Starbucks recently announced a very public about-face in its attempt to replace a portion of its workforce with automation.
Company leaders acknowledged the tech-driven initiative fell short of the company’s goals and said Starbucks would once again increase the number of baristas available to serve patrons their lattes and espressos.
Apparently, after some corporate soul-searching, Starbucks concluded that the automation didn’t create the customer experience that coffee lovers had come to expect from the worldwide chain. So, it was back to more people in green aprons.
But other businesses should not judge the Starbucks retreat as evidence that technology, and especially artificial intelligence, has been oversold.
The contrary is true, even if Starbucks’ experiment did not achieve what the coffee giant wanted.
First some background: Starbucks introduced its high-tech Siren Craft System about a year ago, building upon technology the company had begun using a couple of years before that. The system was designed to streamline the steps for creating orders, getting food and beverages to waiting customers more quickly, and included digital tools that helped to anticipate and meet demand.
That this approach did not work as well as anticipated may mean it is an outlier rather than an example for others to mirror. Starbucks encountered a specific failing with a specific technology (not AI, by the way) and adjusted in a way that may have made sense for the company under the circumstances and as it related to Starbucks’ customer-experience goals.
But for everyone else, the message remains that technology, and more specifically these days, AI, has a role to play in the services industry.
As has been evident over the last couple of years, the AI reality is fast catching with the AI hype, and AI is now more “emotionally aware” than ever before and being put to use in numerous ways. For service-industry companies, this means there are plenty of applications for AI in improving customer experience.
Beyond the Experience Inside the Store
To stick with the coffee theme for a moment, AI could help a coffee shop better understand its customers’ tastes. AI could even integrate with or work similarly to personal wellness devices, anticipating the times of day when a specific person could use a jolt of caffeine and even recommending a drink. Or, on a stressful day, the AI perhaps would suggest something more soothing, such as chamomile tea, rather than the high-caffeine drinks that shock the system. The AI could even helpfully tell the person that there is, say, a Starbucks nearby.
In essence, there could be many intuitive applications for AI and the customer experience that would go beyond the experience inside the store.
But the in-store experience could also be drastically improved with a boost from AI. Imagine a customer being handed their drink much closer to the moment they actually enter. Also, even with a place like Starbucks, the customer profile likely isn’t exactly the same at every location. AI could analyze data and tailor store offerings, ambiance, and service styles to specific demographics in that area, enhancing the customer experience even further.
Given all these possibilities, it’s likely that the Starbucks decision is a momentary lull in the embracing of technology rather than a long-term strategy for others to emulate.
Lessons Learned
Still, there are lessons for others to take away from the Starbucks technology stumble. Here are three to consider:
- Make sure an AI strategy has been well tested before it is rolled out. That way, the odds of a successful implementation are higher and any public backtracking of the plan can be avoided.
- Don’t limit AI innovations to the business’s backend. Think more broadly and consider approaches that can transform the customers’ experience.
- Communicate goals and the ideas behind them clearly. The company’s leadership needs to explain to customers and employees the reasoning behind decisions and the value the strategies are intended to bring.
This is no time for businesses that want to improve the customer experience to retreat from the advantages that AI and other technologies provide. Instead, AI’s growing role in taking over repeatable jobs is an inevitable part of the “work evolution,” and a path the services industry will continue to follow.
Sujay Saha is president of Cortico-X (cortico-x.com), an experience strategy and transformation business, focused on transforming customer and employee experiences in today’s digital age. Previously, Saha served as a leader within PwC’s Digital & Customer Strategy practice, where he worked with executive leaders in banking, insurance, and other industries, helping them turn the increasing customer focus and digital change into profitable growth for their companies.
