I think this has such negative ratings because customers are expecting Starbucks style interface and functionality. Compass should get there eventually but it’s not time. It’s functional and fulfills it’s purpose.

Stellar coffee but an app that seems like someone tinkers with it in their garage without doing any market research. $25 minimum to reload and then your money is stuck hostage. Can’t use the app to make purchases in store, only to make mobile orders in advance. This is bad when the stores in the District are not actually open regardless of posted hours or mobile ordering being turned on. No other competitor requires minimum reloads. Also, the rewards program, which has never been good because you can only redeem points for specific items. Now it’s even worse with the redemption amounts being so high that it can be as many as thirty purchased coffees before you earn the same free drink, and even then it’s not going to be exactly the same unless you drink one of the dozen or so beverages on the redemption list. In sum, the coffee is great but there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to use the app.

The app is ok, but it could be better. My biggest complaint is the fact that you can only reload your account with a minimum of $25. Initially, you had the ability to load any amount, but they got wise to this and disabled it. That’s when I stopped buying their coffee. I like ordering on the app bc I can pick up my order on the way to work. What I don’t like is being forced to load $25 minimum to my account in order to do this. Why can’t I choose how much I want to load my account with? It’s not worth it to wait in line. Since they’ve disabled the feature to reload any amount, I’ve stopped drinking their coffee. I’d rather go to Starbucks where I can reload any amount. Most (not all) of the baristas at the eye street location are rude and grumpy also.

The app covers most of the things that you would expect like ordering ahead of time and rewards points. However, it won’t let you simply pay for your order with a credit card. It forces you to load up a Compass gift card balance in preset amounts, which leaves you perpetually with some remaining balance. There is no good faith reason for this. It is simply anti-customer behavior. I strongly suspect they do so in order to take the sum of those forced balances and use it as savings or investment capital to generate some return. Give us the option but don’t force our hand. I want to pay for my coffee straight up.