When Starbucks launched Starbucks Express, its boldest experiment yet, it blended java, Web technology, and faster service.
At about 60 stores in the Denver area, customers can pre-order
and prepay for beverages and pastries via phone or on the Starbucks Express Web site. They just make the call or click the
mouse before arriving at the store, and their beverage will be
waiting—with their name printed on the cup. The company decided in 2003 that the innovation had not succeeded and eliminated the service.