OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: Starbucks as a "fantasy job"? What do you think about that?

Respected Chicago columnist Mary Schmich says she knows a lot of people who fantasized quitting a good job to go to work at Starbucks."Starbucks was the great American backup plan. The emergency exit. The parachute," she writes. "You could tell yourself that when you were ready to bolt your job -- or your employer kicked you out -- you could land softly at Starbucks, padded by the promise of part-time employment, a pleasant workplace, health care and free coffee. It would be a simpler life." With all of the layoffs at Starbucks, "now a dreamer needs a backup to the backup fantasy." Discuss this essay -- read it here -- or bring up anything else Starbucks-related in the Open Thread. || Jump to the most recent comments

Comments

[Coffee Soldier]

Hmm...I think this article does hold some validity considering in my store alone we have one barista who is an author, another trying to be an author, one writing a thesis, and 2 artists, one of which is pretty established and sells his photography for hundreds of dollars.

[still a coffee lover]

I thought it would be a perfect job, boy was I wrong.! I lasted 6 weeks before I got fed up and left..
I guess it all depends on who your manager is...

[CZSM]

Well as a college graduate with an unused mechanical engineering degree... sure glad i didnt go to work for boeing and buy a $500k house 5 yrs ago... now 7 yrs with the company, i'm freakin thankful that i've stuck around and am now a SM... i cant believe i get paid what i do for what i do--i definitely dont take it for granted... and being in a remote resort area is great--minimal politics. repetitive and mundane as it might be--not so bad after all is said and done....

[Torontodude]

CZSM:

Tell me more about your store and its customers. On this site, we hear a lot from cranky urban baristas. But there is more to the Starbucks story than that.

Are most of your customers on vacation? It your store a hang out for locals? Is it busy? Is it the only coffee place in town? How are the tips? Do you find some of the corporate policies silly, given your location?

Spill the beans.

[Barista]

Its my college job and not its not the perfect college. I care about my partners and the company, But I'm going to College just so i will never have to work a job like this in the future.. I'm putting in my two weeks in May exactly two weeks before I graduate.

[ra ra]

I've actually heard the following words come out of a customer's mouth, "Get an education!" because her drink had whipped cream on it.

Most of us have degrees. Heck, most people I work with have more education than any other group of people I know!

[Drive, He Said]

QUESTION on HEADPHONES

A lot of the cafe stores in my area are now using headphones. Why is this? Is it that they are so loud they have trouble communicating over the noise? Is headphone use common in non-drivethru stores? We might be getting headphones. Are they uncomfortable? Do they work well or badly?

[CZSM]

Toronto-

We're in a high-median income town of 10,000ish (ski resort area)... our sales double on holidays which help us achieve budget through the off seasons... our store is a central hangout for locals as most other businesses in our complex have gone out of business (not totally economy related, mostly contract/landlord issues)I transferred from the portland market 5 yrs ago and worked my way up. i have been able to bring the sbux 'culture' to our area as most partners here only have our store experience to judge our company. Having rapport with customers and partners, as well as having a great DM has helped immensely in our success.. tips are around $3/hr.. I enforce all policies, as expectations are clear from the start. CV is consistently >80%. Anything else??

[The ASM]

Drive, He Said -
No, they are not uncomfortable. The main reason that they are used in cafe stores is for the practicality and speed they provide. When a cafe uses them then there is no need to yell the drink out to the bar, instead you just press the B button and tell the partner on bar. Also, if your SM is wearing one and they are in the back you can just get a hold of them while you are still up front. Its great!

[E.Z.]

As one of those people who has occasionally fantasized about Starbucks employment, I think I can shed some light here:
A lot of people in 'knowledge worker' jobs (programmers, designers, marketers, etc.) like the idea of a job with well-defined tasks (make drink X for customer Y) and a well-defined 'end of the day' (go home when your shift is over).
Starbucks appears to us to have that, plus health care (the main reason a lot of knowledge workers don't quit their current soul-sucking jobs). You don't have projects that never end or day after day where you stay late for no pay.
It may be that we're wrong, or that there are many non-obvious negative aspects to the job (there usually is for any job). But that's where the fantasy comes from.

