SEATTLE Starbucks Coffee has added a service that enables consumers in North America to find the nearest unit via their cell phones. Users text-message the zip code of their location to MYSBUX and get the address of the closest unit as a reply.
Patrons with a web-enabled phone or handheld computer can also navigate to www.starbucks.com. The site detects if the visitor is using a mobile device and redirects the potential customer to web pages configured for the small screens of mobile devices.
"Thousands of customer calls come in each year requesting help finding a Starbucks store while they're on the road. We've developed this in response to our customers' requests for an easier way to locate Starbucks close to them," said Lisa Passe of Starbucks Corp., parent here of the chain that operates or licenses to others more than 9,400 U.S. outlets. She said the company had "nothing to share" related to usage figures for the service that launched March 1.
Auser of the locator service pays only the fees assessed by his or her service provider.
