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Starbucks Testing Mobile Order and Pay In Portland On iOS
qubezz writes For those who just can't wait in line, Starbucks announced today that the caffeinated city of Portland will be the first stop in the roll-out of an app for ordering drinks from your mobile device (iPhone only, Android anticipated in 2015). Not a delivery service — it appears your pre-paid drink will be waiting at the end of the bar for the asking. The cost? The app won't operate unless you allow it access to GPS location services, potentially turning every coffee consumer's device into a tracking beacon. For the rest, there's still the independent site mapping which Starbucks are currently open.
Like the majority care about the potential of tracking when free things are involved.
Shut up and take my money.
For those who just can't help writing condescending opening lines... Isn't technology supposed to make our lives easier? This sounds darned convenient. I suspect location services are to ensure you're within range.
The reason people pay exorbitant fees for shitty coffee at Starbucks was to dress like a hipster and stand in line on your iPhone for a long time so everyone sees you and then talking to the barista about the latest fad indie rock group once you finally get to the front of the line.
Starbucks has a valid interest in making sure the shop that makes your coffee is the same one you're going to walk into when you want to pick it up. That helps them avoid making drinks that will never be consumed and helps customers avoid accidentally ordering from the wrong location.
They certainly could -- and very well might -- abuse access to your location data. But it's disingenuous to talk about such misuse without acknowledging that there is a perfectly valid reason from them to have that data during the normal use of the app, and that there's no more-specific permission they could request via the phone OS that would limit their access to only that specific use.
potentially turning every coffee consumer's device into a tracking beacon
Sensationalize much? Maybe it's just to tell which Starbucks you're closest to so it know where to place the order or narrow down the nearby store results? That would be the more likely reason.
Do people seriously think that any app requesting location services is turned into an always-on tracking beacon sending their every move back to Big Data(tm)?
Things you think are in the Constitution, but are not.
Would you like an XXXtra large latte? With extra foam?
I'm seeing single-store apps to order & pay all over the place. Wendy's, Burger King, now Starbucks...
Why would I want to have a different app for every single store I visit? That's why I have cash & common credit cards - they work everywhere.
Do not want. Doomed to fail.
Does this mean they can fire some cashiers and save some money, if enough people pay by mobile?
They're not trying to be the "moral police", you stupid fuck. They're trying to make sure that your order gets made in the store you're walking into, not the one two blocks down the street from the one you're walking into. That was right there in the GP's comment that you quoted but obviously didn't bother to read.
I want a to eat a Maine lobster. Oh, not that Portland?
I think the key here is "potentially." Are you willing to let Starbucks decide how much they can peek at your location data without even knowing if/when it's happening? If you had unfettered, effectively anonymous access to the current location of with the understanding that it was to facilitate locating each other for meetings, would you resist the temptation and never once peek at other times?
Seriously. Why even bother with the Pacific NW? They should try to pilot that on the Charbucks zombies in dense flyover country. Or the mid-west.
*** Sigs are a stupid waste of bandwidth.
They've 'managed' [in all the senses] to avoid paying taxes in the UK, so there's no reason to buy their weak, frothy, expensive, faux-hip coffee from them. Go away.
On y va, qui mal y pense!
They could have probably achieved the same thing by just having people use their wifi service? No GPS needed. The bonus is devices such as tablets could be used too. Sure it would mean needing to sign into wifi, but maybe giving people choice between wifi and GPS?
Maybe as an extension, they could even have someone walk the line, in busy locations, taking orders on a tablet, equipped with a card reader?
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
Not sure how this is newsworthy. This is what many stores already do. Panera comes to mind as well as Redbox and most big box stores with in store pickup, etc. Put in order and pickup time and pay for it with phone/cc details, then pick it up where you ordered it from. I think this should be more of an "it's about time" article.
Have you tried their app? I happen to live in Portland and work downtown.. the Starbucks at US Banc Corp Tower is probably the busiest in the city -- ordering ahead already saved me about 20 minutes last week.
Doomed to fail.
Its been a massive success for both employees and customers. This IS the way regulars will order for the foreseeable future.
Enjoy your wait in line.