[spence]

TorontoDude,
I'm a happy barista in a good place, too. And it does depend on the mgr. I've had great and awful. I nearly quit during the awful.
We are not far from a 2nd Starbucks but we do not have a drive thru. We get walk-ins. We know them. They know us. At night, the lobby and patio are filled with regulars. Age doesn't seem to matter. 20 year olds sit with 60 year olds. People float from table to table. It's like a party.
During the day, we have many people who "work out of the home." Translation: There's loud children at home so they work here. When I do a lobby slide, I always know at least 25% of the people by name. If it's not crazy busy; just steady, we avg just less $3 or more an hour on tips. If we get slammed which is often, we are lucky to have $10 in the tip jar by lunch with 3 partners having worked several crazy hours. We avg just less than $2 an hour by the end of the week.
Ways to increase tips: Offer a french press or to make a batch of bold. Always good for a $1 tip. Let them see you pull the marble loaf from the middle or reach back for the largest apple fritter. Another buck. Ask how their family is if you've met any of them. $$$
Oddly, enough. I do all of the above anyway without expecting a green tip. But, I'd have to be blind not to notice.
I love it here.

[hotel barista]

I have a full time job doing IT for a credit union, but I started working 2 or 3 days a week at the Sbux a block from my office when it opened up. I had always been a coffee lover, so I was excited for the opportunity to learn how to make the drinks I enjoyed.

I love working for Sbux (tho, technically, I work for the hotel). In my "real" job, I stare at a computer screen all day and I rarely interact with people outside my office. I have so much more fun making lattes than I do troubleshooting an ATM or programming a server.

I consider myself lucky to get to spend 15 hours a week doing something I really love, especially since I spend 40+ at a much more boring desk job. Maybe that's why my attitude is different from so many baristas on this site?

[IC Lover]

I joined Sbux after being laid off from a corporate job 2 years ago. I also work in my primary field, but that job does not offer benefits. I have to say, the pay is just OK but when you add in the benefits, it's great. I like interacting with customers, enjoy the challenge of getting that dry capuccino right, like the free pound of coffee. And love that I can leave the job there when I take off the green apron.

[Torontodude]

Interesting thread.

And a nice change from the doom and gloom, sturm und drang stuff that has been the predominant theme lately.

I do agree that a good manager makes all the difference. My regular downtown Toronto stores has one. He lives in the neighborhood and seems to know many of the customers. I've seen him do just about everything: including tidying up the tables, taking out the trash, and even training other managers. I've also seen him in other stores. The guy seems to be everywhere, doing everything. He always has a a smile - along with a finger in every pie. I'm especially impressed with the way he deals with homeless people -- a constant challenge.

[marydavis]

Since this is the open thread....

Melody, I think of you every time I go into my neighborhood Starbucks and see the little blackboard that says "Limited Availability - Rare or seasonal offerings: PIKE PLACE, where it all began in 1971."

[Mr.V.]

Strangely enough, i've actually been trying to get a part-time job at sbux in the NYC area... And it's to get the same kinda feeling that 'hotel barista' does...

I love coffee, and I also love the hospitality industry... I hate my job of staring at a computer all day for 40 hours... I can see myself being happy with working a few hours at an sbux during the evening or weekends just to clear my mind of work stuff, make some extra dough, and just make some coffee for others in a happy way :)

[Ariella]

Funny. when i was a barista, I dreamed of some sort of deskjockey job so my feet did not hurt all the time. I may get slammed for this, but the deskjockeys should be thankful that they are not at starbucks.

[Christin]

I find it amusing thatbwhen the post is negative all comments follow that tone and everyone seems to hate starbucks, but when the post is more positive like this one everyone jumps on board "golly her starbucks is great!"

Sheep!

[Christin]

Blurg that was supposed to say "golly gee"

[Torontodude]

Well, the downtown Toronto store I frequent is near the gay village, the University of Toronto, museums, art galleries, cinemas and an upscale shopping and hotel district.

I get the impression that many of the baristas are students, freelance graphic designers, and artsy-fartsy types. The turnover is quite high,but most seem happy to be working at Starbucks. I'm also guessing that Starbucks is thier "day job" -- or at least not the most important part of their identity.

