Starbucks Gossip OPEN THREAD: Your chance to start the conversation

Have a beef? A question? A comment? Here's another opportunity to post it. Anything Starbucks-related is up for discussion on the OPEN THREAD. || Jump to the second page of comments.

Comments

[Barista Ben]

I swear the QASA people are starting to make crap up. I heard a store got marked down because the white tube in the sureshot frap dispenser wasn't cut at an angle. The hell? It's as if they have to find SOMETHING to mark you down on, just so it appears they are doing something.

That being said, working at a slower store, we've never really gotten below a 95. Still - they are a stupid system. The real health department, which actually matters, hardly checks half of what they do. They tend to just look for rats or rodents or major issues. Otherwise? They don't really care as much.

[shift.misto]

its the end of the weekend, and i'm still alive.

misto=1, starbux=0

:)

[LV]

The ecosure system presumes every one of us is stupid. I understand date stickers on everything, but why do I have to label the mocha and caramel drizzle bottles every time I fill them up? They're transparent - No one's going to pick up a caramel bottle thinking it's really mocha and vise versa because they're different colors. And no tragedy or contamination is going to ensue from accidentally using the wrong one. We get marked down for so many other similar things, it just blows my mind.

[Yiancar]

Well believe it or not, here in starbucks Cyprus there was not only one bodyguard but 3

[Sick, Hot, and Tired Barista]

Yeah, I just found out that our RDO here in Boston is leaving. She is an awesome RDO, and I hope that this new RDO from NYC is half as great as FP was. Perhaps they will do something about the sinking morale in the Boston area stores..almost every barista nd shift I know is looking for another job.

[jose]

Has the Berry Blossom Blue Tea been discontinued at Starbucks?

[@PaPi™]

Hey tell QASA/ECOSURE they can check my sack and email me if we pass!!! What a bunch of pain's in the rear, do u want me to sell and produce quality drinks by connecting with my customers or do you want me looking for every little detail that QASA will mark us off on.. If I'm going to be Housekeeping for the store their is no time for you pain in the @$$ customers who want royal treatment...QASA's coming guard your rears!

[me, myself and I]

My SM just bought a flashlight so we can check under and behind everything. And if it doesn't look like new, we are supposed to go down on our knees and scrub it and polish it. How about store design avoiding those dark filthy corners from the beginning? Now, that would make sense, wouldn't it? Ah, well, it's Starbucks. Probably a barista on his knees is cheaper than developing an intelligent store design.

Since I promoted myself to customer, I will have a whole new point of view pretty soon. Let's see what that brings :-)

[Alex]

My, myself and I -- Does that mean you left the company?

[ash_sk8s]

@Jose

With the new line of teas that came out, Starbucks no longer has the Berry Blossom White

[spence]

The last time I checked, you could still buy Berry Blossom White at Starbucks.com

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

@papi maybe they will check my cheese?

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

You can also buy Berry Blossom White at Whole Foods

[Coffee Soldier]

We've always had a flashlight for doing out own audits...it says it at the top of the self audit under tools you will need.....now if I could just find some batteries for it :)

[stan]

ecosure marks off for broken plastic cubes. dear starbucks USE STAINLESS STEEL. we are not some mickey mouse organization, hell even the food service at MICKEY MOUSE'S organization uses stainless steel. it's better for the environment than plastic, easily sellable if you close the store, and in the long run cheaper.

[s]

Newest Qasa rule: No more than 2 flies allowed in the store at one time. We can't use fly tape. We can't have fly swatters. Maybe they don't have many flies in Seattle but we have had a wet spring in the south. Flies are a serious problem. We try to keep them out of the pastry case but they are keeping company with the fruit flies in there.
Exterminaters come in more than regularly but they just laugh when we complain about the flies. They can treat the place but reality is: Flies fly. They come in with the customers and don't even order a beverage. They just mooch off of everyone else's.

[spence]

Anyone have a good qasa approved suggestion for getting rid of flies?

[Melody]

@s - I'm asking you because I don't know the answer - how do other businesses/ coffee houses handle the flies in your area? Do flies win the battle for the pastries usually?

