Starbucks Faster - A Guide for Starbucks Partners & Baristas

Hi - I'm Lenny, I worked at Starbucks from 2006-2013 (partner #1301323). I write here to help new partners and baristas get the most out of their time at Starbucks.

[starbucksfaster]

Can you live with a Starbucks co-worker?

Question: “Sorry if this has been asked before: I am in a bad living situation and one of my shifts offered to take me in for a while. At first i refused, but in desperation i took it one step further and offered to be his roommate full time. I wasn't aware of the part in the handbook about relationships and conflicts of interest until another shift told me. We've already had two shifts forced out by our DM due to a similar situation. I dont want him fired, but don't want to seem flaky. What can i do? “

----

Good question!

At my store, we’ve had several partners who dated each other .... but, they were all baristas. We never had a Shift or manager live or go out anyone at the store, and because of that, I’m not sure what the exact policy is. 

That’s why I decided to ask for you. 

Here are the some of responses I’ve gotten from current partners:

Also for reference is the actual policy (which apparently came out earlier this year and covers “close relationships” as well)

“I would recommend a transfer for one of them, if that's feasible. I can see the conflict of interest issue, and this may be a conversation to have with SM and/or DM. Explain the situation to them, and see if a solution can be reached. Sometimes if you talk to the higher ups and let them know why this has to happen, they are more understanding.”

“But they aren't dating, correct? Just going to be roommates. There shouldn't be an issue with that. At mine, our previous sm had a partner living with her until he was on his feet enough to afford his own place. The dm was aware and never said it wasn't allowed.”

“You aren't supposed to socialize with your subordinates. So if you a shift is dating/friends with a barista one would transfer. Same for if an ASM was friends with outside of work or dating a shift or barista. One of them would need to transfer. If they are the same position it is fine to work at the same store. Not every sm or even dm cares though and will just ignore it so it'll depend on that manager.”

“You definitely can't date someone at your own store, but the solution isn't to fire anyone, it's to transfer someone. As for living together, that's more up to your store manager, but it's definitely discouraged especially if one is a superior to the other. Again, the solution hopefully is not termination, but just one of them transferring to a different store.”

“At my store, a barista and a SS CANNOT live together or be in a relationship. The only way that could work is if the partners are at separate stores. We only had one exception at our store and that was because the two girls were already roommates before one of them were promoted to SS. Our SM just had to make sure the two were never scheduled together.”

“I was in literally THIS same situation, except 2 SMs were encouraging it. The only reason I was okay with it was because I (the ss in this situation) was transferring in a month. It's not against policy, but I wouldn't recommend it. But, if one of you transfers, then it's fine and no one should have issues.”

“We had this at my store, and one of them was transferred. I don't see anyone getting fired over it, just make sure communication with your SM and DM are there :)”

“A living situation might not necessarily be a close relationship. You might hardly talk to each other or do anything outside of working and living together. Just my viewpoint because I know two people in exact situation.”

[starbucksfaster]

Tips for struggling new baristas

Q: “Hello I am a new Barista. I really didn’t get alot of  training at all. My manager just leaves me with some of the more seasoned baristas and they are not open at all about helping me. My question is what can I do to take it upon myself  to learn how to make the beverages.”

Hey there -- yeah, I get it. It’s overwhelming when you’re a new barista.

I was referred by a friend to join Starbucks back in late 2006 (Holy shit... that’s 10 year ago!!!). She was a well respected senior barista at the store and because I was referred by her, everyone was super helpful and did their best to help me out.

But... the first time I worked bar myself without a trainer was still nerve-racking. In fact, I pretty much bombed it when I worked a mild rush.

Thankfully, nobody blamed me for sucking and continued to offer me advice for working more efficiently. I was able to make small improvements everyday, but it wasn’t until about 2 months later where everything “clicked”.

In my opinion, there’s no trick or reading you can do that’ll truly prepare you for the the bar. You just have to continuously work, and over time drink recipes and the motions will become second nature to you.  

