(Dunkin app)
Dunkin' Donuts is rolling out a new app that will let customers skip the line.
On Friday, the coffee-and-donut chain announced it is launching a new app on June 6 that will allow loyalty-program members to order and pay via mobile, and then cut the line to pick up their items.
"This is ground shaking," Dunkin' CEO Nigel Travis told Business Insider. "I think it's the biggest service change since we introduced drive-thru. I'm so excited about this, it's tough to put it in words."
Dunkin's new app, available in the App Store or Google Play as "New Dunkin' Donuts," allows customers to place on-the-go orders up to 24 hours in advance, skipping the line to pick up the orders inside the restaurant or via drive-thru. Payment is automatic, using the Dunkin' Donuts card through the app.
The app will help improve two of the most important parts of business at any quick-service chain: increasing speed and reducing mistakes.
Skipping the line has long been customers' dream for any fast-food chain, cutting precious minutes from an already speedy process.
(flickr/m01229)
"We're famous for speed," says Travis. "Some other the businesses that have similar apps don't have the same speed as us, so we see that as a real competitive advantage."
According to Travis, Dunkin' has created a culture where speed and convenience are extremely important, thanks in part to the chain's New England base. "People from the Northeast are slightly impatient," he says.
The company has measured the time for each piece of the puzzle — waiting in line, ordering, paying, and food preparation — and worked to make each piece as time-efficient as possible. Using the app to cut the line out of the equation is simply the next step in this process.
However, as speed picks up, mistakes often also increase.
"One of the biggest challenges we have — it's not just Dunkin', it's everyone — is order accuracy," says Travis.
At a chain known for speed with a wide range of menu options, it's easy for mistakes to slip through the cracks, from forgetting an item in a large order to simply adding the wrong kind of milk. The app can help fix that, allowing customers to plug in exactly what they want, as well as save favorites for repeated orders.
(Associated Press)
"We have a lot of variations, we have a lot of personalization," says Travis. "This teaches people about Dunkin'. If you go to, say, a company that starts with S that I can't remember the name, they'll make you put your own cream and sweetener in … The app does it for you."
Of course, the new app also has some qualities that benefit Dunkin' in addition to the consumer.