Starbucks might soon ask you to choose a time to pick up your morning cup of coffee.
CEO Brian Niccol told The Wall Street Journal that the chain was considering the change to its mobile ordering system to help customers and baristas.
Right now, Starbucks' mobile app gives customers a pickup time — sometimes as little as a few minutes — when they place an order. Niccol said that often doesn't reflect when the customer can actually stop by to get their drink, especially if they aren't near a store when they order.
"When you mobile order, you'll get a message that says that the beverage will be ready in three minutes," he told the Journal. "But you physically can't get there in three minutes."
That leads to a mismatch between "when the customer wants it and when we should be making it," the CEO said.
He added that some Starbucks customers had been asking to choose when they retrieve their order. "The number-one request is actually 'Let me pick what time I can come pick up my beverage,'" he said.
Starbucks' mobile ordering system has been a sore spot for customers and for the employees who make their drinks.
Some store employees, whom Starbucks refers to as "partners," told Business Insider last fall that their locations were often overwhelmed by the number of mobile orders. They said that led to long wait times for customers as the partners struggled to prepare drinks and catch up.
Workers told BI that promotions for members of Starbucks' rewards program, especially those offering customers a discount if they ordered several drinks at once, contributed to the problem. Under Niccol, Starbucks has reined in the number of promotions it offers to rewards members.
Niccol became Starbucks' CEO in September. Since then, he has detailed a turnaround plan for the coffee chain aimed at reversing sales declines.
Niccol said this month that Starbucks' mobile ordering system "chipped away" at the chain's "soul." He argued that many baristas were too busy preparing drinks to chat with customers and provide other personalized services that Niccol wants the chain to be known for.
Niccol told the Journal he wanted to improve Starbucks' mobile ordering system over the next year.
"At a minimum, we will be a lot better than where we are today," he said.
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