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Starbucks India mobile app launched
MUMBAI: Tata Starbucks Private Limited has introduced the Starbucks® India mobile app across the country, giving customers a fast and convenient way to pay for in-store purchases and earn Stars through the loyalty program using their mobile device. The move makes Tata Starbucks the first major retailer in India to offer customers a mobile payment option linked to a loyalty program and further expands Starbucks robust global digital ecosystem.
Available for download on iPhone® and Android™ devices, the Starbucks® India mobile app offers customers the convenience of paying for their favorite Starbucks beverages with their mobile device by scanning a barcode linked to their registered Starbucks Card. Customers can also register multiple Starbucks Cards onto their account within the mobile app.
In addition to mobile payment, the app allows customers to register for the My Starbucks Rewardsä program, earn Stars, track and redeem their rewards, manage their accounts, and gain access to new product information and promotions, all within one convenient app.
“We are proud to introduce the Starbucks® India mobile app to customers in India which will help us meet their needs while serving them seamlessly on our already highly-successful My Starbucks Rewards program that benefits our loyal customers,” said Tata Starbucks CEO Sumitro Ghosh. “This digital innovation underscores our continued commitment to drive innovation and provide an exceptional and convenient customer experience in our stores across the country.”
At Starbucks, the digital experience is a foundational part of a seamless customer experience. Starbucks debuted the My Starbucks Rewardsä loyalty program in India in 2014and now has more than 250,000 members who are earning Stars and receiving benefits through the program.
The Starbucks® India mobile app builds on a rapidly-expanding portfolio of technological innovations at Starbucks. Most recently, the company unveiled an innovative conversational ordering system in the U.S. called “My Starbucks Barista” and pioneered a new social gifting feature on WeChat, China’s leading mobile social communications service.
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Air Canada ceo to quit over “English-only” message after New York plane crash
English-only condolence video after fatal LaGuardia crash triggers outrage in Quebec and hastens succession
MONTREAL: Air Canada’s boss is heading for the exit after a linguistic misstep collided with a national faultline.
Michael Rousseau will retire by October, the airline said on Monday, days after a backlash over his English-only video tribute following a deadly crash involving an Air Canada Express jet in New York. The March 22 collision with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport killed two pilots and injured dozens, but Rousseau’s message, bookended only by “bonjour” and “merci”, ignited fury in French-speaking Quebec.
Mark Carney welcomed the departure, calling the video a “lack of judgment and lack of compassion”. “It is absolutely essential that his successor is completely bilingual,” he said in Toronto. “He did a good job technically as CEO but as the leader of an organisation you have broader responsibilities. It’s the right decision at the right time.”
The row quickly metastasised. Quebec’s National Assembly voted 92–0 for Rousseau to quit. More than 1,800 complaints flooded the federal languages watchdog. Even Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a major shareholder, weighed in. “There is no doubt that the video should have been in both official languages.”
The symbolism cut deep. One of the dead pilots, Antoine Forest, was from Quebec. Language, long a live wire in the province, remains entwined with identity and politics, fuelling the separatist Parti Québécois ahead of an election due by October.
Rousseau, 68, had form. In 2021, soon after taking charge, he drew fire for delivering a Montreal speech largely in English and boasting he had lived there for years without speaking French. He apologised then and again last week, saying he was “deeply saddened” his limitations had “diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees.” He had logged more than 300 hours of French lessons since taking the helm in February 2021.
Operationally, his tenure was steadier. He steered Air Canada through the pandemic and its messy aftermath, though labour tensions, most notably a four-day cabin crew strike, dogged the recovery. Shares slipped more than 2 per cent after the news before trimming losses to about 1.2 per cent on the Toronto exchange.
The airline, bound by the Official Languages Act to serve customers in both English and French, said it is accelerating a succession plan already under way, with candidates to be judged in part on their French. Analysts say the next chief must pair operational discipline with strategic clarity amid fuel volatility, labour costs and fierce competition.
A dual crisis—metal on tarmac in New York and politics at home—has now claimed its most senior scalp. In Canada’s flag carrier, competence got Rousseau far. In the end, fluency finished the job.
