A San Jose law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Starbucks, alleging that the coffee chain failed to pay baristas for training time spent reviewing, memorizing and completing Starbucks' training materials.
Under California overtime laws, employers are required to pay employees overtime compensation for all hours worked in excess of eight hours in a single workday or forty hours in a workweek. The law requires California companies to pay hourly employees for all mandatory training time.
Discuss this lawsuit or anything else Starbucks-related in the OPEN THREAD.
Alright, so who's got the lowdown on this Playbook thing? Does it change deployment? Does it involve scheduling? Nobody seems to have any answers, and we are supposed to be "getting ready" for it but at the same time have no idea what we are getting ready FOR.
Posted by: Crema | July 15, 2011 at 07:49 PM
No clue about playbook. This lawsuit sounds uh weird. I mean, yes that is the law and I am sure some managers violate that law and are awful people but as a company the policy is TIME WORKED IS TIME PAYED and it's been made very clear that if I violate the policy i can get in a lot of trouble. So this lawsuit sounds silly.
Posted by: Barista Ben | July 15, 2011 at 09:10 PM
re LAWSUIT: I read the article and its link, and it's not clear why the all the hours worked weren't reported. Don't partners keep track of their hours themselves and report them, is a time clock used, how is it done? Article says "Starbucks didn't report hours worked...for quizzes..." for example. So did someone stay after or come in on a Sat. to take their quiz or training, turn in a time card or whatever, and it was ignored because it was over 40 hours?
Is lawsuit saying the barista for example, worked 45 hours, 5 of it was training related, i.e. over time, and though barista turn in the hours, they weren't paid?
I have worked jobs off the clock and in some cases my employer put the hours down himself, even though I said I wanted to be there the extra time to accomplish a certain task. I believe a good boss doesn't allow that...though some will. For me it might've been I wanted extra training on a challenging aspect of job, and came in off hours to work on it.
Now to "discuss anything." Of late my local SBUX bold coffee is often rancid tasting. Nasty stuff, barely drinkable. The SM asked me once if the coffee had improved, and at the time it had, the rancid taste was gone...she told me to always let them know; I gather she knows they have a problem.
Only now the rancid is back again; I thought it was the French roast last week but they switched back to Italian, and as shocking as it is, I could barely drink it all. I did bec I needed the caffeine. The SM wasn't there.
Okay I'ma regular, I'm a good tipper, polite; I don't like to make waves bec this a one-SBUX town...even with the new rude barista I was nice (she has since changed, praise God!)
So why the rancid crap coffee? Are they not cleaning the machines? Are they using yesterday's coffee? Time of day, morning or evening doesn't matter--tho more likely in evening when store is slower and SM not there.
Help!
Posted by: Coffee Drinker | July 15, 2011 at 09:53 PM
Coffee Drinker -
We are supposed to use a chemical called Urnex to clean the coffee urns on a regular basis, however I have heard of stores who let them go for a long time with only rinsing and no cleaning. Old coffee buildup in the urns can make the coffee taste old or sour or stale... Could be that you have a store who frequently lapses on the cleaning.
Posted by: LV | July 15, 2011 at 10:09 PM
I know that's probably the case; I notice who's working when the coffee is lousy. I also am fairly certain if I say "the coffee tastes bad" certain baristas will say, "oh no one else mentioned that" or "you're the only one..." and they may be right. We love our baristas here and despise causing them extra work.
However, it's so awful lately I even went to 7 - 11 for truly fresh coffee; I tasted it and my SBUX, and then I knew the SBUX I'd been given was rancid as a rotting rat. Yuk!
I gather cleaning the urn takes a bit of time, and shortcuts are taken. I'll speak to the SM, she's asked me in the past to let her know when the coffee isn't fresh.
If I go in during a rush and the coffee's garbage, well I'm not likely to demand they stop and clean the urn etc. and I DO NOT want a pour over, a press, or an Americano ; ) Those aren't the same beverage.
Thanks.
Posted by: Coffee Drinker | July 15, 2011 at 10:18 PM
@ coffee Drinker
The urns also have seat cups that actually start/stop the flow of liquid from the spigot. (they look like adorable little silicone top hats)
They should get changed relatively frequently as they get black and disgusting, I'd wager that might be a part of it too. Ask the SM if they have a set urnexing schedule, and when the last time the seat cups were changed.
Or......you just don't like the super bolds , french and italian are horrid in my humble opinion.
