Forget Joe, Grab a cup of Hillary or Donald at the 7-Election
By Taylor Romano and Sarah Gabrielli
As the country goes through the motions of Election Day, certain businesses offer 2016 election themed promotions for their customers.
Poughkeepsie’s 7-Eleven on Hooker Avenue attempts to ease voter anxiety with one of these promotions. For any customer with the 7-Eleven app, they offer a free cup of coffee, any size in honor of Election Day. In addition, they have been selling election-themed XL “stay hot” cups at low prices for about a month.
There are three different themed cups. The Democrat cups are blue, the Republican cups are red and the Speak Up cups are purple. According to Fortune.com, this is the fifth quadrennial year that 7-Eleven has partaken in this promotion. The “Speak Up” cup is a new addition aimed towards non-partisans. This allows for customers to write in their own opinions on the cup itself.
H.Adam, a 7-Eleven employee, is able to observe customers who choose to purchase a cup when he rings up their order. Cups are bought by customers, “everyday, maybe 35–40 a day,” said H.Adam. In regards to which cup is most popular, there was not a clear lead. “Sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes neither. We’ll find out tonight,” said H.Adam as he referenced the television. The TV in the establishment was tuned to the Fios 1 election coverage so employees and customers could get a glimpse of what was happening with the election while they stopped in.
Frequent customer and 2016 voter, John Garitta comes to this 7-Eleven almost everyday to buy a cup of coffee. “I’m here everyday and I’ve probably bought the cup 20–25 times,” said Garitta. He proudly holds the blue Democrat cup saying, “This is where I lean, so I figured I’d get it!.”
Few customers were even aware of the free cup of coffee today, but even those who were informed had little interest. “Im not getting the app right now,” said one passing customer. H.Adam added that barely anyone has used it and people don’t even seem to know about it.
Other businesses outside of the Poughkeepsie area also have deals for customers that flash “I voted stickers.” At Krispy Kreme, customers can get a free doughnut, Golds Gym offers free access on Election Day only and Great American Cookies offers a free cookie to customers.
Regardless of the promotion, businesses, both local and chains, urge the public to go vote in the 2016 Presidential Election.