So maybe they have a greater ability to roll with punches than other types of employees.

[green_cup]

This is for Melody:

I went into a Starbucks today for the first time in quite a while with some folks from work (meeting) and was pleasantly surprised to see bold and decaf on tap after 1:00 PM.

This was at a downtown store, so I'm pretty sure you had something to do with this.

Bold and decaf? I was impressed, which is kind of sad since having those on tap shouldn't be a big deal for such a large coffee operation like Starbucks, but given the recent policy changes, it was impressive.

Either way, they even had six baristas behind the counter working the line getting people out quick. Pleasant, not too talkative.

Maybe I'll have to come back the Starbucks again -- maybe things are changing and for the better.

Although my hiatus from Starbucks due to the company's poor decisions, poor service and poor products has opened my world to such great Seattle coffee places like Vivace, Stella, Stumptown and Peet's.

Either way, thanks for the crusade, Melody. It seems to be working!

[Melody]

@marydavis, that tickles me pink to hear. It's always nice to be thought of. :-) At least Monday through Friday until 6 pm, I can always get a nice bold cup of coffee.

I can see fantasizing about working at Starbucks. I've had thoughts that it would be wonderful to just be a barista, and when you leave work your work is all done. But when you walk into a Starbucks and suddenly start think about all the hard work: Restock the shelves, change the trash liners, keep the condiment area clean, and run between the register and an oven, it no longer looks like such a fantasy job.

I have a (used) green apron that I got from a barista outside the city of Seattle. I've thought that on Halloween (or actually on 10-30, since Halloween is on a Sat.), I'm going to wear a nice black & white suit and walk down from court with my green apron tucked in my briefcase, and surprise my barista-friends and tell them I'm ready for them to put me to work!

At least in my core store area, I'd say the turn over isn't all that bad as often baristas transfer from one store to the next rather than leave the company. I know a number of very well-educated baristas who seem to genuinely like Starbucks and have been with Starbucks for a number of years. In one store I frequent, the overwhelming majority of baristas already have a 4 year degree - one barista has a piano performance degree and wants to get a masters in education, another barista has some sort of undergrad degree but really wants to be a nurse and is working on that, and I've talked with other baristas and although I'm embarrassed I don't remember better their educational backgrounds, the core downtown Seattle area seems to have an articulate, sharp group of baristas on the whole. At least that's what I think! I’m not the only downtown Seattleite at Starbucks Gossip.

@CZSM - I don't know really what the tip rates are for downtown Seattle core stores, but I'm under the impression it varies heavily.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I think there should be an official petition for Starbucks to have BOLD and DECAF. I brew BOLD and DECAF after 7 usually because we have some leftover. Customers who come in get a good cup of coffee.

[Melody]

@marydavis - it's funny how we're all so connected by this website and how we have moments thinking of each other. I often wish Kathy could come to Seattle and we could have a Clover cup of Colombia Manzanares together. :-)She is in a rural place, and she has to drive miles to get to a licensed store. Well it sounds like she's getting good service from her licensed locations. There's even one licensed location near me that I like (I go in for House Blend sometimes! *gasp*) and has great service, and I definitely think of Kathy every time I visit the one and only grocery store Starbucks that I really like.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Melody,
In the weekly action items, there should be several pictures of you, stating that if this woman comes into your store, do whatever she says.

[pea]

A SM in NYC was arrested for assaulting a disagreeable patron two months ago. The guy fouled the rest room and spit onthe manager. The SM ran after him down the road and assaulted him. The SM was fired.

Does anybody know more about this? Should the SM be fired or be promoted for trying to keep bad customers away?

[Barista Ben]

It is still pretty easy to get a job at sbux if you really want to. I can look at a listing now and see about 10 jobs near by for managers.

The SM should of been fired. If a customer does things like that you can always contact the police and say you were assaulted. Attacking the person who did it though? It's not self defense if you run him down. Sad, but true.

[not anymore]

green_cup said

Maybe I'll have to come back the Starbucks again -- maybe things are changing and for the better.

Please, do most of the baristas a favor and stay gone. It's bad enough they have to put up with your ugly behvior on here.

