Mobile App Ordering Gets Complicated
Cause of Longer In-Store Wait Times
The 'in-store waiting time delay' has been identified as the top priority issue that the newly appointed CEO, who was hired as a savior for Starbucks with a huge salary, must resolve.
On the 18th (local time), CNBC reported, "Crowded counters due to mobile orders, customers annoyed while waiting for their drinks, and baristas struggling to handle backlog orders have become familiar scenes at Starbucks," adding, "Brian Niccol, the new CEO starting next month, must solve the mobile application (app) issues." Earlier, Starbucks announced last week the resignation of CEO Laxman Narasimhan and appointed Niccol, who leads the American fast-food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, as the next Starbucks CEO and Executive Chairman of the Board.
The mobile ordering service, which accounts for about one-third of Starbucks' sales, has long been identified as a major cause of deteriorating in-store customer experience. While the mobile app provides users with a convenient ordering environment, the addition of details such as milk foam or syrup types tends to make orders more complex. This increases the time baristas spend processing orders, naturally extending customers' waiting times.
Howard Schultz, Starbucks' lifetime honorary chairman known as the 'Coffee Emperor,' also pointed out this issue during a podcast appearance last June, calling it "Starbucks' biggest Achilles' heel." He recalled a similar experience when he visited a Starbucks store in Chicago, saying, "People who ordered via mobile showed up, and suddenly it became a mess. It was not the Starbucks I knew."
Nancy Tengler, CEO of rapper Tengler Investments, stated, "Waiting times are a big problem even at Starbucks stores in New York," and criticized, "Currently, mobile orders are prioritized over in-store orders, but if we want people to spend more time and money in stores, this needs to be reversed somehow."
The activation of mobile ordering has increased the burden on baristas and also influenced the formation of the Starbucks union, which began in 2021. In November last year, Starbucks unions in the U.S. pressured the company to disable the mobile ordering function during promotional events such as price discounts or free drink offers.
CNBC pointed out that Niccol, who will take office as Starbucks' new leader on September 9, has the capability to solve these problems. This is based on his track record of streamlining Chipotle's online ordering system and boosting sales. In particular, Niccol reportedly launched an online order-only menu to speed up processing and experimented with reducing preparation time for the 'burrito bowl,' which has many options, through collaboration with a robotics company.
Meanwhile, according to regulatory filings cited by AP News and others, Niccol will receive compensation worth $85 million (approximately 115 billion KRW) for leaving Chipotle and joining Starbucks, including $10 million in cash (about 1.35 billion KRW) and $75 million in stock (about 101 billion KRW). In addition, he will receive an annual base salary of $1.6 million (about 220 million KRW) as CEO, and up to $8.8 million (about 1.19 billion KRW) in cash bonuses if performance targets are met. From the 2025 fiscal year, he will also be eligible for stock bonuses of up to $23 million (about 3.12 billion KRW) annually based on performance.
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