OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: 'Why working at SBUX was the toughest job I ever had'

Freelance writer Aimee Groth planned to pay her rent by putting in some hours at Starbucks. "My initial idea of working a leisurely part-time job was completely false," she writes. The young woman quickly learned that "this was going to be hard work. And a lot of it." Of course, that's probably no surprise to a good number of people who visit this site. Read her essay and discuss it -- or anything else Starbucks-related in the OPEN THREAD.

Comments

[bearista1220]

"we’d work through around 110 people every half hour with seven employees on the floor."

Haheum... how come we do 117/120 per half hour and get 5 people on the floor!? I always thought something was wrong with the hours we get...

[TiredofThis]

I'm assuming if your doing 120 half hours your a DT store. If you are only running five your manager sucks. If your a cafe that is probably about what ALS would give you for those numbers. That would also be on busy cafe.

[Ian]

One day, about a year ago, we ended up getting about 150 customers in a half hour; every store in the tricity area lost power except for mine. It was my favorite day of working at Starbucks - I ended up opening and staying for about twelve hours and the tips were fantastic. If your store has such a high frequency, I wouldn't complain - much like a DT store, it really does prepare you for if you wish to transfer, it gives a general ballpark for how well you will perform. :)

[baristamclane]

"How hard could it possibly be to make coffee?"

New hires who come in with that mindset seldom make it to the end of their probationary period. Not because making coffee is hard work, but because they don't realize that there's more to the job than hitting 'brew'.

[Venti Urnex Latte]

Don't forget inadequate training for new hires. They are thrown into a chaotic atmosphere and don't know what to do -- let alone doing it quickly. I am in one of the nation's busiest stores. I have seen people walk away when they see the length of the line. Sometimes we have four bars open with no letup for hours, not for a second.

[Confused as always]

Cistomers walk away or baristas?

What are we changing exactly about cleaning brewers and airpots?

[Marcus]

Reading that article makes me think a big problem is the lack of working space for baristas. It's something as a customer that I have noticed. It's like a three ring circus back there in an area the size of a closet. Also, when I worked for McDonald's my biggest annoyance at the beginning was the total lack of training. They put you into the thick of things before you were ready. I actually asked if they had training manuals I could read on my own time because the registers were quite confusing.

Anyhow, I can sympathize. I think everyone should do that type of work sometime in their life. You would never have rude customers if everyone had the experience of being on the other side.

[frapatte]

I wouldn't say this job is "tough", but it can be incredibly tedious especially after you've been a partner for a while, and if you aren't a naturally relaxed person then the hectic nature which sometimes ensues can send people into full-on panic/breakdown mode. It's also pretty tiring depending on how busy it is, but that's why we get free drugs--er, coffee.

[TheRootinator]

@Confused

We just got airpots delivered in the order! As well as new spoodles for when Blonde Roast launches (?)

Well, off to the portal!

[Tarvor]

What is going to be done with the airpots?!

[I.Heart.Spirit]

The airpots are being used to house decaf.

We will be brewing Pike, Dark, Blonde, Decaf in the morning.

[b]

Or if you are in the Boston market you brew all 4 ALL DAY!

[spence]

What stores are actually "grinding" their beans before EACH batch of coffee? We grind a bag and store it in a cube.

[javagirl666]

My district was actually involved in testing BRR and the drip coffee cadence. I am in a very high volume drip store and I thought this was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard of..but after doing it for 2 years now..its really no big deal to grind each batch as needed.

[Barista Man]

So if you are doing 110/half hour, how much in sales does that store do in a week?

[morningbecomes]

We always grind then brew. Takes just a minute.

[Starbuckers, Inc.]

Glad to hear about the airpots for decaf, hope it's true. My store recently stopped brewing decaf, and alternating only Pike & Bold - I hate it. I hate doing pourovers in the middle of a rush and I think it's disrespectful to our decaf customers, esp. if they just want half-caf, which is a perfectly respectable choice (just ask any pregnant or nursing mom who used to drink a lot of coffee).

