You would have thought the last thing Costa would want its customers doing would be trudging to Starbucks, Pret-A-Manger and Cafe Nero to get themselves a coffee.
However, it appears that the company has decided it's customers can now get 25p off from the store's shops if they bring in its competitors cups.
It might also sound counter-intuitive for them to be incentivising their customers to shop elsewhere, but turns out there's a very good reason for the offer.
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Costa made the announcement on Twitter this morning - although they didn't mention their opposition by name exactly.
It posted: "We now recycle any takeaway cup.
"Yes, even ones from Sxxxxcks, Cxxe Nxxo, or Pxxt a Mxxxxr!
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"Leave them with us and we'll do the rest."
The offer appears to apply to any hot or cold drink.
On Costa's website it says: "We are encouraging our customers to get more from their daily cup of coffee, by offering 25p off any hot or cold handcrafted drink every time they use a reusable cup in our stores."
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Credit: PA Images
"We want to help cut down on waste and create a better environment - working with UK litter charities on national programmes including 'The Great British Spring Clean'."
It's good to see coffee chains doing something positive with their cups. It's not always that way, take the Starbucks barista who was suspended for mocking a man who struggles with a stammer after allegedly writing his name as 'RRR...ichard' on his cup.
Richard Procter says he was handed the cup in the Starbucks at Ashford International railway station in Kent by a barista last Friday.
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Mr Procter, who runs an IT company in Kent, complained to the Starbucks UK Facebook page.
He wrote: "The treatment I received from one of the [Starbucks] staff was extremely offensive and humiliating.
"Would this be acceptable to a person with more obvious disabilities? I highly doubt it.
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Credit: Mercury Press
"Yes I have a speech impediment, and have been subjected to many jokes over the years, of which most I can handle, however there are many people that struggle to cope in public and this could be extremely upsetting for them.
"This is not unique but for some reason some of society think it's acceptable behaviour.
"The only difference in this instance is that I was handed the proof instead of having to listen to the comment."
Jimmy Carr working in a Starbucks. Credit: PA Images
This isn't the first time that a Starbucks barista has caused controversy with what they've written on a customer's cup. Back in June, 22-year-old Rosie noticed one of the baristas had written 'Virgin' on her drink.
She told Mirror Online: "I was so angry, they may as well have written 'troll' on my cup - that's how it made me feel.
"I can laugh about it now, but what if the staff are doing that to every girl who goes in on their own? It could really upset them, especially if they're really insecure."
The company has often come under criticism for misspelling people's names on their cups when they come to collect them, with a number of theories as to why...
Why Such Bad Spelling?
It's thought that the coffee-chain tells its employees to spell customer's names incorrectly in order to get free publicity.
Spelling the names wrong encourages coffee drinkers to post pictures of their cups on social media. In effect, baristas are part of a cost-free advertising campaign for the company.
And you only need to take one look around social media to see that it's working...
Either really clever, or incredibly stupid.
Featured Image Credit: PA Images
