Starbucks hatches new plan to cut customers’ waiting times

The Seattle-based company is going to test the new time-saving technology at hundreds of stores

Starbucks is implementing a new algorithm to slash customers' wait times (Getty Images)

Starbucks has hatched a new plan to slash the amount of time its customers will have to wait for their coffee, according to a report.

The chain currently operates on a first-come, first-served basis. But a new algorithm developed by Starbucks will now help baristas determine the order in which they should make drinks — and it’s already shaving two minutes off the wait time of in-person customers, The Wall Street Journal reports.

One of the biggest gripes Starbucks customers have is long wait times, the Journal reports. The successful tests mean hundreds more stores will have access to the technology soon.

Starbucks will test its new algorithm in hundreds of stores this year (Getty Images)

“We’ve seen such positive benefits from it that the rollout is happening very quickly,” Starbucks Chief Technology Officer Deb Hall Lefevre told the outlet.

The new order-sequencing algorithm is “rules-based,” which means it follows an “if-then” structure, Lefevre said.

The company is also using a new technology to improve its staffing levels, setting up a 700-store pilot designed to determine the right number of baristas based on demand.

Starbucks also came out with a new barista dress code earlier this month. They now require employees to wear a solid black shirt that is either a crewneck, collared, or button-up. Employees must also wear bottoms that can be any shade of khaki, black, or blue denim.

Starbucks Workers United, a union representing baristas at the chain, slammed the company for implementing the new rules.

“Starbucks’ top priority should be finalizing fair contracts with union baristas so we have the staffing, guaranteed hours, and support we need to do our jobs,” Jasmine Leli, a three-year Starbucks barista and union bargaining delegate, said in a statement.

“Instead of addressing the most pressing issues baristas have been raising for years, Starbucks is prioritizing a limiting dress code that won’t improve the company’s operations,” the statement added. “They’re forcing baristas to pay for new clothes when we’re struggling as it is on Starbucks wages and without guaranteed hours.”

Meanwhile, a Starbucks spokesperson previously told The Independent the company had “reached over thirty (30) meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them.”

“Starbucks remains committed to good faith bargaining to reach a framework for single store contracts for our partners represented by the union,” the spokesperson said earlier this month.