[Austin Bearista]

@datedotit: According to my calculations, that customer would need 21.15 pumps of classic in a trenta.

[Austin Bearista]

Typo, that would be 21.25 pumps of classic

[Barista Ben]

It kind of depends where the flies are coming from.

Dirty drains? Ice helps to keep them from spawning.

Dirty bag of towels left open? Stick the towels in a trash bag - close that bag each night.

Getting in through a open front door? Close that door and leave it close!

These are all issues we had that brought flies and we dealt with them that way and it seemed to work.

[Coffee Soldier]

Not QASA approved but very common in many stores they hang fly tape up at night and take it down in the AM and hid it away....it's very difficult in the summer at a DT when we have the window open connecting with a customer and in come the flies...it would help if Starbucks would invest in a blower like other DT chains have...we have a partner at my store who worked at Burge King and another former Dunkin employee as well who both said at their DT's there was this special blower that blew air down and at an angle at the window so bugs didn't couldn't come in.

[Melody]

@CoffeeSoldier - Is there anyway for you to suggest the blower to the SSC? Great idea. I mean, here in Seattle, I don't know that anyone would _naturally_ think of that. There are very few drive-thrus compared to other cities, and we don't have a fly problem.

[me, myself and I]

Alex, not yet, but I gave my notice and will be free on independence day (nice co-incidence) :-)

[Georgia Latte]

Melody... Some of our store do have the blowers... Keep in mind that most DT windows are designed and constructed by the building owner, not Starbucks. (we don't own our buildings, the landlord does, we just lease)

[Coffee Soldier]

Melody...it has been suggested through my DM, MSI, my facilities manager, and still nothing (this is over 4 years in the same store as well)...thank goodness one of the main focuses this year in on drive thru and updating out systems and getting them up to par of Starbucks standards! Hopefully a blower will come then! I'm very excited for wireless headsets next month!

[Roger Waters]

@ me, myself and I

Don't leave!! This page has been filled with great information coming from you! We need more!

[dottie]

In southern California we have fly fans above all doors and drive thru Windows. I'm surprised that they aren't prevalent in other areas.

[Melody]

@me, myself and I: I'm with Roger Waters. You sound sensible, smart, and warm-hearted. Though those skills will be needed in pretty much every single profession, Starbucks needs baristas like you. :)

[me, myself and I]

Thank you Roger and Melody.
I guess I will still visit Starbucks as well as this site. Somehow I seem to be addicted. Maybe not as much as you, Melody, but still addicted. Is there a self help group out there? ;-)

[Robert]

Is SBUX beginning a corporate business trend to curtail barista working hours in order to eliminate the baristas' eligibility for health insurance coverage offered via SBUX benefits program? . . . Or is this an anomaly in our large city SBUX market? . . . If SBUX is actively pursuing the effort to curtail workers' health insurance coverage as an employees benefit, would that not increase the possiblity of SBUX workers joining a union?

[Stephanie]

I went into a Starbucks yesterday to buy a bottle of syrup (my nearest Starbucks is 30+ minutes away and I'm addicted to the toffee nut syrup). They couldn't ring it up. They literally tried 10 flavors, none of the SKUs would work. Please, please tell me this is a glitch which will be fixed and they're not phasing out the ability for customers to buy liters of syrup. Please? With sprinkles on top?

[elaine]

Stephanie - We noticed a month or two ago that the bottles wouldn't scan, but if you manually input the SKU it works.

[Stephanie]

She tried that, Elaine. Thank you, though! :)

[booyah]

They could always ring it in using the miscelaneous sku, presuming they knew the price. 999900!

[JoBarista]

With regard to fly issues this spring/summer. I have the perfect SBUX answer. We have all types of sales quotas, metrics, QASA scores etc. we are required to hit every day. I now require that each barista in my store kill 4 flys per shift per day. They must catch them by hand in a way so as not to draw any customers attention...no fly swats, fly tape, bar towels, steaming pitchers, serve ware, plastic ware or newspapers/magazines, DCRs, cash logs or any other type of paper item allowed.

