- Starbucks’ “mosh pit” problem at the barista counter has been a priority for new CEO Brian Niccol to fix quickly. He said the coffee giant had bet too hard on mobile and drive-thru orders when it should have focused on customer experience.
Brian Niccol was parachuted in to turn around Starbucks in September last year and isn’t keeping the problems he’s inherited to himself.
The former Chipotle CEO has made it clear he wants the coffee chain to go back to its roots: a comfortable coffeehouse where customers feel appreciated—even if it’s just with a Sharpie-drawn smiley face on their takeaway cups.
When he joined, the Starbucks boss said stores were congested with customers waiting for mobile orders and members of the public making the most of an open-bathroom policy.
That’s changed under Niccol—a move which has divided opinion—with the CEO adding that bets on drive-thru customers and mobile orders haven’t paid off.
“We spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to cost-save our way to a very efficient drink and not enough time on what is the experience that Starbucks provides,” Niccol said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“Right now, when you mobile order, you’ll sometimes get a message that says your drink will be ready in three minutes. You physically can’t get there in three minutes,” Niccol explained. “We’re mismatching when the customer wants it and when we’re making it, and the number one request is, ‘Let me pick what time I can come and pick up my beverage.’”
Howard Schultz described the app as the brand’s Achilles’ heel
The problem Niccol identifies isn’t a new one. Former CEO Howard Schultz described the app as the brand’s Achilles’ heel, saying it “overflowed to the point where it disproportionately created an environment in our stores where the mobile app became the primary vehicle, as well as the primary vehicle for dissatisfaction, because people couldn’t get their drink on time; people were confused whether that was their drink.”
Speaking to the Acquired podcast last year, Schultz described the chaos around the barista counter as a “mosh pit,” adding: “That’s not Starbucks.”
Sales data from last year laid the issue bare. On its Q2 2024 call, the company said between one in seven or eight customers abandoned their order because of how busy their particular Starbucks café is.
By the end of the year, the company reported global comparable store sales were down by 2%; in the fourth quarter, they fell by a significant 7%.
“Obviously, I wasn’t here, but when I look at the situation, I think we lost focus on that moment of connection,” Niccol added.
“I think we got confused that mobile ordering could solve the entire business. I think we got a little confused that the drive-thru could solve the entire business.
“You have to have a balanced approach, and you have to protect the integrity of your brand—that’s what I’m getting back to doing.”
“I want to see mobile order not be a problem,” Niccol added when asked about his priorities for the year ahead. “It should be an advantage. More access to Starbucks should be a good thing, and right now we’ve made more access a challenge for our partners and our customers. We’re going to fix that.”
And will the mobile order chaos be fixed in 12 months’ time?
“I sure hope so,” Niccol added. “At a minimum, we will be a lot better than where we are today.”
Recruiting Niccol
Starbucks was ready to put its hand in its pocket in order to secure Niccol to lead the Seattle-based company.
An SEC filing seen by Fortune earlier this year revealed Niccol will earn $10 million to stay at the brand for just half a year. The first $5 million of the package was awarded on the one-month anniversary of his start date, and the rest will be paid in March on the six-month anniversary of his joining the team.
In fact, when lead board director Mellody Hobson announced she would not be standing for reelection a few weeks prior, her letter to Starbucks’ chief legal officer, Brad Lerman, revealed a “dogged pursuit” of Niccol as CEO.
