Beginning today, you’ll never have to stand in the endless wasteland that is the Starbucks line ever again.
The mega coffee chain is rolling out its mobile app feature called Mobile Order and Pay nationwide, allowing its customers the ability to preorder and pay for food and beverages before they get to the store, bypassing the line completely. Although the app had a soft launch in Portland in December and other areas of the country earlier this summer, it is now available at more than 7,400 stores in the United States.
Using the iOS and Android app, customers are able to order items from the full menu, customize orders and pay through the app. In areas like New York City where there may be multiple locations nearby, the app will allow you to choose the location most convenient for you.
Although you can’t schedule a pickup time, the app does estimate a time when your order should be ready, and counts down until your order is complete.
Now, while this may seem like the beginning of the end of all human contact, the new app feature is convenient for a few different situations.
- You’re in a rush or you’re running late.
- You’re ordering for multiple people (rejoice, interns!).
- You have young kids and standing in a long line with them sounds like a nightmare.
- You can’t/don’t want to talk to anyone.
Although many people can probably relate to not feeling like interacting with people some days, Starbucks told Mashable during a demo of its app that they have had great feedback from persons with speech and hearing disabilities, allowing them to put in a customizable order, and pay and pickup their food and beverages easily.
So yes, this is yet another app addition that will keep you in your phone, but what were you doing while you stood in line waiting to place your order? Probably staring at your phone.