Starbucks is
arguably the most popular coffee franchise in the world. With Starbucks being
so popular, all locations are usually very busy. They already have a very neat
and efficient ordering process, but it just got more efficient. On September 22nd,
2015 Starbucks introduced the new Mobile Order and Pay app featured nationwide.
Being
from New York City I am very impatient and usually in a rush. I love the idea
of the Mobile Order and Pay because it creates convenience for the customer. As
Kline said, “This technology should
make lines shorter and allow people to spend no time in line and less, if not
no, time waiting for their drinks.”(Kline)
Being able to order your item through your phone and picking it up makes
everything so simple. In today’s impatient world everything is at the click of
a button, nobody enjoys waiting; the convenience behind this app is simply
great.
Everyone
under the age of 30 is quite tech savvy, but most adults over the age of 30 are
not. The coffee industry does not apply to one specific age group, obviously.
Starbucks did a great job making the app very simple and accessible for all
people. The process is a simple one, you launch the app, then you press order,
then the menu is shown for the nearby Starbuck locations. Once you choose your
location, you choose your item and it provides you with an approximation of
when your item will be ready. Then you arrive at the pick-up area and receive
your item. Not only does this show how simple it is to access the app, but it
touches on the convenience of the app as well. The simplicity of the app is
great, but it also, “makes it
easy to order heavily customized beverages with much less opportunity for human
error to lead to it being made wrong.”(Kline) Whenever I pay for an edible
item, I would like it how I asked for it. I constantly see the employees’ mess
up orders and I think the app will help resolve this problem.
One
aspect of Starbucks that I think most of their customers enjoy is the
atmosphere. Starbucks was one of the first franchises to offer Wifi to customers
and that created an appealing atmosphere to many. My primary or secondary
sources did not talk about how the app could possibly take away from the
atmosphere. Personally, I think because this generation is so empowered by
technology that most people will begin to use the app and this will create a
negative impact on the atmosphere. My primary article from CIO.com did not do a
well enough job explaining how Starbucks would be impacted by the app. They did
a great job explaining the process and made a few keys points, but my secondary
article really explained how the app would benefit Starbucks.
I think that the introduction of the Starbucks app will be both a blessing and a curse. That is, a blessing for Starbucks’ customers and a curse for Starbucks’ employees. The app will offer an extremely simple method of ordering and paying for Starbucks’ products. While this simplicity is a good thing for the customer, I believe that it could lead to a hectic atmosphere behind the counter at Starbucks. If many orders were being placed at once, it could be very difficult for employees to keep track of what belongs to who, and how much time they have to prepare certain products. Prep/Pick-up time will definitely be an issue with this app. If someone orders a hot coffee to be picked up in five minutes, but gets caught in traffic or held up at the office and does not get to Starbucks until twenty minutes later, what happens to the coffee? It was prepared a while ago and is most likely cold at this point. Do you dump that cup and lose money, or do you just give the customer their (now cold) cup of coffee and send them off angry? While the app does seem like a good idea in the aspect of simplicity, I think it will cause a good amount of distress in Starbucks locations in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea for both the costumers and Starbucks. I live in New York City as well, so I totally understand what you mean when you said you are always in a rush. I think this mobile application will definitely attract many more people to Starbucks, due to how simple it is to buy coffee now. No more will people have to wait in long lines at Starbucks, basically every time of the day. Also, it will make Starbucks a lot more money down the road. Due to the simplicity of ordering their coffee, many more people will order coffee, evidently therefore making the company more money. To be honest, I do not see many cons concerning this new app and will definitely use it myself in the future.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Starbucks app will at speed up productivity for both the company and the consumer. While it is true that allowing customers to place orders ahead of time in order to allow greater efficiency, this method of service may be one that is better suited for restaurants and food establishments.The main problem with Starbucks using this method is the presentation of the final product to the consumer. If a customer was to place an order too far in advance, upon arrival, the final product might be closer to room temperature instead. This app will without a doubt speed up productivity for the employees and allow for people to have a better Starbucks experience. One recommendation that I have for the app developers would be to add a mandatory notification that required customers to push a button when they are within close proximity of the story in order to alert the employees to prepare their order. This would help starbucks to ensure it's quality control standards by providing employees with more accurate times to prepare orders so that they more fresh to the customer.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the Starbucks app can help the company, but I also think that it could hurt the company. I feel that this will increase efficiency for the company. They will be able to get orders out faster because they do not have to take as many orders in the store. It will shorten the line allowing them to get the orders from the app out faster. This app will also allow for customers to get their complicated drinks with less of a chance of error. A lot of the time when people order in the store, the employees make a mistake, but if the order is completely written out in the app there is less of a chance of a mistake. People will be able to get exactly what they ordered in an efficient tie. Even though there are benefits to this app, there are also problems. If a customer orders off of the app, but then ends up running late their beverage will end up sitting there getting cold. Another problem is if the store is busy and they get a lot of orders over the app, the employees are going to have to try to get the orders out fast so none of the customers are waiting too long. They can't focus all of their energy on the app orders or all of their energy on the orders in the store. They have to focus on all of the customers, so that they make them all happy. I think that the app is a great idea, but it could create some issues for the customers and employees.
ReplyDelete