There are winds of change blowing over Starbucks, and one of the newest changes these winds brought is the promise to deliver a full mug of steaming-hot, freshly brewed coffee to a customer in less than 30 seconds.

This reminds us of another deadline experiment that unfolded about 40 years ago, only the deadline was not 30 seconds but 30 minutes, and the promise was to deliver a Domino’s pizza within that time – or it’s free.

Very few will remember a culmination of this delivery challenge that occurred in October 1985, when a teenage Domino’s driver was handed a pizza for delivery just outside Pittsburgh. It had been 23 minutes since the customer placed the order. He needed to hurry.

He accelerated out of the restaurant parking lot and, without yielding, plowed into the car of Frank and Mary Jean Kranack, who suffered injuries. In the moments following the accident, a Domino’s manager allegedly grabbed the pizza from the driver’s car and passed it off to another delivery worker, with a message: There’s still time.

Now, Starbucks does not promise you that your drink will be free if they produce it in more than 30 seconds. What Starbucks wants is to assure you that they are trying to reduce the frustration of waiting too long for something you REALLY want, at this moment.

About two years ago, we touched the issue of waiting too long, and the negative impact it has on the store’s bottom line, in a blog called “The Unbought Chocolate Bar”. The true story we cited was used as an introduction to the data analytics approach to daily visitor rate fluctuation – something we do exceptionally well at Ticon.

Yes, Ticon is a data analytics company, but our roots are in traffic engineering and location analysis for retail stores, and this unique combination of skills gives us an edge over the competition when it comes to making sure that the data is up-to-date, meaningful and relevant to the location of interest.

Come and ask for a sample of our popular C-Site Insight™ report enhanced for performance management in retail, and schedule a private chat to learn about the nuggets of useful information we can show you for your location of interest.

And the best part? You won’t have to wait in line!