Starbucks increases wages, several beverage prices

Starbucks customers may have to pay a little more during their next visit.

The price of certain drinks increased Tuesday, Starbucks spokesperson Gaby, who declined to give her last name, wrote in an email.

“Depending on the market, customers will experience increases of 10 to 20 cents on select sizes of brewed coffee to have, and 10 to 30 cents on espresso beverages and tea lattes,” she wrote.

Prices vary depending on each product and the area it’s sold in, and 65 percent of drink prices have not changed, Gaby wrote.

McLaine Pleasants, a 20-year-old UF psychology and Spanish senior, said she became a Starbucks customer with the order of a decaf Frappuccino when she was a little girl.

Pleasants said she believes the changes are not enough to make a big difference.

“I would be concerned if the price increased by a few dollars, but that isn’t the case,” she said.

Starting Oct. 3, Starbucks will also increase the wages of all U.S. employees, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced Monday.

“Striking the delicate balance between profit and a social conscience is a responsibility I take personally,” he wrote.

As for the price changes, Pleasants said she still plans on buying her favorite green tea latte.

“I’m still going to go to Starbucks,” she said. “I love the drinks too much not to go.”