YET, I do understand the waste issue. I think the airpots are potentially a good solution (if a bit of a counter space issue).

Also - agreed on grind as you go being the best system. Once you have your setup organized (a crucial part) and you're used to the process, it is both fast and a no-brainer.

[CaSM]

Empty, scoop, grind, rinse, load, brew, reset timer, takes 32-34 seconds and we do it every time.

[Ian]

Starbucks dictates that Pikes and Decaf Pikes be brewed at all times; the only one that is allowed 'wiggle room' is the bold, as it is not required. If I came fifteen minutes before closing and requested Decaf Pike only to find out you dumped it, I would request to talk to both your manager and I would call your district manager. An Americano is no equivalent.

[Waltie]

I don't believe Starbucks "dictates" that decaf be brewed at all times. Most stores in my region brew it until mid afternoon and then switch to pout over after that when a customer orders it.

[CaraMEL macheeto]

Starbucks definitely doesn't dictate that Pike and Decaf Pike must always be brewed. Where I work (Midwest), we only have to brew Decaf Pike until 1 PM, at which point it is put on pour over.

[MS]

My store doesn't brew decaf at all. We only do pour-overs for decaf. No demand. We will only get 1-2 decaf orders a day, if we get any at all.

[SwabnTheDeck]

Ian get a life, tell us where you work so we can complain about you to your boss :-)

[onyourcase]

Like many places,the Bux can be an easy or hard place to work depending on location. Also, who your SM, DM, and RD is can make a huge difference. They each have bizarre pet peeves and different levels of competence. It is very hard to work at my store right now because our RD is witch hunting and imposing his wants on us over the needs of the customers. Having his ego appeased has taken precedence to what customers want and need.

[spence]

@MS. You aren't getting decaf drinkers because they are going someplace else.

[MS]

@spence. Brewing decaf until noon was tested, when the store first opened 3 years ago and never took off. We are the neighbourhood store to a university with +50 thousand students who are our primary customers and make up %95 of our base, they don't want decaf.

[Lobstertrapper]

I guess after nine years of being a barista, shift, assitant and manager--and now having a desk job--I can honestly say that being a shift at a Sbux is the most difficult, least respected, worst paying and most responsiblity...plus your DM and RDs treat you like dirt on the bottom of their shoe and blame you for everything (as they always have to stand behind the managers since they hired them) and will always throw you under the bus at any time. Oh and Howard, has no respect for the work shifts do either, he patronizing and kind of has that UC Davis President mentality with the occupy protesters. I know as a manager I tried to treat them as best as Sbux would allow (not great) and supplimented where I could with treats and presents.

[BTLemonade]

We don't brew decaf at all either... Pour overs all day and we only do maybe 5 the whole day. I am grateful for this... It is a tremendous waste to brew batches of decaf all day. Our customers don't mind... Some even just call ahead.

[BTLemonade]

....o and most days we brew bold all day... Take that Ian

[redcup]

Ian you're welcome at my store anytime, even 15 min AFTER posted closing as it is actually dictacted by the company. i'll make sure your 'decaf' is ready for you.

[DC]

Redcup;
Its actually 10 mins after close, but same difference :)

[Ian]

I must say this hostility is most wonderful, I thank you for feeling so impassioned over what I say. Thank you all.

I wonder if there is a correlation between amount in sales and that of those who have responded here in regards to my statement.

[That Guy]

Best job I've ever had, and best company I've worked for. Im a SM who was hired externally... I have alot of expirence in retail world and by my expirence employees dont get treated this well in other organizations.

[Lobstertrapper]

Of course you do that guy--outside hires are paid on average 34% higher salary than internal hires. Even though you lack experience and have zero empathy for the jobs your staff actually do since you've never experienced how it actually is (training doesn't count). Plus, I hear that there are actual jobs within the PR dept at the BUX that troll these sites?

