Starting Tuesday, March 17, 2015, if you’re visiting a Starbucks in Washington, Oregon, Alaska or Idaho, you’ll be able to order and pay for your food or beverage with your iPhone. This represents about 650 Starbucks stores that will have mobile order and pay, beginning on the 17th. Starbucks has said that their plans are to launch this nationwide at some point in 2015. (Mobile order and pay is only available in company-operated Starbucks stores at this time. Licensed stores, such as stores inside Safeway, Target, or other such businesses, are not offering the mobile order & pay.)
Mobile order and pay functionality was tested in Portland, Oregon, starting early last December.
In order to use “mobile order & pay” you need to have an iPhone and accept the app’s location functionality. Starbucks has said that the Android version of this is coming soon.
This is huge. No waiting in line. It actually seems a little strange to me because I’m so used to saying what I want to baristas. I’ve been asked a few times if I’ve used the new Starbucks app with mobile order & pay. The answer is ‘no, not yet.’ I do hope to have the chance to give it a try. It’s just that it was tested in Portland (not Seattle) and I use an Android phone. As soon as I can, I’ll definitely give it a try.
I think this is super interesting. There’s no doubt, it’s an idea that customers have been asking for on MyStarbucksIdea.com. (Starbucks launched MyStarbucksIdea in March 2008: It’s an idea website where anyone can submit an idea for Starbucks.) Take a look at these MyStarbucksIdea.com threads: Order Your Drink Ahead of Time, Ability to order drinks from the Starbucks App, Order in advance, Order from smart phone while waiting in line, Order your drink from your phone, Order from your phone, Order through app, pre-order drinks prior to arrival, and there are many, many more such ideas on MyStarbucksIdea.com.
I’d love to hear what you think – Have you tried mobile order & pay at Starbucks? Would you use it?
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While i am a huge proponent of technological advancement – i think that i would use this feature only sparingly (if i am in a rush or running late). I think one of the biggest assets that Starbucks has beyond their product – is their people. The interaction with the customer and partners is key for me – i throroughly enjoying the same baristas each time i visit my favorite stores – and having brief chat, especially if they know you by name, ect.
I know this has been expected for some time now. I have to say I have mixed feelings about it. I can see a number of problems with it being used successfully and I also from a personal point of view do not often allow my location to be noted. It surely will be interesting to see how it unfolds. Wonder what DadCooks feels about it. BTW have not seen any of his comments in a bit. DadCooks hope you are ok.
As a Barista, I have no idea how this is going to be implemented. If I were a customer in line I would be upset if someone came into the store and took priority over me because they ordered ahead. It’s unrealistic to think that the order ahead person will have gotten their order entered completely and correctly. And if you’re five minutes late, do you want cold coffee and food. #canofworms
Im not one to say since i work in Europe now, but as a use to be American partner i can see this as an issue. a new system updates in the computer would be needed. People newly trained for it.. how about the customers that are normally ordering and waiting? Like do you jump the line? Will beverage routine continue to be the same or is there an extra partner just for the online drinks? Im already confused now.. if anyone can tell us some info from how its like behind the bar of one of these stores it would be interesting 🙂 i think idea is neat.. but personally i like to talk and order with my barista.
Not sure I’m a fan of this. After many years of “freshness and beverage quality” being beat into us and making the customer connection being a hallmark of our legendary service, this seems rather to defeat the purpose. Also given the fact that we have minimal space to queue the orders we already have, you’re going to have to wait on the DT line anyway because no one will want to pick up in the store, bogo’s could have the propensity to be a nightmare; unless there is a dedicated prep area and barista for pick-ups, this may be more headache than breakthrough. Frappuccinos start to breakdown almost immediately. Wait another 5 minutes and it has pretty much separated. Cooled beverages and sandwiches would also be another issue. Customer perception of speed of service or (Lord, help us) the entitlement of the “elite” ( those who have stars upon thars), may raise the dissatisfaction bar. On the pro side-you know when that 10 drink order is coming in.
