What prompts someone to act like this? (Stealing someone else's Starbucks order)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yeah, so I assume she also ordered a bagel and cream cheese and I get the frustration with having to wait a long time for your order.

Of course, when that's happened to me, I just ask the baristas about my order, as opposed to just taking someone else's food.

I mean, couldn't it have been she ordered the exact same thing so it really was (or should have been, or she tHought it was) hers and she thinks you tried to get in front of her and take her order and defended herself?

I'm sure she did think that. Of course, given that the barista called out my name and my name was on the bag, I wasn't trying to take her order at all. Not my fault my order came out before hers.

[Anonymous]

Why are all the details necessary for the story?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know, but it's technically shoplifting/stealing.

Not really. She presumably paid for a bagel. She took a bagel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What has to happen in someone's life to lead them to the point where they're willing to literally grab someone's order and walk out with it?

I'll tell you what has to happen in someone's life to deter them from even thinking about grabbing someone's order and walking out with it ever again...


She's gonna keep doing it until somebody gives her a overhand shot to her dome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never do this myself, and I would react in much the same way as the OP.

I DO understand the motivation. The Starbucks mobile ordering system has made in-store ordering a sh*tshow. When transacting as a walk-up customer I’ve waited as long as 15 minutes for my order to come out. With time spent in line, I can wait around longer than I spend consuming my food. I think this customer was trying to express to the employees that they aren’t doing a good job of balancing the onslaught of mobile orders against the people who are right in front of them. However, most rational people understand that’s a corporate policy, staffing, and technology issue, not a choice the baristas are making.

Mobile ordering, Uber eats, grub hub, etc has ruined the experience for me at a few of our favorite local restaurants (We are in OT) for the reason stated above. There seems to no limit on the number of online and mobile orders people can place and it exponentially increases the number of orders a kitchen has to make without increasing the size and staff of the same kitchen. I was at Momo Sushi the other day, a place I’ve been going to since it opened 15 years ago. We love that place. But the insane amount of delivery drivers waiting for their order to be finished was incredible. It took forever to get our order, same order as always and it wasn’t even a full restaurant. As an in person customer, you’re now competing for service with an unlimited number of people ordering online. Same problem at M2M in Del Ray, especially if a large group (like an office) has placed an order together.

Ok, well that's an issue with the restaurant not sufficiently controlling how many people order online. It's not an inherent problem with online ordering.

NP here, I agree with you but I would be curious if there is a limit for Starbucks and other restaurants for online ordering, especially when there are multiple channels. Sure you probably can help it with a Starbucks app algorithm for the estimated wait time, more wait if many orders come in together but what about the other third party delivery services. How can they control all of them at once? What seemed like a super convenient way to have less people wait in line has turned some places, like Starbucks but other restaurants as well, into a completely different waiting experience as it was just a few years ago. OP initially asked what would motivate someone to do this. Well a few posters have answered: waiting too long in person for an order that gets stuck behind invisible people online orders. So what if you ordered first, other people left their house and were in person first. Who wins here?’ I don’t know.

I’ve definitely ordered online while waiting in line after seeing how long the in person line was (at Shake Shack a few times). It was pretty incredible how I was able to just jump in front of all the people via the app right there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP here, I agree with you but I would be curious if there is a limit for Starbucks and other restaurants for online ordering, especially when there are multiple channels. Sure you probably can help it with a Starbucks app algorithm for the estimated wait time, more wait if many orders come in together but what about the other third party delivery services. How can they control all of them at once? What seemed like a super convenient way to have less people wait in line has turned some places, like Starbucks but other restaurants as well, into a completely different waiting experience as it was just a few years ago. OP initially asked what would motivate someone to do this. Well a few posters have answered: waiting too long in person for an order that gets stuck behind invisible people online orders. So what if you ordered first, other people left their house and were in person first. Who wins here?’ I don’t know.

I’ve definitely ordered online while waiting in line after seeing how long the in person line was (at Shake Shack a few times). It was pretty incredible how I was able to just jump in front of all the people via the app right there.

It's the modern customer-service equivalent of when you went to a store and were dealing with a salesperson, and then the phone rang and they dealt with the phone customer instead of you, while you stood there and waited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds about white.