Posted by: Doppio con karma | July 15, 2011 at 11:06 PM
I was gonna suggest a pour over or french press but i take it you don't like those. Maybe they let their coffee sit too long? I worked at a store that was awful with cleaning their urns but no one ever really complained. I now work at a store that cleans them too often (we urnex all urns every night) and I've never really had anyone comment that our coffee tastes any better or worse.
Maybe they are having water issues or their grinder is messed up?
As far as hours go - you punch in the back computer (like a time clock) but a manager, usually every monday, checks the punches and has the ability to edit punches. I can only assume a manager wasn't putting punches in correctly and now the company has a lawsuit to deal with. Such a shame for those of us who work so hard to make sure we schedule correctly and pay our partners correctly as well.
Posted by: Barista Ben | July 15, 2011 at 11:06 PM
I love the new cool lime refresher!! It takes like iced tea. But, it's so expensive. :-(
Posted by: blarg | July 15, 2011 at 11:16 PM
I adore the Italian and usually have many happy refills when it's on...the French not so much. i'm sure it's a cleaning issue as has been described. I cut the baristas as much slack as I can, and don't complain however when it's so bad it's undrinkable.... I like pour-over and press at times, for their own merits; but drip has it's own flavor and texture ; )
The truth is, I know they're dropping the ball and I must shut up about it now, or buck up and deal with it. Enough said.
Yeah the lawsuit is a shame. I hope it's settled without much further ado ; P
Posted by: Coffee Drinker | July 15, 2011 at 11:42 PM
Just to get it out there, French roast in a French Press is quite... formidable. :|. I do not recommend it.
Posted by: Ian | July 15, 2011 at 11:54 PM
I think that lawsuit isn't about scheduled training time (which isn't enough) but about time spent reviewing, memorizing and completing Starbucks' training materials. Remember when we all started. I know that I personally spent time off the clock studying all the recipe cards. I spent extra time studying the training guide.
Reality is: If you want to be great at something, it takes extra effort.
I don't think they have a reasonable complaint.
Posted by: spence | July 16, 2011 at 12:04 AM
Oh Geez. The lawyer is one of those lawyers that only gets paid if those that are suing, win. The baristas have nothing to lose but their dignity.
Posted by: spence | July 16, 2011 at 12:11 AM
I'd love to get more info on the new Frappucino Frozt drink. There's nothing about it on the Starbucks site, and the only other Google hits are for the Facebook page of one Starbucks in Sacramento.
Posted by: Hirayuki | July 16, 2011 at 08:17 AM
@coffee drinker: I would agree with the urnex as a possibility as we had something like this come up at my store last year. A new external shift was trained by a shift on the way out and she forgot to mention urnex/cleaning process. He closed the store for several weeks in a row. At that time, one of my regular customers pulled me aside and said the coffee tastes nasty. After some investigation, it was that the urnex not being used. Since then I make a point to follow up with him and of course, I drink the coffee myself while I am on a break.
Ask to talk to the sm and they will be willing to listen. If not, call the comment line (not sure if it is different here in Canada or not).
The last thing that a good sm wants is for you to have to dump your coffee. If others don't complain as the partners say, it might mean they just aren't coming back.
Posted by: kandi | July 16, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Thanks kandi what you say makes sense, there are at least 2 new ppl working now!
Once before the coffee was bad like this and one day the SM served me and said, "the coffee tastes a lot better now, doesn't it?" and she was correct; I gather in that case it wasn't being cleaned either. thanks for the good info.
I agree w person who commented re spending personal time to study and excel. For me that's what it takes ; ) Memorization is difficult for me I'd not want SBUX to pay for my time making and using recipe flash cards. It's awesome how much you all know!
Posted by: Coffee Drinker | July 16, 2011 at 03:31 PM
Dear Texan barista who told a PIDA customer who spilled her coffee on herself and got mad at you, learn your job! Instead of telling them some BS story to get them off your tail, give them legendary service that won't bite another barista in the butt! We don't give out steamed milk for free in coffee when there isn't any left over. Thanks for creating a scene in our cafe today. We all appreciate it.
Posted by: Learnyourjob | July 16, 2011 at 06:06 PM
Why does it always seem like these lawsuits or major complaints come out of California...Maybe a higher concentration of stores? or are they just a bunch of whiners over there? I can tell you when I started I definitely made flashcards on my own time for recipes and abbreviations and there were far less 9 years ago! I would never in a million years expect Starbucks to pay for the fact that even though I was being paid to train in my allotted time I took it upon myself to make the cards and study them. Next the Californians will be suing to be paid for doing community service and the time spent commuting to work.
Posted by: Coffee Solider | July 16, 2011 at 06:09 PM
Cali has some of the harshest laws towards labor for companies (from what I've seen) so its easier for a company like sbux to break the laws because... well.. there's so many.
