I had been introduced to coffee at an early age, and because of this, the Starbucks Coffee Company was always my go-to location for sweet and caffeinated beverages. This evening, however, I've been notified by an unknown barista that the Starbucks locations found in Barnes & Noble no longer accept Starbucks Gift Cards.

As a Starbucks regular, I was quite shocked by this news. Not only does the licensing agreement between Starbucks and Barnes & Noble disallow their Starbucks-infused locations to deny incoming business, but everybody -- AND I MEAN EVERYBODY -- knows that Starbucks serves as my primary coffee company preference and workplace location (I'm a freelancer).

Keep in mind, the Starbucks gift card serves not only the simple purpose of storing Starbucks credit, but it allows provides the card holder with certain rewards, discounts, and even allows you to collect "Stars" to unlock special offers. The severe marketing that occurred that convinced me to keep my Starbucks gift card and reload the piece of plastic every time I wanted over-priced caffeine did not prepare me for this unexpected and unannounced decision.

This agreement turns away kids that received Starbucks gift cards for the holidays, business people, and dedicated Starbucks-goers across the country, and for what?