Starbucks will be hiking their beverage prices by as much as $ .30 beginning next week, almost exactly one year since the company last raised its prices in July, 2015. This time around, the increase actually came to light because of a computer glitch in that the new prices were added to the POS system prematurely.  As a result, customers purchasing “select beverages” in many of the stores were charged the new (as yet, unrevealed) higher price for the products.  In some cases, those overcharges were as much as $.30.  And, we also noted a story last week where Starbucks was accused of cutting employee hours in some stores in an effort to cut costs.  The cuts came to light as a result of a Southern California barista creating and circulating a petition complaining of the cuts in hours and lamenting the negative impact the cuts are having on employee morale and customer service.  In light of constant increases in wages and other mandates by the government at all levels (overtime, sick leave, predictive scheduling, etc.), it is no wonder that those decisions are in play.  We also noted this week that Amazon has decided to jump into the coffee market with its new Happy Belly private label coffee.  The retail giant’s new coffee brand is only one of a number of new lines they’re pursuing.  And, on the McDonald’s front, we noted that the Golden Arches announced that they will expand their all-day breakfast to now include their McGriddle, McMuffin or biscuits on their all-day menu at all stores across the country.