economie

Starbucks customers say wait times have gotten really long, so I went to check it out

September 30, 20240
The reporter outside the entrance to the Starbucks

Alex Bitter/BI

This Starbucks is located in a shopping center. It’s also near a major highway used by many people commuting between the suburbs of Northern Virginia and Washington, DC.

This location doesn’t have a drive thru, so I just ordered through the app.
The counter for finished orders

Alex Bitter/BI

This was just over the maximum 10 minutes that the app had indicated. Still, it wasn’t too bad, especially considering that I ordered during one of the busiest times of the day at many Starbucks stores.

In the early afternoon, I stopped by a Starbucks in Waldorf, Maryland.
The drive-thru lane

Alex Bitter/BI

The drive-thru at this Starbucks store wasn’t very busy around 12:30 p.m.

…just as I ordered another through a pick-up order that I had set up in the Starbucks app.
Both frappuccinos in the cupholders of a car

Alex Bitter/BI

I got a notification on my phone that my pick-up drink was ready just as the worker at the drive-thru window handed me the other.

I did the same thing later that afternoon at a Starbucks in Southeast Washington, DC.
The drive-thru lane in at the Washington, DC, Starbucks

Alex Bitter/BI

Just like at the Maryland store, the Starbucks app advised me that my Frappuccino would be ready in three to six minutes.

I received one drink at the drive-thru in a couple of minutes…
My last Starbucks beverage of the day

Alex Bitter/BI

My second drink at this store was ready exactly at the upper limit that the app had given me.

I was impressed with the speed of the orders at the stores that I visited.
Starbucks has tried to cut down on wait times using the Siren Craft System.

Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

One Starbucks employee told me last month that managers at his store have cut employee hours in recent years, leaving fewer people to fill orders during many shifts. As a result, customers there wait up to 30 minutes for their orders, he said.

And while workflow changes such as the Siren Craft System have helped cut prep time for some drinks, according to Starbucks employees, more people making beverages would be a bigger help.