There are, however... a few things you can do to speed up that process:

Memorize drink abbreviations (study them here). If you’re not sure, just ask the register person who put it there.

Write a note with the number of syrup pumps/shots that go into each drink size and stick it somewhere when you’re on bar.

Ask the register person to pass the drinks with the abbreviations FACING YOU so you can glance at see what’s coming up

Keep a consistent organization for your milk pitchers. This is what I used when I worked: http://www.starbucksfaster.com/post/12446027067/bar-faster-easier - This was a long time ago and may or may not be applicable to you now though

Most importantly... you have mingle a bit and ask senior baristas for advice. Only they’re able to directly observe you and see what you’re doing inefficiently.

Also important... if you’re working during a slow time, ask your shift if you can do bar. It’s a great time to practice in a low pressure environment.

At a higher level, you can also learn other tips in the Ultimate Barista Guide - there might be stuff in there that’ll speed up your training. 

Good luck!

[starbucksfaster]

Ive been a partner since 2014 was wondering if you had any knowledge of when we can deny someone service? We recently went from a cafe to dt store so we are all still getting the hang of things. At the old store we had our share of bad customers but nothing like this. In the past few weeks we have had customers screaming and cussing out partners (all separate occasions). Can I ask them to leave? Will we get in trouble for denying service?

Hey there, 

To be honest, I’m not sure what the official policy is -- I just know what we did at my store. 

During my second week of training waaaaay back in the day, I was working the register during a weekend rush. I was taking an order, and I must have heard my customer’s order wrong, or I couldn’t find the correct buttons on the POS... I don’t remember what exactly. And after a few moments of confusion, the customer got fed up, and said to me, “What’s taking so long? What are you... stupid?!”

That was a pretty shitty moment. Because yeah, I was new. 

But my shift was hovering around closeby and heard his comment. He immediately came, looked directly at the customer and said, “You can’t talk to us like that. You’re not welcome here anymore. Leave, and don’t come back.”

“What?! You can’t do that... I’m going to file a compliant with corporate!” 

“Okay, go ahead.”

He did leave after causing a small commotion and saying a few expletives. The rest of the customers though didn’t even bat an eye.

That moment set the tone for me. 

And over the next few years where I’d eventually be a senior barista in the store, we’ve kicked quite a few people out and “banned” them from coming back. Most people comply. 

When someone we banned did come back once, we pointed him out in line, reminded why he’s not welcome here, and told him to leave. We got a bit of a shouting match but he did eventually leave. 

This worked at our store because our manager was cool though and always had our back. Not only that, customers were awesome and one time one of our regulars defended us and even started swearing AT the rude person we were kicking out!

Again, I don’t know the official policy but I’m pretty sure you can kick people out for harassing baristas. Make sure you remember who it is and have a few witnesses around. That way if a compliant does get filed (personally, we’ve always been threatened but have never actually seen a compliant come through) you can back it up. 

As for the guy who said I was slow and stupid, we never saw him again. 

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[starbucksfaster]

So my store manager mentions he wants me to transfer to a new opening store. I tell him I don't want to. He asks me to meet up w the manager so I was like ah I guess I'll feel it out. A month goes by and all a sudden I'm on the new stores schedule. I confront him at a store meeting and he tells me I have no choice but to transfer. I told him we all have choices in life and that we have taken enough of everyone time so let's get to the meeting. My question is can I actually be forced to transfer?

Hey Matt, 

This sounds like a pretty bad situation, and to be honest, I didn’t know the answer. So I asked around but I’m afraid I have bad news. 

Apparently it’s allowed if it’s a store in the same area (although this was done in bad taste). However, if this causes some hardship on you (like additional travel expenses), you can call Partner Contact Center.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Good luck!

[starbucksfaster]

Hi there Lenny! I'm a new Starbucks employee (Kroger Kiosk), and I'm studying right now but for the life of me can't figure out what the beverage ID for a caramel mocha would be. I'm completely stuck.

