As we all know, part of Starbucks’ appeal is its big menu and many choices, which naturally lead up to customizable orders. Seeing people rattle off all the options that comprise their beverage of choice is almost enough to make you develop an inferiority complex for just wanting a plain coffee.
Another hitch for some is the lingo. Have you ever thought, “Grande? Venti? What are those? I just want the biggest size, and I don’t see ‘small’, ‘medium’, and ‘large’ anywhere…” Then there’s all the different kinds of milk and cream, and you can specify how you want your espresso to be made – the difficulty level of ordering a coffee is, well, there didn’t used to be any difficulty level.
Here’s where a nifty app might help you get a handle on ordering and be able to confidently announce your order when it’s your turn at the counter in barista-speak, at least if you read Japanese: Sutaba Call. (“Sutaba” is the commonly used abbreviation for Starbucks in Japan.)
The app takes you through all of the various options, from the name of the beverage, the type of cream you want, to the syrup you might add. It even goes so far as to “translate” some of the lingo, like “iced” to “cold”. At the end, the display shows your customized order as you should say it, as well as the final price. If you can pull off looking cool while reading the screen of your iPhone, you can finally transfer your inferiority complex to the person behind you in line.
A similar English app seems to go the extra mile by showing visuals of many of the items, remembering what you’ve ordered in the past, and helping you locate a Starbucks near you.
The lengths people will go…