Starbucks customers say wait times have gotten really long, so I went to check it out

Mon, 09/30/2024 - 06:14

The reporter stands outside a Starbucks cafe wearing a dark blue polo shirt and holding a pumpkin spice frappuccino with a green straw sticking out of it. — I ordered drinks at three different Starbucks locations.
Alex Bitter/BI

Wait times at Starbucks have gotten long, with some customers waiting nearly 30 minutes.
It's a challenge for the coffee chain as CEO Brian Niccol gets settled in his new role.
I visited three Washington, DC-area Starbucks stores to see how bad the waits were.

A lot of people are tired of hanging around for their orders at Starbucks.

Wait times at the coffee chains' stores have gotten close to half an hour, Business Insider previously reported.

Starbucks store employees have pointed to some of the reasons. Some venues are understaffed. Others are also dealing with a flood of orders customers have placed online and through Starbucks' mobile app.

It's a problem that Brian Niccol, who joined Starbucks as CEO earlier this month, will have to deal with. Niccol oversaw the creation of an online ordering system at Chipotle over the last several years, and some analysts expect that Starbucks will be able to find a solution to its operational challenges under his leadership.

To get a feel for how bad the problem is, I headed out to a few Starbucks locations in the Washington, DC, area.

At each, I ordered a tall Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino. I also wanted to try different ways of ordering: Multiple Starbucks employees — or "partners," as the chain calls them — have told me that drive-thru wait times are one of the most important metrics their managers track.

Would going through the drive-thru get me my drink faster than ordering through the Starbucks app? Here's what I found.

Do you work at Starbucks and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com.

My first stop was this Starbucks in Alexandria, Virginia.

A Starbucks cafe — The reporter outside the entrance to the Starbucks
Alex Bitter/BI

This Starbucks is located in a shopping center. It's also near a major highway used by many people commuting between the suburbs of Northern Virginia and Washington, DC.

This location doesn't have a drive thru, so I just ordered through the app.

The Starbucks app — A screenshot of the app after I placed my first order of the day
Alex Bitter/BI

I ordered shortly before 9 a.m. on a weekday, and my estimated wait time was between seven and 10 minutes.

Even in the morning rush, my drink was ready in about 12 minutes.

A counter at a Starbucks — The counter for finished orders
Alex Bitter/BI

This was just over the maximum 10 minutes that the app had indicated. Still, it wasn't too bad, especially considering that I ordered during one of the busiest times of the day at many Starbucks stores.

In the early afternoon, I stopped by a Starbucks in Waldorf, Maryland.

The exterior of a Starbucks store — The outside of the Starbucks store
Alex Bitter/BI

This Starbucks store was in an ex-urban area outside Washington, DC. Like the last store, though, it was near a highway and multiple large shopping centers.

This time, I pulled into the drive-thru to order one frappuccino ...

A Starbucks drive-thru — The drive-thru lane
Alex Bitter/BI

The drive-thru at this Starbucks store wasn't very busy around 12:30 p.m.

...just as I ordered another through a pick-up order that I had set up in the Starbucks app.

A screenshot shows an order on the Starbucks app — My second mobile order of the day
Alex Bitter/BI

This time, my estimated wait time was three to six minutes.

Both drinks were ready in about six minutes.

Two Starbucks beverages in a car's cupholders — Both frappuccinos in the cupholders of a car
Alex Bitter/BI

I got a notification on my phone that my pick-up drink was ready just as the worker at the drive-thru window handed me the other.

I did the same thing later that afternoon at a Starbucks in Southeast Washington, DC.

The reporter stands across the street from a Starbucks location in Washington, DC — The reporter in front of the Washington, DC, Starbucks
Alex Bitter/BI

This store is located in an urban area with several apartment buildings nearby. It's also one of the few Starbucks locations in Washington, DC, proper, with a drive-thru.

Again, I placed drive-thru and pick-up orders at the same time.

A Starbucks location in Washington, DC, as seen through the drive-thru lane — The drive-thru lane in at the Washington, DC, Starbucks
Alex Bitter/BI

Just like at the Maryland store, the Starbucks app advised me that my Frappuccino would be ready in three to six minutes.

I received one drink at the drive-thru in a couple of minutes...

The reporter holds a pumpkin spice frappuccino while behind the wheel of a car — My second-to-last Starbucks drink of the day
Alex Bitter/BI

This was the fastest drink of the day.

...and the other was ready inside the store in about six minutes.

The reporter holds a pumpkin spice frappuccino at a Starbucks in Washington, DC — My last Starbucks beverage of the day
Alex Bitter/BI

My second drink at this store was ready exactly at the upper limit that the app had given me.

I was impressed with the speed of the orders at the stores that I visited.

All but one of the Starbucks I visited got me my drinks within 10 minutes. It took slightly longer at the Alexandria location, though that was at a busy time of day.

At the other two stores, it didn't seem to matter whether I ordered through the app or by going through the drive-thru.

"Starbucks aims to provide an effortless experience no matter how a customer orders," a spokesperson told Business Insider. The spokesperson added that Starbucks improved the algorithm that determines the wait time that customers see in the app during the third quarter.

The spokesperson also pointed to the Siren Craft System, which is meant to "address wait times and ensure efficiency for customers and partners across channels."

But I know that many Starbucks customers don't have the same experience.

A paper cup seen at Starbucks location. — Starbucks has tried to cut down on wait times using the Siren Craft System.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

One Starbucks employee told me last month that managers at his store have cut employee hours in recent years, leaving fewer people to fill orders during many shifts. As a result, customers there wait up to 30 minutes for their orders, he said.

And while workflow changes such as the Siren Craft System have helped cut prep time for some drinks, according to Starbucks employees, more people making beverages would be a bigger help.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Retail, Starbucks, restaurants, Food, fast-food, Coffee

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Starbucks customers say wait times have gotten really long, so I went to check …