Comment on Sienna Richardson-Isberg’s Blog

Sienna wrote a blog named “The Convenience of Coffee” which I found extremely interesting. It is about Starbucks’ innovative new way of ordering your coffee off of an app on your cell phone. Basically, this app is the same as using a Starbucks gift card except you also write your order in the appropriate place and then the barista  scans the phone. Although I agree that this process is highly innovative, I do not believe this is a good strategy for Starbucks. People love their morning conversations with the friendly men and women making their coffee exactly the way they like it. The customers develop a bond with their usual baristas and enjoy the face to face interactions. Now, because of technology, there are limited opportunities for this kind of genuine contact between consumers and those supplying the desired product. This app could allow the staff at Starbucks to be less engaging because they deal with phones rather than people and in turn this disconnected way of working will be transferred to the customers who actually value their verbal interactions. After all, people do not just choose Starbucks for their coffee, but for the entire brand they have created which includes a welcoming environment maintained by amicable employees.

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