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Comment by devit | Hacker News Reader

Kind of surprised this is a thing: seems like showing up with a 5$ bill or credit card and getting coffee and change back (whether from a human or from a coffee vending machine) would be a fine process.

If one is a regular coffee drinker and finds that inefficient, buying a coffee machine for home/work seems like a better solution than attempting to "order ahead" and still having to physically get to the coffee shop.

Obviously this app might still have some marginal utility, maybe enough to be a viable business.

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I'm a regular coffee drinker, so it makes no suggest I go home and make a coffee several times a day when I'm out maybe 30 miles from home. I think people who can make coffee at home aren't going to forget that just because this service is available.

The idea of ordering in advance then picking it up sounds fine to me for when I know - or suspect -there'll be a queue. Also, you'd be surprised how often I get asked my name when i'm ordering, but when the drink is ready they just shout out "grande latte" which is often what more than 1 person has ordered so it causes confusion/grabbiness. Ordering in advance would seem to make it more likely they'll put a name down, though I could be wrong.

My only problem with this service is that I already tried it (Costa do this in the UK) but they'll just chuck your coffee away (without a refund) if you don't get there within 15 minutes of ordering; it's likely I'll be using public transport to get around and you just can't rely on that so unless I order as I walk down the street - perhaps stopping, to be safe - I'm in danger of losing my money, and I'm better off just ordering when I get there.

Oh, and you need a web-page for this - I don't really install apps any more, as they're like web-pages I can't block the trackers/javascript etc of.

2 years ago I would have agreed with you, and to a point I still do - it seems like it would be simple to just walk in with cash and walk out with a coffee. But, it's undeniable how willing customers are to avoid friction, especially when they haven't had any caffeine yet.

Also, Starbucks is on pace to process over 15% of their annual revenue through their mobile app this year, it's by far the most popular payments app in the U.S. and shows no signs of slowing down.

If you don't want to wait or make your own coffee, this seems like a great choice.

Clearly Starbucks has already proved out the viability with its order-ahead app, and like they say, that only represents 2.5% of the coffee market.

They did a great job of explaining why this is an interesting place to bring a solution. It just seems like such a low barrier of entry that I imagine competitors will spring up quickly, just like other order-ahead, delivery, and rewards apps of the past.

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