Failure to present the required number of fly corpses by the end of every shift may result in being written up and eventually separated from the company.

[doubleshot]

There is some debate among partners in my store on how an upside down caramel machiatto is made. Should the caramel sauce and shots go first? Also, the recipe for the starbucks doubleshot on ice. There needs to be a recipe card for this one. Is there 5 or 6 shots in a venti?

[Joe]

I am a former employee and cannot believe the greed behind this company. In the DC area they are decorating their stores like a 5 year childs tropical themed birthday party. Meanwhile the CEO is worth how much money? I am not disgusted by how the company has pushed the stock price sky high by boosting sales and really not worrying about profit. The stores are run like crap, and most managers sit in the back while their overworked employees become tired and irritated with customers. Starbucks has realized that the stock exchange only cares about year over year sales not profitablity. The stores are making more money but the businesses remain for the most part unprofitable and cold. They have cut labor and customer service went with it.They have boosted the overall amount of products they sell, whether its fresh, frozen or packaged food. I had a regional manager and a head of mid atlantic in one of my stores and they were in the store for about an hour. The word coffee never came out of their mouth. Think about that, a coffee shop where no one talks about coffee? I am not bitter about my experience there but i am sad about what it has become... there is no more community projects or love for the coffee business at all.

[kathy koffee]

how many stores out there still do the cadence with the coffee. I have baristas from other stores that said they never did it. whats up. do we or dont we.

[Mrs. Tillinghamshackles]

Venti Doubleshot on ice is 5 shots, 5 pumps.

[Tired of sbux]

Berry blossom white has been discontinued by Tazo. If you find some stock up on it!

[depressed]

I am a current partner. I am so tired no matter how hard i work it is never enough. I am not a manager who sit in the backroom. My store has grown since I took it. but does the bucks dm's rdo's fim's see that no. My dm and rdo gossip about me and refuse to discuss it with me directly. it seems to me if you are a certain age or make a certain amount they want you gone. I do a great job and this company look the other way when a peer manager flat out slandered my name to customers and partners alike. It was all lies and the company knew it. they has done nothing. my kids works for another store and has had to put up with harrassment due to the gossip. during all this I still proformed as always. We live in fear of losing ours jobs over nothing. I am afraid to even post this. But it is what it is.

[HELP]

I have been with starbucks for 4 years...WOW....It doesnt seem like just yesterday....My store opened dec 2008 and is among the top in our region! Our manager along with his partner and another shift manager during that time openly harrassed, abused,rertaliated,lied,manipulated,presented and or destroyed legal documents etc... against customers,other shifts and baristas for the entire time the store has been opened. They were reported to the DM after 6 months and nothing happened....1 year later 6 employees stepped forward and reported everything to HR....There has been a 6 week investigation and the manager was terminated and his partner also....the other shift remains in the store though she threatened to punch a barista in the face if they ever stepped through the door again....HR has paid that barista for 4 weeks leave and they know feel the store is a safe place for them to return....Bottom line they spent that time legally covering themselves....the list of policy and human violations I believe would even make HOWARD throw up.....truthfully this really deserves the attention of the media....HELP....I know that most partners get sick and tired and just go somewher else....But....we did the right thing and arent willing to give up before the outcome is in the best interest of all. What would you do???

[starbuckscard]

sirmarkisadick- be careful what you wish for.
He has also financially supported this site. Have you?

[Fred Williamson]

How tight fisted is Starbucks to stop the free cup promo when you buy a pound?
I always used to joke that with your $10 cup of coffee you got a free pound.
It was always this nice little touch of interest in your business. Is it possible the suits in Seattle are so detached from their customers? It puts me in the position to search for an alternate brand which I know will cost less.

[jordan shoes]

There was a serious disconnect. State air officials approved the use of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether or MTBE full-time in the mid-nineties in California, to add oxygen to gasoline to help it burn cleaner. But, they didn't coordinate with state water officials to consider the potential damage to our water supplies. Once the MTBE, a suspected carcinogen, startedasdf turning up in wells with its turpentine taste and smell, the state finally banned it at the end of 2003.

[owetseendat]

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