Day 55: The Waiter Picks Apart Her App
In a café on the waterfront in La Paz, Baja California Sur, María José (A), a young entrepreneur, asks Daniel (B), the waiter, to try out the restaurant-ordering app she has built.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Joven, estoy probando una aplicación para pedir desde la mesa. Usted ha de saber más que mis programadores.
Excuse me, I'm testing an app for ordering at the table. You must know more than my programmers do.
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B
Con gusto. A ver: escaneo el código y pido un café. Oiga, ¿la propina viene incluida?
Happy to. Let's see: I scan the code and order a coffee. Hang on, is the tip included?
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A
Sí, un quince por ciento, lo cual le conviene a usted: así nadie se va sin dejar propina.
Yes, fifteen percent, which works in your favor: that way nobody leaves without tipping.
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B
He de decirle que sale al revés: con la propina ya puesta, el cliente se siente presionado y la baja a cero.
I have to tell you it backfires: with the tip already filled in, customers feel pressured and knock it down to zero.
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A
Eso se ajusta. Lo bueno es que el pedido se imprime solo en la cocina, lo cual le ahorra vueltas.
That can be adjusted. The good part is that the order prints itself in the kitchen, which saves you a lot of running around.
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B
Ahí se nos incendia la cocina: a la hora del desayuno, don Froilán, cuyos chilaquiles mantienen a flote este café, recibiría veinte comandas de golpe.
That's where the kitchen goes up in flames: at breakfast time, Don Froilán, whose chilaquiles keep this café afloat, would get twenty orders at once.
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A
Pero la joya es otra: el cliente pide desde el malecón y, al llegar, ya tiene el desayuno servido.
But the real gem is something else: customers order from the waterfront and, when they arrive, their breakfast is already served.
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B
Eso lo intentó el patrón por WhatsApp: había pedidos cuyos dueños nunca llegaban, y los chilaquiles aguados no se le venden a nadie.
The boss tried that on WhatsApp: there were orders whose owners never showed up, and nobody will buy soggy chilaquiles.
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A
He de reconocer que me desbarató la aplicación en diez minutos. ¿Trabajaría conmigo? Al principio le pagaría en acciones.
I have to admit you've taken my app apart in ten minutes. Would you work with me? At first I'd pay you in shares.
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B
Se lo agradezco, pero con acciones no se paga la renta, y en La Paz está carísima.
Thank you, but shares don't pay the rent, and in La Paz it's sky-high.
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A
Tiene razón: en pesos, entonces. Y aquí está su propina, en efectivo y voluntaria.
Fair enough: in pesos, then. And here's your tip, in cash and voluntary.
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