No, You Didn't Place A Starbucks Order. The App Just Broke

Order up? As app users received unsolicited notifications that their Starbucks order was ready, some wondered if they were being punked. Around mid-day on July 19, many of the coffee chain's fans received the simple alert, "Your order is ready!" The notification had social media users reacting quicker than the sugar jolt you might get from a Frappuccino.

According to CBS Baltimore, Wednesday's pop-up notification was an app bug. In a statement, Starbucks announced, "Earlier today, a push notification from the Starbucks app was sent as an error, customers were not charged for an order if one was not placed." In addition, the coffee giant explained that its app was "experiencing a temporary outage of the order ahead and pay feature." Although the brand apologized for the inconvenience, many users were not pleased with the surprise notification.

While shock and surprise might be a common marketing ploy, this notification did not fare well on social media. Twitter users panicked with the thought that they might have been hacked when they were unable to log into their accounts. Even though technical difficulties can happen, the reaction to this situation appeared to be swift and not exactly positive for Starbucks. The company's app is a massively popular ordering method, and consumer confidence in the platform is vital.

For many people, their smart device connects every part of their life. Starbucks app users can schedule morning coffee runs, unwind with a Headspace meditation, or listen to a Spotify playlist. When the app glitches, people might worry that all the information stored in that account is no longer protected.

While the recent "order ready" message created a panic, it's not the first time the Starbucks app has had a ghost in the machine. Who doesn't remember the infamous "hello test1 from seank." More seriously, several times over the past year, the mobile ordering software has experienced outages and even a data breach.

Even though these scenarios are concerning for users, Starbucks assures its 17 million customers that their information is safe within the platform. That data, of course, is used by the coffee behemoth to facilitate promotions, new products, and store expansion plans, as outlined in a Harvard Business School study.

Unfortunately, the orders were not ready for many Starbucks customers this time. Whether another Starbucks app glitch is on the horizon remains to be seen, but maybe the next one will turn into another gigantic pay-it-forward chain.