Starbucks Straw Conundrum

Has anyone else noticed that the cold drink straws at Starbucks are no longer capabale of holding their shape when inserted into the cold drink lid? I noticed this phenomenon around Thanksgiving and think it’s because the lid is thicker plastic now and therefore, crushes the straw. It’s quite annoying:

I hate it. Especially since I get a Caramel Macchiato… and one of my favorite things about this drink, is that the caramel settles at the bottom of the cup and then gets sucked up through the straw. However, when the straw collapes like this, the caramel gets stuck on the other side of the crease!

I also noticed that the cold cups were different in both Florida and Vegas when we where there… they had a sort of rounded indent at the bottom of the cup… like a bottle of wine. My guess is that this is Starbucks way of saving money. I’m wondering how long before those cups hit New England. My friend, The Missus over at On Common Ground, also noticed that they changed their soymilk brand from Silk to some generic brand… to her dismay.

My solution? I’ve been using my finer to “rip” the plastic opening and make it a little larger. Anyone else notice businesses cutting back on costs by changing packages, brands or the sizes of items???

April 4, 2009 Update:

An even better example of what’s happening. SO annoying… especially when they fill the cup up too much and you try to push the straw through the new, firmer lids, only to have all the excess coffee come spilling out on top of the lid because the straw is not strong enough to push it’s way through. At least one of my commentors (who works at Starbucks) indicated that the new lids are better for the environment. Why not incorporate a new straw at the same time then??? One that can actually keep it’s shape once inserted into the opening…