Starbucks and Returns at Drive Up

This sounds like one of those ideas that should've stayed in the concept phase. A problem I continue to see with Target is that there are a lot of great creative ideas but very few realism-checks on any of it. I see so many potential things going wrong with this. Rejected returns? Completing returns in freezing weather? Wrong Starbucks order? Starbucks drink spilled on the way out? Knowing Target and their commitment to impossible levels of service, that two minute goal time is guaranteed to stay put.
 
Times Up said:
So if there's a long line at SBux, Karen goes back to her car and places her order there. Then she gets all upset when here order doesn't bump all of the other orders so that she can be next. Yeah, this is going to work just great!
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Reminds me of a guest at my store. She puts in OPUs multiples everyday. She also does a lot of in store shopping and returns. She's actually pretty nice. But, if she's waiting too long in line at the service desk for her return or pick up, she'll open up the app and change her order to drive up because she knows that'll get her special treatment. Nice woman overall and not a typical I Want to Speak to Your Manager Karen, but she knows how to work the system.
 
If it could be done well, then it would be very good for target. I have reservations though. We would need 2 espresso machines, 2-3 blenders, and a 2nd oven. People in my area LOVE their starbucks. I can't wait to see how this plays out LOL
 
I can see guests using this just to get there drinks faster. Fast food and Restaurants have to get their Doordash, Ubereats, etc. orders together before they can do in-store orders. Hopefully Starbucks is lucky and they will get more hours to hire more people.
 
So this is by all accounts some bat shit crazy shizz. None of it appears to have been thought through it fails at every step so of course we will roll it out to every store during fourth quarter.
 
Our Starbucks is backed up a lot and they borrow someone from guest service to ring up orders.

Will the guest still be able to order a drink in this situation?

Would the store have to call corporate to disable it?

I think the stores still have to call corporate to disable drive-ups do to lightning and/or heavy rains.
 
Dream Baby said:
Our Starbucks is backed up a lot and they borrow someone from guest service to ring up orders.

Will the guest still be able to order a drink in this situation?

Would the store have to call corporate to disable it?

I think the stores still have to call corporate to disable drive-ups do to lightning and/or heavy rains.
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We used to call and have it turned off but since they don’t really like we stores do that we have just been posting the signs outside and leaving it enabled.

the off switch only really prevented new orders from being placed as drive up but didn’t stop someone from using the on my way button.
 
Asuras said:
What happens when the one barista is scheduled and need to go on their lunch? There are many stores out there that literally schedules 1 barista. And when they go on lunch, has to shut down (or not take a break at all).
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That's a pretty serious violation, so I'm guessing Target won't account for that.

Then again, company operated stores close left and right now with covid.
 
NKG said:
Karen will try to order Starbucks during a tornado
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We’ve had that with regular drive ups. Then guest calls in pissed that no one is bringing out her order and she’s been sitting out there continuously hitting the I'm here button. “Um mam, do you hear the sirens going off? There is currently a tornado warning and no one is coming out with your order”.
 
targetuser said:
We’ve had that with regular drive ups. Then guest calls in pissed that no one is bringing out her order and she’s been sitting out there continuously hitting the I'm here button. “Um mam, do you hear the sirens going off? There is currently a tornado warning and no one is coming out with your order”.
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This.
We've had guests coming up during raging storms with thunder & lightning while drive up TMs just nope from the doorway.
 
lucidtm said:
I imagine the guest will place the order and it'll go through to Starbucks.

Drive Up TM's will get the notification that the "guest" is ready for pickup or there, Starbucks makes the drink, and Drive Up will go get it. It wouldn't make sense for Fulfillment to grab it, stow it in a Waco and let it sit there to melt, spill, rot in the pick up area. Not to mention, if the guest decided not to pick it up the drink would just go to waste.

I think this entire deal is going to be a cluster fuck. They don't give enough hours as it is and there surely isn't enough space for more chaos. Our Starbucks is staffed well and still has lines around the corner. The lines will be INSANE with drive up available.

Also, can you imagine the guest complaints with the drive up returns situation?! These poor drive up TM's will have to deal with their BS when it's not a drive up order purchase and they have to come in for any reason. Or, will the S&E TL need to come out to them to explain everything they didn't read before trying to do this return?

Once again, Target corp, thanks for doing things that make lives miserable and make no sense. Please find a more sensible way to one-up your competitors.
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right now they have to do more than one-up cuz they are about six behind
 
For stores that don’t have Starbucks close to drive up that doesn’t matter. The solution isn’t getting the drink from Starbucks to the front.

the solution is buying more equipment to make drinks that is closer to drive up. It would most likely be a ghost kitchen that doesn’t serve in store guests and only handles the orders that come in through the app for drive up. Another barista or two to handle those orders could be hired. Keep the current Starbucks serving in store guests only and buy more equipment for handling the digital drive up orders. As someone that thinks about logistics a lot it doesn’t make sense to haul the drive throughout the store. Just build a separate ghost kitchen that guests don’t see closer to drive up that focuses on only those drive up guests
 
SuperTarget said:
For stores that don’t have Starbucks close to drive up that doesn’t matter. The solution isn’t getting the drink from Starbucks to the front.

the solution is buying more equipment to make drinks that is closer to drive up. It would most likely be a ghost kitchen that doesn’t serve in store guests and only handles the orders that come in through the app for drive up. Another barista or two to handle those orders could be hired. Keep the current Starbucks serving in store guests only and buy more equipment for handling the digital drive up orders. As someone that thinks about logistics a lot it doesn’t make sense to haul the drive throughout the store. Just build a separate ghost kitchen that guests don’t see closer to drive up that focuses on only those drive up guests
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I chuckled as I read this, some stores can barely hire as it is. Let alone getting staffed properly for normal operations for guest facing. Starbucks already get bottom of the barrel in hours. Best I can see them doing is throwing raindrop of hours to even to do this. And the amount of time it takes to train a barista to be proficient. And factoring in the fact that its another area to clean and stay Ecolab(or whatever it is now) compliant. So I don't see Target investing on two separate Starbucks areas.
 

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