So do I do training off the clock? Officially, no. Never. I could get fired for working off the clock and that is a dumb thing to get fired for.
That being said I love sbux and am constantly looking stuff up about the company/coffees/new promo's because that's just what I choose to do. I would _NEVER_ have a partner do any training without getting paid. Ever. Even if they offered, NEVER.
Posted by: Barista Ben | July 16, 2011 at 06:53 PM
*PITA
Posted by: Learnyourjob | July 16, 2011 at 07:11 PM
Playbook is CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Managers call Plays and it seems like there is a lot of labor on for the test...bet your bottom dollar we wont get this Extra Time like the test store..If company is true to form it will roll before holiday...
There is one Starback on that CANNOT make drinks they walk by bar and customers look confused and dont help with the 19 cups on bar...recreation of deployment
Posted by: Vic Via | July 17, 2011 at 07:06 AM
urnex is listed as a weekly task in the book
Posted by: me | July 17, 2011 at 08:11 AM
Vic via can you tell more about the playbook? Thanks
Also another reason the coffe can taste bad is the wrong grind. 4 ie someone moved it to French press for a customer pound and didn't
Move it back. Or the scoop measure is not accurate or the baristas are pouring before the brew cycle far enough along all barista errors.
Posted by: Memento | July 17, 2011 at 11:22 AM
@spence The frozt is being test marketed in Michigan. It's passion tea and a lime concentrate. Not bad, comes out looking like a neon pink slush.
Posted by: espressobean | July 17, 2011 at 11:59 AM
It takes like iced tea. But, it's so expensive. :-(
Posted by: Andy | July 17, 2011 at 08:29 PM
@Vic Via, if there are 19 cups on bar, there should be 2 dedicated baristas making drinks with one barista support, according to beverage routine standards, no?
What do you mean, "managers call plays"?
Posted by: Crema | July 17, 2011 at 10:13 PM
@Coffee Drinker, the urns are supposed to be deep cleaned weekly. This includes using urnex on the interior, as well as disassembling the spigots and sight glasses to remove the buildup volatile oils that make the coffee taste rancid. While this was my favorite weekly task, I have only worked in one store where the other baristas consistently cleaned them (and this was because the manager expected the urns to be cleaned with urnex daily to ensure that it became a habit). I made a point to keep up on this task myself when a regular came in the following day after breaking down the urns and noted how much better his coffee had tasted that morning.
Posted by: baristamclane | July 18, 2011 at 01:09 AM
So a question out there to the current/former Starbucks SMs and ASMs. How would you say would be the most successful plan of action to get promoted from a Shift Supervisor to ASM and SM after that?
Posted by: Streakn_it | July 18, 2011 at 01:15 AM
spence
Yes, thats how lawyers get paid. There are many people who are owed several hundred dollars each. In a reality-based world, they aren't going to individually hire lawyers. Class action suits are the way that many individuals who have suffered the same loss can join in the same lawsuit.
The lawyer invests his time, his money, pays his staff and when the suit settles, he gets paid. if it turns out Starbucks win he doesn't get paid.
You wrote "Reality is: If you want to be great at something, it takes extra effort. "
Please explain how that entails not getting paid for that 'extra effort'.
Posted by: Bill | July 18, 2011 at 10:11 AM
@Bill. Reality is: Those that try the hardest are more likely to succeed. If that means that a person needs to study the recipe cards at home or read the promo book on their own time, that's what it takes to be more successful than the person who doesn't know.
Those that do minimum, get minimum.
Posted by: spence | July 18, 2011 at 11:46 AM
Barista McClane, I could've been that customer who noticed the improvement. Some days the coffee is perfect; but here at least, now all too often it's good to undrinkable all last week ; )
With what I've learned about all this I feel more confident mentioning the coffee tastes bad. They know if things are as they should be. Thanks a lot!
McClane, are you related to "John McClane"? Have always wondered...
Posted by: Coffee Drinker | July 18, 2011 at 01:38 PM
Spence--
If Starbucks wants people to study at home; then they should pay them to study at home.
These are hourly employees. The law is VERY specific that hourly employees get paid. yet Spence you think that everyone ought to disregard the law and work off the clock.
And you seem upset that these employees have gone to court to ask a judge to hold hearings to determine if that has occurred.
Why is that Spence????
Posted by: Bill | July 18, 2011 at 04:10 PM
Bill...how is Starbucks suposed to stop new partners from studying at home? I can tell them time and time again time worked equals time paid so do your work in the store while on the clock...yet they chose to study outside of the store while off the clock? That is not the company's fault at all...I think that the partners should be written up for violating the company policy then!
