Steve Jobs' 4,000-Latte Prank Order Lives On at San Francisco Starbucks

MacRumors · Mar 4, 2013, 12:58 PM

During the introduction of the first iPhone, in a moment that got one of the biggest laughs of his career, Steve Jobs made a prank phone call. In front of thousands of Apple fans at the Macworld Expo in 2007, Jobs called a local Starbucks outlet and ordered 4,000 lattes -- to go.

He quickly hung up, telling the barista who answered "No, just kidding. Wrong number. Goodbye!" Fast Company found the barista and interviewed her about her moment of fame -- only she didn't realize who she was talking to, nor why people have continued to call that store for the past six years asking for 4,000 lattes.

Quote:

With help from Starbucks, Fast Company was able to track down Zhang, a soft-spoken barista who goes by "Hannah." Sincere and sweet, Hannah has been working at the same Starbucks for more than a half-decade. "Honestly, I was shocked," she recalls. "I have never heard somebody order 4,000 lattes to go. I didn't say anything because I was shocked. But my first impression was that he was just being humorous. He sounded like a gentleman."

The incident in question occurs roughly five minutes into this clip:

Hannah and her manager didn't know the reason for the recurring prank calls until Fast Company contacted them, but she says it makes more sense now. "Before, it was like, 'Who would order thousands of lattes?'" They figured out that with each latte taking around 44 seconds to prepare, Jobs would need to wait some 48-hours before picking up his 4,000 lattes.

It isn't the only prank call that Jobs made in his lifetime however -- when Jobs was in high school, he and Steve Wozniak famously tried to call the Pope, with Wozniak pretending to be Henry Kissinger.

Article Link: Steve Jobs' 4,000-Latte Prank Order Lives On at San Francisco Starbucks

JustJeff · Mar 4, 2013, 01:02 PM

Erm... Great?

brooklyn360 · Mar 4, 2013, 01:02 PM

ha! It's funny, wish they would release the video from the store camera at that moment. we could find out what she said afterwards.

nav92 · Mar 4, 2013, 01:03 PM

One of the greatest Keynotes ever. Miss you Steve! This moment still makes me laugh. RIP.

jontech · Mar 4, 2013, 01:03 PM

Attempting to call the Pope made me laugh, especially as he was trying to be Kissinger

david shapiro · Mar 4, 2013, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brooklyn360

ha! It's funny, wish they would release the video from the store camera at that moment. we could find out what she said afterwards.

That would be hilarious!

dojoman · Mar 4, 2013, 01:03 PM

And people say Apple isn't innovative.

Michasss8 · Mar 4, 2013, 01:04 PM

One of the biggest advertisement of Starbucks

.

Jessica Lares · Mar 4, 2013, 01:07 PM

Funny enough, I was watching that clip this morning.

Remember that horrible partnership where the Starbucks icon would show up and you could download music that was playing? Man, that was ages ago.

jontech · Mar 4, 2013, 01:07 PM

Would be be really funny is hiding code into Starbucks Passbook that orders 4000 latte's automatically when it detects its not using Apple hardware

That would show those Samsung Engineers....

Hexiii · Mar 4, 2013, 01:10 PM

Quote:

"Before, it was like, 'Who would order thousands of lattes?'" They figured out that with each latte taking around 44 seconds to prepare, Jobs would need to wait some 48-hours before picking up his 4,000 lattes.

Seriously?

coltman75 · Mar 4, 2013, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Funny enough, I was watching that clip this morning.

Remember that horrible partnership where the Starbucks icon would show up and you could download music that was playing? Man, that was ages ago.

Remember when it was called the "iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store" because you could only download music over Wi-Fi? Oh, lord, those were the dark ages.

samcraig · Mar 4, 2013, 01:13 PM

Cute story - but something doesn't add up - is it just me?

"She first found out from customers making a pilgrimage to the location, and now feels a sense of pride that the Apple cofounder chose her store. "Customers would sometimes come up to me and go, 'Did you know somebody at your store actually talked to Steve Jobs?' I feel very happy and lucky that I had a chance to actually talk to him. It means a lot to me that he picked our Starbucks," explains Hannah, wearing her green Starbucks apron. "My friends were surprised and jealous, like, 'Wow, you got a chance to talk to Steve Jobs?"

and yet the article states, "Kimiko Barbour, the store's manager, realized the reason for the recurring prank calls only after Fast Company made inquiries for this story. "

Sounds like Fast Company is taking credit for something they didn't really play a part in, no?