[MonkeyJoe]

"I consider myself lucky to get to spend 15 hours a week doing something I really love, especially since I spend 40+ at a much more boring desk job. Maybe that's why my attitude is different from so many baristas on this site?"

It could also be that since you're not dependent on this job to survive economically, you don't have to stress about losing hours or being left out of a job because they're making asinine decisions that you feel are driving away customers.

[green_cup]

green_cup said

Maybe I'll have to come back the Starbucks again -- maybe things are changing and for the better.

Please, do most of the baristas a favor and stay gone. It's bad enough they have to put up with your ugly behvior [sic] on here.

Posted by: not anymore | February 07, 2009 at 01:28 AM

Well, if I have a negative attitude and display "ugly behvior [sic]", it is only outweighed by your exceedingly much more expansive negative attitude and nasty, nasty behavior.

Either way, I'm correct in what I say. You? You're just petty and have a sense of unearned entitlement and arrogance. That's pretty pathetic. Thanks!

[DayDotYourself]

Asm's are being cut.
more news next week *feb.11

[sad in ny]

i was layed off yesterday. i was a barista for a year and a half. =[

[Amanda]

I worked for both a corporate SBUX and a licensed store at a ski resort. I will NEVER work for them again! They try to give the least amount of hours possible. I even lost my benefits, b/c I was an hour and a half short of the required 240 hours needed for the previous qtr. They are wasteful and biased. But, I still enjoy pouring my hard earned money into them almost everyday. That just makes me a hypocrite, but dammit, I can't make my drinks taste the same at home!!!

[yeah baby!]

Tim Hortons Inc. and the parent of Cold Stone Creamery said Friday they will team up to create up to 100 co-branded stores that will offer customers both ice cream and coffee shop fare.

Tim Hortons shares rose 31 cents to close at $24.49 Friday.

[yeah baby!]

Tim Hortons shares rose 31 cents to close at $24.49 Friday.

Tim Hortons Inc. and the parent of Cold Stone Creamery said Friday they will team up to create up to 100 co-branded stores that will offer customers both ice cream and coffee shop fare.

SGossip is deleting the facts again

[Former RainGrlBarista]

LMAO! You have got to be kidding me, right? This columnist needs to have her head examined! I had worked for SBUX for over 2 years when I got the infamous "pink slip." Keep in mind that this took place over the holidays and there was plenty of scuttle over upcoming terminations & store closings into 2009. I loved and enjoyed my employment @SBUX in spite of the rollercoaster like changes and inconsistencies (please pardon if my spelling is incorrect.) I am here to say that the only 3 guarantees in life are death, taxes and heartbreak. I miss my former partners and my regular customers. But like everybody else out there, I must move on and keep going forward in life.

[Grande Latte]

As a regular reader of the Chicago Tribune I can say that most of what this reporter writes is trash. She often looks for the "touchy-feely" angle on a story and comes off sounding like she's writing for a high school paper.

[Melissa]

That article is true. My plan B was to manage a Starbucks. I got to that point, as I was restless in my job, did Starbucks for 4 years, and then went back to my old job. I met the best people at Starbucks, some of who I miss dearly. I quit in July 2008, right before the crap fan started spinning. It was good timing for me, and I am glad to have gotten out. It was not a bad job, it was just not what I wanted at the end. I was having chronic back pain from standing 8-10 hours per day, and getting frustrated by the snap reactions they would make us do. So I left.
Interesting, I worked in the Pittsburgh, PA market, and we did not have the warming program, no sandwiches, nothing. I am interested to see what they will do in this market. Without it, we were still always successful, I ran a 1.6 million dollar store, but who knows if they will make the investment to get ovens for all these stores, or maybe they will come out of the closed ones. Anyone know?

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Melissa,
I had read that the Allegheny Mountain Region was not getting warming.

[Melissa]

Wonder why not? Oh well, not my beeswax anymore. Thanks REBEL.

[halfdecaf]

Has anyone else been told by their store manager or DM about the "big event" coming in 2 weeks? Some big announcement about breakfast...and my DM told me that it was not about the "value menu" that Howard alluded to in his speech at the investor's meeting. And a mandatory store meeting the week of the 15th for all partners...