Posted by: Coffee Solider | July 18, 2011 at 04:19 PM
@Crema That sounds good in theory but real life is different. We have only three employees in the morning and yes indeed we can be busy enough to have 19 drinks to be made. The floater, brewer, warmer, R2 is told that ringing more customers through is more important than helping the lone bar person. The customers have paid for their beverage so they will wait for it no matter how long it takes. LEAN has killed the flavor of SBUX on so many levels.
I had two middle aged folks come in the other day to purchase beans ask me point blank, "Is Sbux getting away from the whole bean side of things because it appears that VIA is more important that core coffees? The choices have gotten smaller over the last couple of years and the company seems focused on everything else except coffee with all the merchandise and specialty drinks being promoted." I almost dropped my jaw with that coming from a customer. Goes to show you the Original Core Starbucks faithful notice what is happening.
Posted by: usorthem3 | July 18, 2011 at 07:17 PM
"Is starbucks getting away from the whole bean side of things"?
In my 10 year old store, bean-land and the whole bean menu board have been replaced with a warming oven and a menu board featuring new pastries.
We are focusing on speed of service, drink quality and reduced waste.
Guess how many customers come in to buy a pound of coffee every week? 75-80. And how many come in to buy a drink and/or food item? 3,000+
Looks like our customers are making the decision for us, no?
Posted by: Crema | July 18, 2011 at 10:48 PM
Also, if you are running 3 over your peak period and running up a queue of 19 drinks,
1) I'd like to see what your BR2 looks like and
2) I'd be interested in where the heck that labor is actually being invested the rest of the day
Posted by: Crema | July 18, 2011 at 10:50 PM
@ Bill. I've decided I'm done with you. You just keep doing minimum.
Colombian and Colombian Supremo are gone because the beans were needed for Via. In the fall, we are introducing the Keurig cups. My guess is that Via will be drastically reduced at that point because they will need the beans for the Keurig. Bean sales have dropped drastically because soooooooo many people are using the Keurig. Personally, I only know of two households still using regular coffee machines and I'm one of them.
Posted by: spence | July 18, 2011 at 11:47 PM
Seriously? People made flash cards to learn drink recipes? California is right! What in the world were you people thinking about Starbucks when you weren't at work? Certainly not something I would ever "study" for!
Posted by: Time To GO! | July 19, 2011 at 12:52 AM
spence and time, the allegations are much deeper than that.
If it was simply the minimal examples you are giving, this suit will be quickly discussed,
what is it about the evidence about to be introduced that scares you two?
Posted by: Bill | July 19, 2011 at 01:00 AM
Bill stop being rediculous.
What do you know that all the rest of us don't?
I hated worked for Starbucks toward the end (I was an SM and I quit to work at another company). But one thing starbucks absoulutly did not do was make hourly employees work off the clock. It's stressed from day one Time Work = Time Paid. It is policy to NOT bring your training materials home.
Do some people still work off the clock? Yes. But that is not Starbucks' as a whole's fault. AS many have already said, people who actually do that are to be written up to prevent any confusion.
Did these baristas raise issue with their DM or RD first? Or did they jump straight to lawsuit?
Posted by: hipsterdufus | July 19, 2011 at 04:00 AM
Streakn, it depends on your state and district. Although SB's stated policy is to interview internal candidates and if they are not ready to use the PDP system, but they usually don't. In some areas like mine it's more of who you know that makes the difference. We have many DM's in our area who are less than steller and they promote friendly known people or outside hires they can micro-manage because they have no previous knowledge. The truth is you are on your own take care.
Posted by: Memento | July 19, 2011 at 07:31 AM
dufus If Starbucks never made you study on your own time, than you shouldn't get paid for that time.
if Starbucks made the next guy (assuming he was in a California store) study on his own time; penalized for not studying on his own time; or even made it difficult for employees to have a choice in the matter; they are in violation of the law and those particular employees deserve to be compensated.
They feel they have a valid case, and a judge has agreed that it should be heard.
My comments were to Spencer who feels that without knowing the facts either, Starbucks is wrong.
l
Posted by: Bill | July 19, 2011 at 09:44 AM
I've had so many terrible cups of Starbucks coffee(the most common complaints being that the coffee is either bitter tasting or lukewarm)during recent visits that I have made the decision to simply stop going there anymore. I can get a fresher, better tasting cup of coffee at just about any other coffee establishment in town--even my local McD's and 7-11 tastes better that Starbucks. And please don't try to make the argument that I simply don't appreciate good high quality coffee. I worked for Starbucks for several years and was a certified Coffee Master, so I know how coffee SHOULD taste! What gives Starbucks? Are you so focused on your damn VIA and lean procedures that you no longer have any interest in offering a good (never mind great) cup of coffee?
