect people & weasel out of paying money consumers are due, even though consumers pay monthly/yearly premiums & deductibles.
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Come on! Starbucks is selling a beverage at a temperature that is to hot to consume? How can the consumer miss that? Whoever orders cold tea? Maybe iced tea, but cold? or room temp or tepid? I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it. How hard can that be? I’d bet that this idiot would sue for burning himself on his red-hot stove because the stove was too hot to touch, correc? and why should a company sell a product like that? (sarcasm intended).
I work for starbucks (paying my way for school), and I’ve been burned several times. I’ve had the shuttle water (the water we use for the tea) poured directly on my hand several times, yes it does hurt, it does get sore, but it doesn’t cause third degree burn.
When we put the lid on it’s secure, if it isn’t you can tell because it comes off when you pick it up. Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence. Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people. Just because you did something stupid doesnt’t mean someone else should have to pay for it
Just for a few of you, I wanted to point out a few detail about the McDonalds case that you may find interesting.
The McDonalds coffee served at the time of the case was in a styrofoam cup. What caused the liquid to leave the container was not a spill, but rather the styrofoam itself melted. Styrofoam melts at approximately 250 degrees. The cup melted into 2 parts and the coffee was spilled on the clmt.
Third degree burns can happen when you the human skin is exposed to temperatures as low as approx 170 degrees for as little as one second.
McDonalds had been warned several times in the past concerning the unsafe condition of serving that hot of a product in that kind of container.
The original claim amount was reduced significantly upon appeal.
My point being that a company knowingly and willfully continued to do something they had been warned about in the past that directly led to bodily injury to one of its patrons, and you people sit back here and claim it is a frivilous lawsuit. I think not.
I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.
Recently I ordered tea at Starbucks & as is my custom because I like my tea this way, I put sugar and cold milk/half&half in and stirred before taking my first sip. I took my very first small sip & sustained noticeable burns in my mouth that lasted almost a week- from one sip. I can only imagine how bad it would have been without the added cold milk or if I taken a larger sip- not to mention spilling it. This tea was DAMN hot & I have alerted Starbucks of the problem. This is not frivolous folks- its a very real problem & Starbucks should have more concern for its customers’ and employees’ safety. I have had tea that was a bit too hot before, but again Starbucks tea is too damn hot.
McDonald’s fixed their problem and there is no reason Starbucks should not do the same. Yes, of course there is a consumption of risk with any hot product- but this is over the top.
I can correct you by your own experience probably- have you ever felt how hot steam is when cooking & draining pasta or pouring large quantities of hot liquid, or burned the roof of your mouth with cheese from scalding hot liquid. It is not only fire which causes burns.
“I drink tea; there’s no reason for tea to EVER be a temperature that destroy nerve endings and cause me to have to have a skin graft. It’s in a cup that keeps it warm; no need to go overboard.
This isn’t about him spilling the tea; it’s about Starbuck’s having enough sense to set a reasonable and consistent temperature for its products.”
OMG- Thank you and Amen for stating this fact. If home coffee and tea brew machine manufacturers have to comply with consumer safety- Starbucks and other companies should have to as well.
In the long run, it would save Starbucks money in energy costs, and increase employee productivity due to not having to stop to deal with burns (that the employee on here confirmed happens).
“I always get hot coffee and tea and stir it to cool it; or just wait a while before I taste it.”
This is a key statement, because in reality, you should not HAVE to do this. When the product is given to you, it should be delivered and in the form of a product ready for immediate consumption as all food products typically are.
“wait a while before I taste it” is extremely subjective and there can easily be a set safety standard (a safe temperature that the product is delivered) so that people would not have to wait a subjective amount of time & actually risk some form of injury from merely sipping- and yes Starbucks tea is this hot as I recently experienced, even after “waiting a while”. This is about quality control and consumer/employee safety.
“Therefore, he probably spilled it on your own negligence”
Bull! I have never spilled Starbucks coffee or tea on myself, but I have had MANY of their crappy lids come off, especially with the wasteful policy of using multiple cups to mitigate their TOO HOT products- they KNOW this is a problem.
“Besides knowing that you are consuming a hot beverage, it is written on the sleeve saying to be careful because the beverage is hot. Common sense people.”
Writing ‘caution’ is not a justifiable defense to negligent behavior on behalf of a company for many reasons:
1. The customer may not see it.
2. The customer may be blind.
3. The customer may not read the language the text is printed in (ex.tourists & other non-native speakers, dyslexic people)
4. The customer may not be able to read (ex. illiterate)- 14% of U.S. adults according to most recent statistics.
5. Caution signs are not a justifiable defense, any more than those silly safety ‘waivers’ people are forced to sign before doing recreational activites- they are simply designed to fool ignorant customers into believing they have no right to sue & the company has no liability or duty to the safety of customers. Untrue!
“Just because you did something stupid doesn’t mean someone else should have to pay for it”
Kinda like your stupidity of getting burned multiple times, by your own admission right? You are making a wide-ranging assumption that the customer is at fault for getting burned, when it would not be a problem for the customer (nor you) if the liquid was at a safe temperature.
“I realize that circumstances are somewhat different in this case, however to simply disregard the claim as ridiculous without knowing the facts is an extremely sad commentary on a group of people who work in an industry that is supposed to protet people. I hope that you sit back and think about your blanket positions on lawsuits and reevaluate.”
Thank you for posting this piece of common sense! It seems the knee-jerk & thoughtless(lack of critical examination of the facts) reactions to cases like these seem to be the norm on here.
I disagree with your assertion that the insurance industry is for the protection of people- more and more it is an industry that seeks ways to NOT protect people & weasel out of paying money consumers are due, even though consumers pay monthly/yearly premiums & deductibles.