I think this is a great option to add even if not everyone uses it. On the days when I don’t want to wait in line and would normally just pass up buying a cup, I can order from the office or the commute and head down to pick it up.
I would not use it myself. Seems it would take away from the Starbucks connection. I know there isn’t always a connection of any kind these days but I always hope for the best. I can see lots of problems with this idea but I shall just continue to do it the old fashioned way for as long as it exists.
In Portland, Starbucks advertises this on billboards along highways. They seem to encourage people to place orders while driving to a store. Punching buttons on a smartphone while driving is extremely dangerous — just look at the statistics of accidents while texting — and is illegal in Oregon. Starbucks is being irresponsible here.
I feel a lot of “this is cold, will you remake it?” coming on…
I’m hoping these orders will just be grab and go and that customers won’t have to jump a line to get someone to get their order for them.
Hi Melody. I’m a partner in LA and my store is in “wave 2” that goes live in May. My question is; if the store happens to run out of blueberry scones, would the app have inventory information available to customers to see what we have in stock?
The Panera Bread near me has something like this. You order and pay in the app, and they have a bookshelf-like unit right when you walk in the store that they place all the orders on. They write your name on the bag and you just grab it and go. I wonder if it will be something similar to this? I’ve always wondered though if anyone ever just grabs a random person’s food and runs….
I have mixed feelings about this. I’m all for using technology and making things easier in life, but I also like the interaction with baristas, the smiles and high fives (which I usually get when I’m treating myself to a drink on a special occasion). If I used this service, would there be a seperate line for Pickups? And like other people have said, will the mobile order customers take precedence over the customers inside? I guess we will all just have to wait and see how it plays out.
I think this would be best when you are ordering multiple drinks for an office group. Imagine if the guy in front of you wanted to order seven different drinks? The KEY will be keeping it hot
The writing is on the wall, mark my word, as labor costs continue to increase technology will be employed to reduce the number of employees. All you folks that think this is a great move forward, think again, on the near horizon is a Starbucks experience with no personal contact. You will order remotely or via a tablet in the store, your order will be prepared and delivered by automatic machines and robots.
There will be a few boutique stores, like the Roastery and Clover/Reserve stores where there will be some people but everything will be at a premium price.
Be careful what you ask for.
Starbucks in South Korea has had this for quite a while and it seems to work very well. I can’t wait. As a regular customer I would use this all the time. If drinks or food are slightly colder than expected then that is my fault for ordering too early.
We have to clear 30″ of counter space specifically for these orders. Heck we NEED 30″ MORE of counter space! We have NO space as it is! You’ll still have to get a barista to get your order for you, so I’m not sure I understand the point of this at all.
Wow I can’t believe all the concern and tepidness over this. I don’t get anything at all negative, its all positive. If you don’t want to order with an app then don’t but don’t force us all to live in the 20th century because you’re afraid of progress. I mean do you realize the labor savings in time alone for the store. No payment time, the order has been charged all ready with the app, no 5 minute discussions on the 1 million drink customizations you want, youve already indicated what you want on the app and reviewed it. You put in a time in the app, so they know exactly when to leave it out in the waiting area and you just run by and grab it. Absolutely zero transaction. Who on the face of the planet would not like this as an added option? Baffles me. You don’t have to use it.
I’m not sure where my comment went but someone responded asking me if customers can just walk in and skip the line and yes, they can. They go directly to the hand off plane and ask for their drink which interrupts the barista’s flow, especially during the busy times. I’m not sure about cold drinks but I would guess they would have to be remade. That’s another reason it’s kind of annoying that you can’t choose a time period to have your drink made, rather than just 2-5 minutes from order time. Someone else asked about what happens when the store is out of a specific pastry but a customer orders that pastry from the app. There’s no way for the app to know when a store has sold out of say a blueberry scone for the day so when you go in, they just tell you to pick a different pastry since you’ve already paid for one. That’s another flaw in the system. Overall, I think the mobile ordering could work but there’s still a lot of issues with it.
In regards to being out of scones or sandwiches or whatever…there’s a POS button that should hopefully be life by launch day where you can turn off certain items. This should reduce that problem significantly.