Posted by: ncsm | July 19, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Coffee Drinker, no relation to John McLane (to my knowledge)! It's a variation of a childhood nickname.
I hated when my coworkers neglected the drip coffee. The "it's just coffee, how hard can it be?" mindset was all too present at that store. Granted, if you don't drink drip coffee, you can't easily taste the difference between old and fresh coffee, or coffee that's been held in a dirty or clean urn (and regretfully, most of my peers at that store outright admitted that they didn't drink coffee).
So what exactly is Playbook?
Posted by: baristamclane | July 19, 2011 at 12:52 PM
More on Playbook....I observed the test store ..here is what I could see...The register partner never moves doesnt mark cups only marks warming bags...each reg has a back person who marks cups-pastry-and gets coffee-they stand there it seemed unclear who was bar support but these four never moved!
The starback walks with a timer and does a routine of tasks...including brewing coffee-condiment-restock-ice etc...cannot touch drinks???? It seemed very confusing I wish us good luck with this..imagine what the poor customer must think people standing there and 1 person making drinks...
Posted by: Vic Via | July 19, 2011 at 04:37 PM
1. barista mclane, so you don't look anything like Bruce Willis and don't run barefoot across broken glass? !!
2. I was first to mention flash cards; it's a learning style that works well for me, and yes, IF I worked at SBUX, which I never have, I can see myself making some to memorize recipes. But I'd never tell anyone now I've read this site ; )
3. I too know coffee, and I'm tellin' ya; I was desperate for a cuppa late Sunday after SBUX was closed and chanced 7-11 since had to put gas in my empty tank...and their coffee was EXCELLENT. They have a promo going with signs on the pump "fresh or we'll re-brew it" it was far far better than what I've had at SBUX this summer; I went to Starbucks yest and did a side by side test with fresh SBUX vs day-old 7/11. For shame Starbucks!
4. The treat receipt looks a good thing I may go for it, get a smoothie for dinner ; ) I"m switching to iced coffee or tea for now until I have a chance to talk to SM ; ) that is, when I'm not using 7/11 or local indie who roasts their own (but charges for water and has NO refills.)
TTFN
Posted by: Coffee Drinker | July 19, 2011 at 05:41 PM
Vic--so each individual register partner gets a backup? Or there is one backup for both of them? Bar should be able to keep up with the pace if they are on BR, so that I get, and the floater/starback can rinse/prep milk, along with slides, brew, stock, and warm.
Thankfully, that sounds a lot like how I run my deployment currently.
Posted by: Crema | July 19, 2011 at 07:16 PM
Also where is this test store?
Posted by: Crema | July 19, 2011 at 07:17 PM
@Crema Schedule is
4:30- 12:45 opening shift
4:30-10:15 opening barista
7-3:30 midday shift
10:30-7 preclosing barista
2:15-10:45 closing shift
Not sure if that shows what your looking for in information but that is the day.
First customer is there when I unlock the doors at 4:50a and then at 6a it starts to stay steady 20+ half hours till the rush 7 until 10 with up to 50 half hour totals. With orders to put away and check, IMS orders to approve & receive, breaks, lunches, deposits, it all just seems like every second of every minute of everyday is rushed and hurried.
Don't know when the ast time I spent 5 minutes talking coffee with a customer that wasn't VIA related.
I would note that 3> customers can create a 20 bev queue. The warming oven changed a lot of timing. I understand the need for more transactions rang per minute but it forces the now two register people to do everything for themselves and no support for anyone.
Posted by: usorthem3 | July 20, 2011 at 01:16 AM
@Crema sorry I forgot the closing barista 4:30- 10:45.
Posted by: usorthem3 | July 20, 2011 at 01:20 AM
Cant say where test store is...may out myself as I am a partner in area...manager creates "plays" based on transactions per hour and other data then must write schedule accordingly...it was starnge as each reg partner had a back up partner...manager then calls "the play" and positions change-keep milk caps in container so starback knows what to restock-it seems to be a test around NON Verbal communication..Literally 4 partners around register and 1 bar partner doing the routine....looked like a log jamm at hand off plane...Heres hoping we get this much support as I am sure it will roll right before Holiday!!!!! if our history stands true....
Posted by: Vic Via | July 23, 2011 at 07:27 PM