WIFI | PUSH NOTIFICATION

Streamlining Coffee

CHALLENGES

CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE

USER INTERVIEWS / DATA COLLECTION

In Store Observations

Over the course of the past few months I sat in a number of Starbucks for various amounts of time, simply observing people behaviors. I caught some people and got to talk to them about their experience, targeting people that would step outside of the norm of the typical customer. These people ranged from people who got out of line, people who went through the line and used the app to pay, to people who have the app and forgot to utilize it, and even people who did not know about the app.

All in all the ot bean water seems to be something people can not do without.

Observation 1

MAIN AND DUNCAN WALNUT CREEK, CA

PEOPLE WILL WAIT

Even though coffee shops are littered in urban and suburban areas, people will wait in line for upwards of 6-8 mins just to get a warm (or cold) cup of joe. This was abundantly clear on Thanksgiving after the local Turkey Trot. The line was 12-14 people deep, causing a huge ordering back up. Even after standing in line for 8 mins, they then had to wait for the two franticly overwhelmed baristas to make their drink.

Line wait time: 12-16 mins

App Wait time: 6-8 Mins

Observation 2

SPEAR AND HOWARD SAN FRANCISCO, CA

A RACE TO THE FINISH LINE

This observation came while working side by side with a classmate, as he got up to go get a coffee I raced to pull out my app to order. Leasierly I order my simple drip coffee with vanilla flavor (added time). I went back to work and waited for my name to be called. After a short amount of time roughly a min and a half, my name was called, i grabbed my bean water, and docerted it up to my liking at the cream and sugar station. I look at my classmate to assess where he is in the process he had just got done ordering, and he was waiting for his name to be called.

After he got his drink I stopped the timer and started to low key interview him. I started by asking how many people were in line, he responded 2 or 3. I then asked if he had the app, his response was yes. I was shocked. He went on to tell me he does use it because he forgets that he has it and that he “(hasn’t) organized it into a folder and that's where I keep the apps I use”.

Line wait time: 5 mins

App Wait time: 2.5 mins

Observation 3

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / DANVILLE, CA

THE RESERVE EXPERIENCE

This is a STARBUCKS RESERVE, recently changed over. While I thought the experience would be different, it was very similar to most suburban locations, while the STARBUCKS RESERVE Urban Locations (SF) seemed to have a different vibe. In SF the Reserve seemed to hold more one on one business meetings.

The RESERVE has a sit down bar for service as well as the normal walk up that customers are use to. After sitting in the store observing for a couple hour on multiple occasions it became clear to me that many people did not know about this, or have time for it as it was the most empty part of the stores.

In addition I would order on my app when there were more than two people in line, this lead me to ask the barista on how the tickets come through, mobile vs POS. He explained to me that they come in the order that they are received, but food/regular drinks / specialty drinks all end up in different locations. This helped make sense of some loose ends I have within my thought process.

Line wait time: 5 mins

App Wait time: 2.5 mins

Observation 4

VARIOUS STARBUCKS ESTABLISHMENTS, USA

BYE FELICIA

This one’s pretty straight forward. While most customers or addicts have made the decision that they want, even sometimes need coffee, will wait in ridiculous lines. Some causal customers walk in and 360 their way right on out.

PAIN POINTS

With such a large number of people having the app installed world wide, I found two major points of contention.

1. People forget the have the app installed, they then proceed to go and order as they have in the past by getting in line and ordering via the barista.

   Pain Points this Causes:

   1. The influx of people in line. The time it takes to order is increased due the the “translation” of your order into shorthand Starbucks lingo.

   2. Man hours and precious real estate on the business end are being eaten up by cashiers and register space. Efficiencies could be put in place to make the space work harder for the business.

2. Speed, people use the app for speed, weather they are running late, or are planning ahead. They want to walk in grab their coffee and go!

   Pain Points this Causes:

   1. If there are alot of people in line, my order may not be ready when they app say it is.

   2. People may take my order by accident, then I have to have it remade, which defeats the original purpose of having this

3. People want rewards! People love the rewards. Some people don’t care if they oder on the app, or in person with the “Pay Feature” they just want their free drink.

   Pain Points this Cause:

   N/A

4. People don’t care how they get their coffee, they just want their coffee!!

   Pain Points this Causes

   1. Angry customers when they dont get what they want and fast!

SOLUTIONS

1. APP | WIFI AUTO CONNECT

   Starbucks already has all the necessary ingredients for this to work, some code tweaking, and a couple privacy privileges from the user and something like this could be a reality. You would never have to get into line, you would be prompted to confirm your order upon walking into to given location.
   
   

2. SBXPRESS

This idea is to take a page out of the playbook of past retailers and current retailers. With all the meta data collected from the current users on the app. Starbucks could open Starbucks Express (SBXPress), and the name comes with a gamut of play on words.