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Starbucks Barista — Coffee on-command through mobile or Alexa
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Stedman Halliday
Hunter
From the Starbucks press release:
"Select customers can now order coffee 'on command' using My Starbucks® barista as part of an initial feature rollout integrated seamlessly into the Starbucks mobile app for iOS. At the same time, the company is launching a Starbucks Reorder Skill on the popular Amazon Alexa platform. Both features allow customers to order from Starbucks simply by using their voice."
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@stedman_rh "Both features allow customers to order from Starbucks simply by using their voice". A standard process with face to face ordering in store! There's very little innovation here. Just over complication in trying to reinvent the wheel.
Hunter
@frank00 perhaps not as valuable for what it adds as for what it removes (wait times once in-store and the inflexibility of traditional user interfaces). Not all technology totally wows us, but at the end of the day, the goal is to offer the customer a more frictionless avenue to achieve their goals. Tech mirroring the strong parts of our everyday IRL interactions (and cutting out some of the weaknesses) is probably a sign that we're moving in the right direction.
@frank00 @stedman_rh Granted it's not true "innovation" but it makes a lot of sense from a logistics perspective. Shorter wait times in store, shorter lines, advance notice on orders, and removal of a potential choke point in store. This is a good move for Starbucks. Same reason other stores do in store pick up.
Why not make your own coffee? I calculated how much I was spending on starbucks and invested in a espresso machine and a grindr. Two years later and im break even. Plus i cant drink starbucks anymore, that shit is terrible compared to home made espresso.
@ericdiepeveen because not everyone lugs their grinder and espresso machine around with them when they want a coffee in the middle of the day
This will be interesting to try. The stickiness of voice products, for me at least, drops dramatically when there are even semi-frequent errors in recognition. When done through Alexa I have no concerns, but in-app will be the experience to watch.
Hunter
@mike_flores23 I tend to keep my distance from voice products for the same reason. But silver lining even if voice doesn't play nice right away: ordering a "double upside down macchiato half decaf with room and a splash of cream in a grande cup" has got to be faster through the messaging interface than traditionally.
The beautiful thing about this could be the simplicity of saying "order my usual" regardless of where you are...
