For an extra $2 as delivery fee, tenants occupying the Empire State Building will now be able to have their favorite Starbucks coffee right at their doorstep through the company's newly launched delivery service program.
Starbucks has just launched its pilot delivery program which will initially cater to customers at the Empire State Building in New York. Dubbed "Green Apron Delivery," the new service will allow delivery of the company's popular brewed coffee and espresso beverages as well as other favorite menu items such as breakfast sandwiches and lunch offers through a particular web site.
The ordered goodies will be prepared at Starbucks' special kitchen located at the building's ground floor on the side that faces 33rd Street. In just 30 minutes or less, customers can expect to see their orders delivered to an assigned pick-up spot within the building. This could be the reception or common area where the customers can meet the baristas.
"In dense, urban environments like office buildings, we believe we've cracked the code on another way to bring Starbucks to our customers, and that's to have baristas on hand to provide an exclusive service within an office building - this will be great in places like New York City," said Adam Brotman, Starbucks chief digital officer.
Being a pilot launch, orders are capped at a maximum of 15 items, according to Haley Drage, spokeswoman for Starbucks. While there is no minimum order required, customers are instead charged with a delivery fee of $2 for every order irrespective of the order size.
To start placing an order, customers should log in to the company's new delivery site using their "My Starbucks Reward" account which is the same account that they use in the Mobile Order and Pay app. After successfully logging in, they can start selecting the beverage of choice and then add it to the cart prior to check out.
The specially located Starbucks within the Empire State Building will only respond to customers who want their coffees delivered in the building. In other words, it will not allow walk-ins or counter-made orders.
"The question for Starbucks is can they do that profitably, for .0001 percent of their customers? Or for 10 percent," said Jason Goldberg, SVP of commerce at Razorfish. "If they can do it profitably for 10 percent that's an altogether different impressive thing, and can meaningfully change consumer behavior."
Starbucks also plans to roll out the delivery system in Seattle at least before the end of the year, stated Drage.
