America's largest coffee chain can't please everyone. Whether their coffee is too hot or their red holiday cups aren't religious enough, complaints are bound to come up every now and again.
Now, an Illinois woman is suing Starbucks for $5 million over the amount of ice that they use in their drinks, according to NBC News. On April 27, Stacy Pincus filed the suit against Starbucks Corp. in Northern Illinois Federal Court.
Because of the amount of ice the coffee company uses in their cold drinks, customers end up with half the amount of the beverage that they ordered, according to the number of fluid ounces as listed on the Starbucks menu, the suit says.
"The word 'beverage' is defined as 'a drinkable liquid,'" the lawsuit says, according to NBC News. "Ice is not a 'beverage' by definition. Accordingly, Starbucks actually gives the customer much less beverage in the cold drinks they order and pay for."
It goes on to say that the company actually has ulterior motives and is hoodwinking customers into paying for more than they actually receive.
"Starbucks' Cold Drinks are underfilled to make more money and higher profits, to the detriment of consumers who are misled by Starbucks' intentionally misleading advertising practices," the lawsuit continues.
Starbucks has said in the past that it accounts for the added ice by making its iced beverages slightly larger than its hot ones. The coffee chain's official website lists a Venti hot drink as holding 20 fluid ounces, while a Venti cold holds 24 fluid ounces.
"Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any 'iced' beverage," Starbucks spokeswoman Jaime Riley told NBC, saying that the lawsuit is "without merit." "If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it."
We aren't going to take sides here, but if you're worried about getting cheated out of a few ounces, here's a little life-changing trick: Order your cold beverages with less or no ice.