@Kelsey – Thank you for reposting your comment. I think I actually lost a few comments that were posted right when the site was being migrated from one hosting service to another, night before last.
I think there could be enormous confusion when people try to order a pastry that’s out. We’ll see how it goes. There is one good side to the new app (well, theoretical possibility – I’ve never used it – I’m thinking out loud here) is that I think it could take some pressure off the register barista and actually allow more time to discover and connect with the customers who do wait in line. The group who use the app will be a self selecting group where obviously, at least in that moment in time, connection isn’t important. Maybe this will improve the register experience for others?
I’m very optimistic about this, actually. Our roll out is wave two, during the summer.
Here’s how I see this going down:
1) When the roll out happens, not everyone will know about it, so the orders will be far and few between…
2) I don’t think customers will be upset if we intelligently, and courteously incorporate MOP customer orders with in-store orders. They do that other restaurants, and I have been that customer who gets interrupted to fulfill an online/mobile order… and I understood. MOST people will be understanding. (Not all, but MOST.)
3) Eventually word will get out and will attract new business! Trends will develop, and any kinks that happen will have solutions by the time it starts getting popular. (AKA Dr. Offices ordering online every Wednesday around 9am… SM’s should be smart enough to staff for that trend, and baristas should communicate to their SM about that trend so there’s enough labor to support it!)
4) I see this as a great tool for the customers who are in our stores for multiple hours a day who want their second drink, or for someone who wanted to order their fave Blueberry Scone, but forgot at the register. That customer can sit down, order from their phone, and wait for their beverage without making multiple stops at the register, then sit down, remember they wanted a scone, get back in line, get back up to get their order at the hand off plane, etc.
Since this will alleviate some work for the POS partner, I’m going to recommend to my partners to flex to bar more to support the extra bar partners work.
I used this Pre Order option for the first time today in Seattle. My drink was ready when I walked in. I live only 3 blocks away . SWEET ! The only thing that would be even better would be the option to pre order the same drink each day, without having to go thru picking it out each time and adding, cream, flavors, size, etc.
How do the customers know what food we have pulled to thaw and when we run out of something –
Kp, let’s say you run out of sausage sandwiches. There is a button on the pod under functions called item availability. You would go there and click that item as unavailable. It is then removed from mobile ordering!
@Jocelyn, it is always good to hear the way it is supposed to be from Partners/Baristas that earn their capital letter in my book.
Too bad your great attitude is becoming less and less prevalent, too many people can’t be bothered with “details”.
BTW @Melody – your site continues to improve and improve. Your site evolution is a benchmark.
I used this once, I think at the end of April, and it worked great. There was a big line, but honestly nobody notices you discretely slip up to the pickup area where your drink gets anounced, complete with the little sticker the special printer makes for the barista to affix to your cup. I also serves to tell him/her what you want. Not that many people will be doing it that the line will get annoyed.
BUT– a funny thing happened….my usual drink, a double espresso on ice, disappeared from the mobile order menu. The first time, it worked like a charm. Not since. Four times it didn’t work. I thought the app was buggy or broken. Then the lightbulb went on in my head, and I pulled up a pricy drink– what I call the “Baskin-Robbins drinks”– and voilà, it shows up. What’s up with that, Starbucks? I know my simple double-shot of espresso on ice isn’t as big a moneymaker for you as the foofy drinks, but did you really pull the cheap drinks off mobile order for that reason? Or is it a coincidence?
I’m happy to say that as mysteriously as those several drinks disappeared from Mobile Order and Pay, that’s how inexplicably they came back. I successfully used Mobile Order again in Seattle (June 6th) and it worked perfectly. While I was at it, I asked the barista, “Do you guys like that feature, or do you find it annoying?” He answered, “I do– I like it myself. It works well, it ensures the order is right, and it cuts down on delay in the line. So yeah, I like it.” Unscientific survey at one, but there you have it.
I have used the mobile order and pay several times and it works great! I have a iPhone and Android, so as soon as that app is out for Android’s I will be using it on there also.