Are we to believe that from 2007 until 2013, the prank calls (given what I quoted before) weren't attributed?

notjustjay · Mar 4, 2013, 01:13 PM

Watching Steve do it during a live Keynote was funny, sure.

The fact that other people have continued to call to do the same is ... lame. You watched someone else make a prank call and you think it'd be funny to call the same store and do the exact same thing?

Piggie · Mar 4, 2013, 01:13 PM

What they talk about here is what should be done.

Each company should concentrate all it's efforts onto what it does best.

You (Apple or anyone else) can connect to others and bring together, if you will, all the cherries into one pie.

So Why are Apple trying to do everything themselves now?

deannnnn · Mar 4, 2013, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumors

in a moment that got one of the biggest laughs of his career

Really?

UnfetteredMind · Mar 4, 2013, 01:15 PM

I can't believe people actually call up to prank them in the same manner. It does prove George Carlin's statement though, "Some people are really ****** stupid."

SkippyThorson · Mar 4, 2013, 01:15 PM

This was the day that I recognized Steve as not just a tech icon, but as an icon of our time. That was perhaps the most significant, most well done, and perhaps one of the most anticipated product launches of our time. I immediately recognized that then, and I will never forget it. Still a shame he's gone. That prank was just historical in it's own right!

Popeye206 · Mar 4, 2013, 01:16 PM

This video is a great reminder of how innovative all this was... I remember myself watching this keynote and being blown away by what Steve was showing.

No one was even close to what was being shown here.

needfx · Mar 4, 2013, 01:19 PM

how many seconds would double-shots add to the whole endeavour?

topgunn · Mar 4, 2013, 01:19 PM

Steve Jobs would never have done...oh wait.

macaddict06 · Mar 4, 2013, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jontech

Attempting to call the Pope made me laugh, especially as he was trying to be Kissinger

Well, I guess he can just walk over and talk to him, now...:\

Miss you, Steve.

chr1s60 · Mar 4, 2013, 01:27 PM

I've watched that keynote multiple times. Great seeing Steve as excited as he was about the iPhone.

RdeCourtney · Mar 4, 2013, 01:29 PM

In that clip, Safari definitely ISN'T snappier...

Chris Blount · Mar 4, 2013, 01:30 PM

The CEO of Google does a quick speech a few minutes later. He should have just stuck a knife in Steve's back right there. What a sleezeball.

Mar 4, 2013, 01:02 PM	#2
JustJeff In Time-Out Join Date: Feb 2013	Erm... Great?
	17

Mar 4, 2013, 01:03 PM	#4
nav92 macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2013	One of the greatest Keynotes ever. Miss you Steve! This moment still makes me laugh. RIP.
	41

Mar 4, 2013, 01:03 PM	#5
jontech macrumors 6502 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Hawaii	Attempting to call the Pope made me laugh, especially as he was trying to be Kissinger __________________ Psalm 91
	8

Mar 4, 2013, 01:07 PM	#9
Jessica Lares macrumors 68040 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA	Funny enough, I was watching that clip this morning. Remember that horrible partnership where the Starbucks icon would show up and you could download music that was playing? Man, that was ages ago. __________________  Have You Hugged Your Mac Today? Daily Expressions \| Power Mac G5 \| Late 2011 13" MacBook Pro \| iPod Nano (7G) \| iPod Shuffle (2012) \| iPad Mini
	4

Mar 4, 2013, 01:07 PM	#10
jontech macrumors 6502 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Hawaii	Would be be really funny is hiding code into Starbucks Passbook that orders 4000 latte's automatically when it detects its not using Apple hardware That would show those Samsung Engineers.... __________________ Psalm 91
	9

Mar 4, 2013, 01:02 PM	#3
brooklyn360 macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2010	ha! It's funny, wish they would release the video from the store camera at that moment. we could find out what she said afterwards.
	4

Mar 4, 2013, 01:03 PM	#7
dojoman macrumors 6502a Join Date: Apr 2010	And people say Apple isn't innovative.
	3

