Regardless of what kind of person you are, we all have been through this experience. The decision which is so hard to make, yet we have only seconds to decide. We are arriving closer to our destination, and the anxiety is getting more intense. What will we do? We have hit the fork in the road, will we go left or right? The situation I am talking about is drive-thru or walk-in.
The reason I wanted to blog on this, was because recently I did an experiment. Occasionally (being once or twice a week), I go to Starbucks. Of course, the time I go is always jammed pack, with the morning coffee addicts, zombie looking people waiting for their daily dose of caffeine. People really can’t go without it!
So here is what I did. I decided one day I would try the walk-in, and the next I would try the drive-thru.
Here is the thing, we all know there are two types of mindsets (consumer perspective) when it comes to the drive-thru industry: we are using it out of laziness, or we are using it because it is more efficient. That being said, I went into this experiment completely indifferent of the two. Here is what I found out.
When I walked in, I had to wait in a line of people, and it was more inconvenient for me. Not to mention it also took over 20 minutes. I counted as I waited in line… 7 cars went through outside as I waited for my coffee.
7 PEOPLE GOT A COFFEE before 3 of US INSIDE!!! I was irate from having to wait so long and at this point had lost all interest in drinking it. If this was the way it was for people who walked in, why do it? Did the Starbucks care more for people in the drive-thru?
The next day I arrived at the same time and went through the drive-thru. (approximately same amount of customers at Starbucks). I stayed warm in my car, listened to The Chainsmokers, and had my stopwatch on. I was to the window in half the time, and received my coffee and was on my way. This had me thinking…..
Do establishments tend to the drive-thru customers with more urgency? So I did some digging and research and found an interesting quote by CFO Troy Alstead: “We have fantastic economics through our drive-thrus,” said Alstead. “We’re providing a great experience to our customers who are on the go, they’re moving fast, they want that ability to stay in their car and experience Starbucks at the same time.”
Starbuck’s made a huge focus on drive-thrus in the last few years, and this in my mind has hurt their customer experience for those who walk-in. As a business they made me feel like I wasn’t important when I put in that extra effort to go inside.
So, I have a question for you all, when you go to an establishment what determines whether you go in or go through the drive-thru? What was your experience in those situations?
Thanks, all and hope you enjoyed. Look forward to the responses.
Commentaires