Let’s no go there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP here, I agree with you but I would be curious if there is a limit for Starbucks and other restaurants for online ordering, especially when there are multiple channels. Sure you probably can help it with a Starbucks app algorithm for the estimated wait time, more wait if many orders come in together but what about the other third party delivery services. How can they control all of them at once? What seemed like a super convenient way to have less people wait in line has turned some places, like Starbucks but other restaurants as well, into a completely different waiting experience as it was just a few years ago. OP initially asked what would motivate someone to do this. Well a few posters have answered: waiting too long in person for an order that gets stuck behind invisible people online orders. So what if you ordered first, other people left their house and were in person first. Who wins here?’ I don’t know.

I’ve definitely ordered online while waiting in line after seeing how long the in person line was (at Shake Shack a few times). It was pretty incredible how I was able to just jump in front of all the people via the app right there.

It's the modern customer-service equivalent of when you went to a store and were dealing with a salesperson, and then the phone rang and they dealt with the phone customer instead of you, while you stood there and waited.

I don’t agree because the customers on the phone aren’t necessarily getting complete orders in their hand whether pick up mobile or delivery. Not the same model.

[Anonymous]

I do use the online ordering on occasion. Yet, many times I’ve been in a work situation where the person leading the meeting/training says they’ll call a break at a good stopping point rather than a set time. We then adjourn for 15. I once walked into an EMPTY Starbucks and ordered and was still late returning to my meeting next door.

People who’s jobs/daily routines are car dependent also get hosed by mobile ordering. When driving point-to-point, we don’t always know how much extra time we have to stop, and we can’t always pull over and use our phones to pre-order.

Then there are people who do not have or prefer not to use smartphone apps. Retailers certainly use apps for data collection, and some people prefer to limit that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never do this myself, and I would react in much the same way as the OP.

I DO understand the motivation. The Starbucks mobile ordering system has made in-store ordering a sh*tshow. When transacting as a walk-up customer I’ve waited as long as 15 minutes for my order to come out. With time spent in line, I can wait around longer than I spend consuming my food. I think this customer was trying to express to the employees that they aren’t doing a good job of balancing the onslaught of mobile orders against the people who are right in front of them. However, most rational people understand that’s a corporate policy, staffing, and technology issue, not a choice the baristas are making.

Yeah I am 100% done with the Starbucks closest to my office because orders just take forever. Cell reception is terrible in my office so putting in a mobile order isn't always feasible anyway. But the baristas get so confused/overwhelmed that my order not only has gotten buried behind mobile orders, but even behind people who were in line behind me. You constantly have to remind them or you could be waiting there indefinitely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are all the details necessary for the story?

+1
It was Saturday, we were going to practice, I was picking up an order for all 3 of us, they were in the car.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP here, I agree with you but I would be curious if there is a limit for Starbucks and other restaurants for online ordering, especially when there are multiple channels. Sure you probably can help it with a Starbucks app algorithm for the estimated wait time, more wait if many orders come in together but what about the other third party delivery services. How can they control all of them at once? What seemed like a super convenient way to have less people wait in line has turned some places, like Starbucks but other restaurants as well, into a completely different waiting experience as it was just a few years ago. OP initially asked what would motivate someone to do this. Well a few posters have answered: waiting too long in person for an order that gets stuck behind invisible people online orders. So what if you ordered first, other people left their house and were in person first. Who wins here?’ I don’t know.

I’ve definitely ordered online while waiting in line after seeing how long the in person line was (at Shake Shack a few times). It was pretty incredible how I was able to just jump in front of all the people via the app right there.

It's the modern customer-service equivalent of when you went to a store and were dealing with a salesperson, and then the phone rang and they dealt with the phone customer instead of you, while you stood there and waited.

I don’t agree because the customers on the phone aren’t necessarily getting complete orders in their hand whether pick up mobile or delivery. Not the same model.

The point is that the customer service person was making people who weren't there (they were on the phone) a higher priority than the people who were there.

People who are there should be a higher priority, which should also mean that people who ordered in person should come before people who ordered online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds about white.

Oh shut up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are all the details necessary for the story?

+1
It was Saturday, we were going to practice, I was picking up an order for all 3 of us, they were in the car.....

Literally you haven't left out any details that OP did, so I fail to see your point here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are all the details necessary for the story?

+1
It was Saturday, we were going to practice, I was picking up an order for all 3 of us, they were in the car.....

Literally you haven't left out any details that OP did, so I fail to see your point here.

Or is your point that you didn't need the details?

Is that really what you're concerned about?