Anyone?

[Kathy]

Melody
I would love to share a Clover with you, if only I could get to Seattle. The baristas at my favorite (and closest) licensed store are fantastic! They really know the meaning of "just say yes". They sample anything you ask for, they know us and will make suggestions for drinks they think we might like. Usually they are spot on. I think one of the main reasons this licensed store is so good is because a lot of the baristas are original to the store. By that I mean that they were there when the store opened and they are still there.
This past Christmas the baristas at my favorite SBX made gift baskets. I got one for my daughter with lots of teas, biscotti, mugs & another for my boss with a travel mug, biscotti & coffee. Now, for Valentine's Day they are making smaller versions of baskets. AND they brew Bold in the afternoons!

[Coffee Soldier]

So who got their proxy material mailing today? Voting to keep Howard in or what?

[green_cup]

Remember when Starbucks seemed like an unstoppable force? Those days are gone, kids. The troubled retailer, already suffering from falling profits and a slew of layoffs, was dissed in a recent coffee study from Consumer Reports. The ad-free mag ranked Eight O'Clock Coffee as the best-tasting coffee and noted that Starbucks, which costs considerably more, didn't even merit an honorable mention. Searches on "eight o' clock coffee" and "buy cheap coffee" made jittery jumps.

Posted by: The dude | February 07, 2009 at 06:45 PM

You know, that is a very good point.

People are consciously trying to save money on everything anywhere and everywhere they possibly can.

This probably includes coffee.

Between the economy and now Consumer Reports (and their generally respected, unbiased reports) coming out saying some way cheaper brand of coffee is actually better than the expensive Starbucks drip, that would be catalyst enough for consumers to at least go find a pound and brew it at home.

I'm sure it won't be a gigantic, significant group of folks who ditch Starbucks over Eight O'Clock brew, but it could be problematic as it erodes away Starbucks already well-eroded, significantly stretched thin customer base. It will be just a little bit of the base, but maybe significant enough to be noticeable.

A lot of "little-bits" add up eventually. I just wonder how many more "little-bits" Starbucks can withstand.

[Mike B.]

Off topic but i need an answer.

We used to brew coffee and set the timers to 35 to accompany brew time and started them right away. Or we set them to 30 and started them when it was done brewing.

We got a new shift recently and he makes everyone set the timer to 30 and start it when we hit brew. Is this right? He says that we've been doing it wrong but if you think about, we're not selling 25 minute coffee, we're selling 30 minute coffee. If we don't serve it till it's almost fully brewed then it shouldn't be expiring till it's almost fully brewed.

I just need to know for my own information. Even if you all say i'm right there's no way to get this stubborn jackass to change it since he already told the DM about all the "wrong" stuff we do during his first week and DM just plays along with him cause he finds this shift annoying also.

[il giornale]

Does anyone know what day the quarter ends? trying to figure out if i'm going to have benefits in a month...

[expired shot]

Sorry Mike, but I have to agree with the new shift. While in theory I agree with your reasoning, the reality is there are different brew cycles/times for 1/4, 1/2 and full batch. Resetting the memory on the timer every time you change is annoying, and too much of a hassle that no one needs to bother with. 30 makes it simple for everyone. I get annoyed when I walk in a store with anywhere between 33 min-35 min timers set to any sort of batch size, not because the minutes take away that much quality, but because it shows how varied interpretations of one standard can be actualized at all of our stores. I laugh, because I assume my DM is just as annoyed by me as yours is with him:) But we have standards for a reason, I guess sometimes we are supposed to pick our battles.

[stan]

so with valentines day fast approaching anybody notice no big push for verona this year?

[eleanor abernathy]

Mike,

Your new shift is right. Set the timer to 30 minutes and start timing as soon as you start brewing. That is the standard.

Did your DM tell you directly that he thinks the shift is annoying? Maybe the DM plays along with him because he is right and your store is doing things incorrectly.

[confused]

I was just told by my SM the part time option for the optimal scheduling won't be offered anymore and I would have to give 70 % of the stores opening hours as my availability or get lost. Anyone else heard of this? I'm a bit confused.