Starbucks Corp. promises it can get your order right, without yelling.
That’s in part because the coffee chain has started to open new stores with some serious renovations, including dampening baffles in its ceilings to diminish background noise and echos.
By refining acoustics inside, guests with hearing loss will be able to ask baristas for their order more easily, too — reducing the possibility of wrong orders, the company says.
Sara Trilling, Starbucks North America president told Bloomberg that improved acoustics will lead to more accurate orders and an improved customer experience. “Imagine you’ve got all that background noise happening, and then you’ve got a window open in front of you, and you’re trying to communicate with a customer,” Trilling told the publication. To that point, because baffles are intended to absorb sound, baristas and customers could lessen the likelihood of missing a name during a call and response.
Reducing noise is one way Starbucks has aimed to improve its cafe experience. The company already uses the Aira app at its in-store locations for guests that are blind or have low vision.
The recent improvement could bode well for Starbucks as it aims for global expansion. In the U.S. at least, the company plans to open 650 new stores during this fiscal year. The acoustic revamp, part of the “Inclusive Spaces Framework,” will apply to new locations and about 1,000 U.S. stores the company plans to renovate this year.
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