Starbucks is reportedly pouring billions of dollars into cutting wait times for a caffeine fix by precious seconds, according to a report.
The Seattle-based coffee giant has focused on streamlining its operations by giving baristas better tools to reduce the five-minute or longer wait for their popular drinks, according to Bloomberg News.
The biggest change will be implementing a new bar setup at all of the chain’s 9,500 US-based locations with what it’s calling a Siren System, which will bring all the items needed for making cold drinks within reach.
The system, still in testing, allows baristas to dispense milk or ice with a press of a button instead of constantly having to reach down into freezers, as well as to pump syrup.
The company also plans to swap out its coffee urns for a high-tech French press, the Clover Vertica, which can grind coffee beans and brew a cup of java in 30 seconds — a process initiated by the touch of a button, according to Bloomberg News.
The Clover Vertica will eventually phase out the old system whereby baristas prepared coffee using an urn that brewed every 30 minutes.
Under the old system, whatever coffee wasn’t sold in the half-hour interval was thrown out, according to Bloomberg News.
Starbucks plans to have the Clover Vertica in two-fifths of its stores by next month, Bloomberg News reported.
A smaller tweak involved replacing its countertop blenders with a portable cold foamer to froth up milk. Whereas baristas would bump into each other as they tried to move toward the stationary blender, they can now make the foam using the hand-held device.
Starbucks also wants to update customers on wait times by using data gleaned from stores and displaying it on apps, according to Bloomberg News.
The revamp was spearheaded by the company’s founder Howard Schultz, who briefly returned to the chief executive officer post in place of Kevin Johnson after he abruptly resigned last year.
Schultz stepped down again in March, making way for Laxman Narasimhan, the former head of consumer products conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group, the company behind popular brand names such as Lysol, Woolite, and Mucinex.
The company told Bloomberg News that customer feedback has been positive, but employees say they are understaffed, resulting in longer wait times.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, you need to be more personable, more this, more that.’” Zoe Custer, a barista at a Manhattan-based Starbucks, told Bloomberg News.
“Well, we’re already stretching ourselves, because we don’t have enough people.”
The Post has sought comment from Starbucks.
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