Hey there! Sorry for the SUPER late reply... (I’ve got like 150 messages in my inbox). 

Um... I don’t think we had an official caramel mocha when I worked there.

If someone ordered that, it would be custom.

So I’d write it as a Mocha in the drink (M) and caramel in the syrup (CR). That should do it!

Hope everything is going well at your store. 

[starbucksfaster]

Hi! I just started 3 weeks ago.. I had a horrible panic attack at work and left early (with mangers permission) I'm going through a lot but I love my job my boss was kinda mad with me said I had like three before this one when I really didn't.. What can I do with this anxiety??? Help please!

Hey there, this sucks... but it’s not uncommon.

I have an old post that you might want to read: http://www.starbucksfaster.com/post/131520168765/tips-for-struggling-new-baristas

And by the way, when I started I sucked and dreaded coming in the work. Bar was the worst. I had nightmares about it. 

But there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. You can’t consciously control your anxiety... it comes subconsciously. You can fake your appearance to look calm, but underneath your body is still anxious. The only thing you can do is get comfortable. And this just means showing up and repetition. 

It took me probably 2 months to get completely settled in, and then I kicked ass. :)

Good luck, and don’t forget to read my old post! There are some good tibits. 

[starbucksfaster]

How easy is it for someone with prior lead barista experience to get hired at starbucks?

Hi there. 

I would say barring some weird personality deficiencies - it’s very easy. 

One of the biggest time consumers is training new baristas to be effective. It generally takes a few weeks at the minimum to many months for some folks, longer especially if they don’t get many hours (which is a likely case now). 

Managers don’t like spending the extra labor to train, and other baristas don’t like working with someone slow. 

So you if you come trained out-of-the-box, that’s a HUGE leg up on other job applicants. If your availability is open (you can always change it later AFTER you get the job!), I know my store would have hired you right away. 

Of course, your mileage may vary depending on the store manager but I’d say your odds are good. 

[fouxed]

Out of spoons?

So yesterday at work went a little something like this…

Me: *saying to lady who is about to buy yogurt* I’m sorry, we are all out of spoons, but I have some forks if you would like. :)

Lady: How are we supposed to eat this?

Me: I just did on my break… it really doesn’t make that much of a difference, I think.

Lady: You’re out of spoons?

Me: Yes. If you don’t want it, would you like something else?

Lady: Fine. But you really need to order more spoons. *shakes finger at me*

Me: I’ll get right on that :/ …

(Keep in mind, I work at Starbucks and I’m JUST a barista. Our orders come in on Fridays, so when we run out of things, it’s completely out of our control. I personally don’t believe you should EVER be rude to someone who is handling your food or drinks. I get ideas, not gonna lie.)

[starbucksfaster]

We used to tell some regulars with a straight face (but jokingly of course), “Sorry, but we have forks. You can use it without taking the packaging off. It’ll work just like a spoon!” while my partners all concur and nod in agreement. “Yeah, it works. I’ve tried it before. It’s even better than a spork.”

To the defense of the fork-in-packaging idea – it does work, and we HAVE tried it before.

And as ridiculously as it sounds, most people will just take it without a fuss.

[starbucksfaster]

Hey Lenny! This week is my first week on the floor. I'm not sure if you've already answered this or not, but what are the steps for opening & do you have any tips on opening as well?

Ahhh man, opening! I opened the store for several years -- that was my speciality! 

That was many years ago though and things haven’t changed. 

But I do still have 2 old posts that might be relevant:

1. http://www.starbucksfaster.com/post/132651485995/opening-and-closing-at-starbucks

2. http://www.starbucksfaster.com/post/55576971775/opening-starbucks-on-time-my-pastry-case-routine

That’s the best I can do for you buddy. I’ve been away from the game far too long to be able to tell you specifics. 