Mar 4, 2013, 01:04 PM	#8
Michasss8 macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Poland	One of the biggest advertisement of Starbucks .
	4

Mar 4, 2013, 01:13 PM	#13
samcraig macrumors G4 Join Date: Jun 2009	Cute story - but something doesn't add up - is it just me? "She first found out from customers making a pilgrimage to the location, and now feels a sense of pride that the Apple cofounder chose her store. "Customers would sometimes come up to me and go, 'Did you know somebody at your store actually talked to Steve Jobs?' I feel very happy and lucky that I had a chance to actually talk to him. It means a lot to me that he picked our Starbucks," explains Hannah, wearing her green Starbucks apron. "My friends were surprised and jealous, like, 'Wow, you got a chance to talk to Steve Jobs?" and yet the article states, "Kimiko Barbour, the store's manager, realized the reason for the recurring prank calls only after Fast Company made inquiries for this story. " Sounds like Fast Company is taking credit for something they didn't really play a part in, no? Are we to believe that from 2007 until 2013, the prank calls (given what I quoted before) weren't attributed?
	8

Mar 4, 2013, 01:13 PM	#14
notjustjay macrumors 603 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Canada, eh?	Watching Steve do it during a live Keynote was funny, sure. The fact that other people have continued to call to do the same is ... lame. You watched someone else make a prank call and you think it'd be funny to call the same store and do the exact same thing? __________________ .
	16

Mar 4, 2013, 01:13 PM	#15
Piggie macrumors 68040 Join Date: Feb 2010	What they talk about here is what should be done. Each company should concentrate all it's efforts onto what it does best. You (Apple or anyone else) can connect to others and bring together, if you will, all the cherries into one pie. So Why are Apple trying to do everything themselves now? __________________ Amiga 500, N64, Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox360 Slim 250GB, PS3, Nokia 6210, 3 Home Made PC's, Adidas Watch, Nikon + Fuji Cameras, 32GB iPad, Furry Pigs (mainly pink!)
	0

Mar 4, 2013, 01:15 PM	#17
UnfetteredMind macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2012	I can't believe people actually call up to prank them in the same manner. It does prove George Carlin's statement though, "Some people are really ****** stupid."
	11

Mar 4, 2013, 01:15 PM	#18
SkippyThorson macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Utica, NY	This was the day that I recognized Steve as not just a tech icon, but as an icon of our time. That was perhaps the most significant, most well done, and perhaps one of the most anticipated product launches of our time. I immediately recognized that then, and I will never forget it. Still a shame he's gone. That prank was just historical in it's own right! __________________ Skippy Thorson @ Blogspot AT&T iPhone 4S, 4 & 2G, iPad 2, iPad 3G, v5.5 iPod, v3 & v2 Nano, v1 Shuffle, TV2 2.4ghz Al. MacBook, 1.33ghz iBook G4, 1.25ghz & 800mhz iMac G4s, AEBS
	3

Mar 4, 2013, 01:16 PM	#19
Popeye206 macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: NE PA USA	This video is a great reminder of how innovative all this was... I remember myself watching this keynote and being blown away by what Steve was showing. No one was even close to what was being shown here.
	11

Mar 4, 2013, 01:19 PM	#20
needfx macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: macrumors apparently	how many seconds would double-shots add to the whole endeavour?
	1

Mar 4, 2013, 01:19 PM	#21
topgunn macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Texas	Steve Jobs would never have done...oh wait.
	14

Mar 4, 2013, 01:27 PM	#23
chr1s60 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: California	I've watched that keynote multiple times. Great seeing Steve as excited as he was about the iPhone. __________________ 15" MacBook Pro - iPad - White iPad mini - iPod Classic - iPod Shuffle - iPod Nano - White/Silver iPhone 5
	2

Mar 4, 2013, 01:29 PM	#24
RdeCourtney macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2010	In that clip, Safari definitely ISN'T snappier...
	5

Mar 4, 2013, 01:30 PM	#25
Chris Blount macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Antonio, TX	The CEO of Google does a quick speech a few minutes later. He should have just stuck a knife in Steve's back right there. What a sleezeball.
	6

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