New Apple Patent: Enabling iPhone Users to Cut in Line

A Forbes.com article, Apple's Piping Hot Innovation, describes a process that Apple is attempting to  patent that would enable an iPhone user, for example, to order an espresso drink at Starbucks without  standing in line.  The same line cutting could theoretically occur at just about any establishment Apple partners with.  Starbucks is a natural starting point for this new plan, since the two companies already have a program in place that allows you to simply touch a button on your iPhone to wirelessly download a song that you like that's playing in the background of a Starbucks you're visiting.

From the article:  Apple's application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describes a process for placing an order and then notifying customers when an order is ready to grab at a pick-up station. One goal, the patent application notes, is to avoid an "annoying wait in a long queue if the purchaser arrives before completion of the order.

Sounds good on the surface.  Who likes to queue up when the line is long and the urge to suck down lucious liquid stimulant is in full gotta-have-it mode?  But for the reason that just because it's a new gadgety cool sounding Apple thingy, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a great advance for consumers ... let's review.   

I remember when the Speedpass came out (introduced by Mobile in 1997), that little keychain device  that when swiped across an area on a gas pump, replaces the massively time consuming process of swiping your credit/debit card.  I figured it would save me maybe five seconds per pump, so I took a pass.  Mobile (now Exxon Mobile) made it sound like a life changing device.  Woo hoo.  Five seconds of my life back each week.   Pardon me if I'm a tad skeptical when new devices and services are introduced that promise to save us time and aggrevation.

The iPhone ordering capability is obviously a step above the Speedpass.  I can imagine arriving at a Starbucks, spotting a line twelve deep at the ordering counter, and punching in a pre-saved drink order on an iPhone if I ownded one (grande Americano, four shots, plenty of room).  I'd be able to head for an open table by the window, instead of playing caboose to a long train at the cashier.  So that's the big advantage I see.  But I also see the following possibilities:

1. Queue anger:  the iPhone-less line people getting a bit snarly when they see all the Apple folks getting special treatment
2. Order is wrong:  your phone buzzes (order ready), and you go up to the barista station, only to find the drink has been made incorrectly. Or the software malfunctioned, and the barista made the drink he/she was told to make by the software, but it's wrong.  Or you forgot to update the drink order you have saved in your phone, and you tell the barista you wanted skim, no foam, blah blah instead of whatever you used to order.  Will the barista station be backed up with people waving iPhones who never were in line in the first place???
3. The wait will get longer for everyone else:  when you send in your iPhone order, does the barista drop everything and start making your horribly complicated fru fru drink?  When does your phone order 'cut in'?  And what if some office 'designated coffee boy' strolls up and orders twenty six drinks - all different - with his fancy dancy new iPhone?  The two people who were in line are left to wonder why they've been waiting sixteen minutes at the pickup counter, when they're the only ones there. 

Personally, I think the 'time is the most important thing' attitude is the wrong attitude to have, or to focus on if you're a business.  I was at my local Starbucks the other day, ordering a simple cup of their holiday Christmas Blend drip coffee, and the cashier was about to blow a gasket trying to get everyone through the line at warp speed.  When I placed my order, she apologized profusely for the wait, and I answered that waiting two minutes was really not a big deal.  Getting a great cup of coffee, and having an end to end great consumer experience is.  And everything was just fine, thank you.  Saving a minute of my time means nothing if you screw everything else up.  Now, I'm off to price those iPhones so I can make sure I get that seat by the window ...

UPDATE: New post expanding on this topic:  Comparison:  Apple Patent & Starbucks vs Digital Pizza Ordering Pioneer Papa John's: 

Comments

[John Blackburn]

The patent also doesn't explain how merchants will accept your payment. See http://watchingapple.com/2007/12/wireless-transactions-and-apples-pos-patent for more info.

[Jeff Crites]

John: Good info at WatchingApple.com on this, thanks for weighing in. My questions and contrarian observations aside, I'm wondering if Starbucks is looking at this as a 'beyond Apple' thing. If Starbucks is willing to implement a software ordering system, then it would seem they'd want it to be avaialble to as many consumers as possible. Advantage of course to iPhone users if Apple and Starbucks have a walled deal on this. But what about the Verizon customer who'd like to do the same thing? Might it be to Starbuck's advantage to have their own system that accepts wireless payments from any device? But since the patent is on Apple's end, it looks like Apple is in control of the process, not Starbucks. Good for iPhone users, bad for the rest of us?

[dr. no]

Too labor intensive for both the cell phone user and the poor order preparer…then they have to match up order to you when you finally show up…and a payment will have to be made AND verified or you ain’t leaving the premises, bub!…there is so much more to say…but this is a huge flop. Just call the coffee shop, give them your order and put it on your tab or have your credit/debit card on file with them, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! There will be plenty of cold coffee/food left too long at the checkout spoiled and plenty of irritated customers upset that joe schmoe ordering from his car cut ahead of him in line. Thumbs DOWN to this “application”

[Jeff Crites]

dr. no

I completely understand your feelings on this. The bottom line: will a new line-cutting application on an iPhone make you want to visit Starbucks more often? For some, maybe. It won't make me run out and get an iPhone. There are plenty of other reasons I'm considering an iPhone right now, but there's the whole hassle of cancelling my Verizon contract, the slow browsing speed of the current AT&T network the iPhone uses, etc.

What will make me want to visit Starbucks more often is great service and great coffee ... and an all around 'coffee house experience'. It's just too inconsistent, though I do go to a local Starbucks probably once a week. I used to go almost daily.

[Zulema]

Good post.