[That Guy]

Alot of organizations keep an internal / eternal hire ratio for a reason. Yeah I might have had little experience brewing coffee / running trash out etc but, that’s not our primary job function anyways. Eternals are generally hired to bring outside experiences within. Managers are hired for their leadership experience, developmental skills and innovative ideas. Once we are placed within our stores a smart DM will start leveraging our outside the box ideas and spread tested success out to the rest of the district.
I don’t know what my peers get paid and frankly that’s between them and their superior, I was hired for a reason, instead of disrespecting my years of success within other organizations why don’t you look at yourself and wonder why you didn’t get promoted / not paid the same.

I cant speak for all external hires but there are 3 originally external SM in my district, all of their stores have comped up significantly over LY and all have brought something along with them from their past experiences that has helped the whole district.

[Lobstertrapper]

Sorry Mister. But I actually got head hunted to bigger and better things and have been offered two DM positions in the hopes that I would come back to the BUX and since most of my pals still are stuck there, I keep up the fight since they are too afraid to post up here. Trolls and all.

And just as an FYI, best net and gross. Always the best P&L in the region and lowest partner turnover in the state.

[Waltie]

"I must say this hostility is most wonderful"

I wouldn't say people were being hostile, so much as correcting your misstatement about Starbucks policy.

[Waltie]

"Even though you lack experience and have zero empathy for the jobs your staff actually do since you've never experienced how it actually is (training doesn't count)."

This was a pretty mean-spirited and awful thing to say. External hires are no worse or better than internal hires. Some are great, some are terrible, and that goes for both internal and external hires.

But the idea that somebody was hired in as a manager has no "empathy" for the job is ridiculous. All things considered, there is very little that Starbucks partners do that workers do at most other coffee shops, restaurants, retail stores, etc. External hires have paid their dues just like internally promoted people did, they just did it somewhere else.

[Jay Delost]

This girl sounds like she's not cut out for the job. Sbux needs smart people on the floor, who can adapt in any situation. People who complain about the job consistently don't understand how well they're being treated. Go work at McDonalds.

[verismopro]

I have an off-the-topic question for anyone who may have an answer: my store is very much in need of a refresher on the customer priority sequence, and I can't find it anywhere on the portal or the laptop. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember the exact order of the steps, and they seem to have disappeared from the Starbucks training course. Anyone?

[whinersuckitup]

I tell people all the time `yea, this isn`t an easy job`but most people assume it is. I find it funny when reality hits new hires that everything we`ve been telling them is true.

[whinersuckitup]

@Ian incorrect. It's up to the manager of a store re brewing bold and decaf. They can other either or both as only pour over whenever they know it's best for their store. And I don't find it disrespectful to make a pour over for decaf customers. It's how you present it. It's made in under 2 minutes and fresh every time. It's super easy too.

[b]

Customer priority sequence?? The next person in line :)

[g]

Help a Customer
Help a partner help a customer
lobby slide
refill pastry case

[TorontoDude]

I agree with the poster who thought the writer wasn't cut out for the Starbucks job.

And she may not be cut out to be a writer.

The following has to be one of the most Goadawful sentences I've ever read anywhere:
Since there was no chance my new colleagues — or “partners,” as Starbucks calls its employees — and I would ever memorize all the drinks, we handled everything else: brewing and changing coffees (staying on top of which ones are decaf, light and bold roasts, while rotating them via Starbucks’ “coffee cadence” using 2-minute timers and grinding the beans, having them all prepared to brew — and never leaving one pot sitting longer than 30 minutes without dumping, since it’s no longer “fresh”), marking drinks (there’s a complicated shorthand that you’ve got to memorize, while translating what a customer is saying into “Starbucks speak” and calling it properly), rotating pastries, the food case, and tossing hot items into the oven — all while managing the register.

For the record it clocks in at a staggering 122 words. It is incomprehensible unless read 3-5 times.

Which is asking way too much of the reader

[hearbutloud]

I think anyone's mistake is in thinking that Starbucks is an easy, laid-back job. In most cases, it is not. It requires hard word, attention to detail, a friendly attitude, and excellent abilities to prioritize and multi-task. It is very clearly not for everyone, and many do struggle. If these are things you excel at, then Starbucks remains, if not a difficult job, still a very physical job.