[starbucksfaster]

Hey lenny! Do you happen to have the learning blocks for barista training? I noticed you posted the shift supervisor learning blocks. Im hoping you can post the barista ones. That would be aaaaamazing :)))

Well, here’s the motherlode: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B-cQzj5BS53nM25PR2pseFhQZWM

[starbucksfaster]

Time management tips for possible shift super promotion. I definitely need to up my game. Are there any references for time mgmt specialty at Starbucks? Any info would be great! Thx!

If Sbux has official time management resources, I’ve never seen them. A lot of this will be learned on the job.

Managing breaks/lunch for baristas isn’t that difficult, and much of this is recognizing the strengths/weaknesses of your staff. Things like, knowing who is fast at bar, and putting them on during a rush. Knowing who’s good with customers, and having them POS during rushes. Knowing when things slow down, so can have people bus & take breaks. Keeping an eye on the camera if you’re in the back room counting money, because if things get hairy you might want to come out and help. Recognizing possible gaps in coverage, and having people take breaks/lunch before/after so everyone is on the floor during a gap. Knowing how long closing tasks will take, and getting a head start if you can.

Things like that. I don’t feel like official resources can help a whole lot and can’t get to down to the detail you’ll need for your particular store. If you’re going to be an awesome shift, you’ll have a process that’s better than what Starbucks prescribes, and the only way to get the knowledge is working enough until it becomes intuitive. 

[starbucksfaster]

Hi, so yesterday was my first day of training, and it was so much info to try and retain... and today I was told that tomorrow was going to be my last day of training. (That's only 3 days of training) so I came home crying because I still feel like i am totally in the dark... but I don't want to loose my job for being too slow or making mistakes, ect... please give advice? I'm so overwhelmed 😣

Hey, I’m sorry to hear this. 

The first few weeks are definitely the most overwhelming and I understand. When I started, I couldn’t tell the difference between a ‘fruit scone’ and a ‘blue berry scone’ - so embarrassing. Everything was hard. The POS, bar, pastry case, closing duties... everything sucked. I struggled a lot and thought I’d get fired too. 

This is interesting though because I swore I had more than 3 days of training. Or at least my partners were helping me enough that it still felt like ‘training’ even though it wasn’t official. 

Anyway, you’ll get the hang of things eventually. Once you work a few shifts on the POS, your brain will memorize the placement of the buttons. Same deal with the pastry case. The bar will take a bit longer, and that’s fine. I never expect new baristas to be competent on bar for AT LEAST after the first month.

Do ask questions and make small talk with your older partners. They’ll be supportive and share the struggles they had in the beginning too. Everyone has them.  And it’s important to have them on your side, because if your manager even *thinks* about firing you (you actually can’t be fired for being “slow” - people usually get fired for being late), he/she will probably get feedback from the senior baristas/shifts first. And if you’re making an honest effort, chances are you are fine. 

If you feel up for it, you can study these beverage resources: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B-cQzj5BS53nSVhQNFZXdDM3U0U

But like I said, everything will click after a few more weeks. 

[starbucksfaster]

How much training should a completely new employee undertaking the shift lead position receive? Your thoughts on the real life practicality of this person succeeding supervising 1-5 year tenure baristas?

I’ve seen someone make shift supervisor in less than a year. Actually, I believe one of my old partners was hired as a shift. So, yes... definitely possible. Here’s a little training guide if you want to get ahead: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B-cQzj5BS53nb21IeDNHaGx6dmM

[starbucksfaster]

Does Starbucks give you a manual during training

Not one you can take home, but there’s probably a big book in the back somewhere. Ask your manager!

[starbucksfaster]

Hi! I just got hired at Starbucks and tomorrow is my "mini shift"/ training day. I am so nervous. My manager made it seem a but frightening but he was very encouraging. He told me that the first month can be intense. Every time I order a frap. I notice a whole bunch of markings. Sometimes I can't even read them. During training, do they give you the list of abbreviations for every frap. or some type of guideline? Thank you!

There you go: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B-cQzj5BS53nSVhQNFZXdDM3U0U

Read that!

[starbucksfaster]

Hi there! I started following your blog when I was a baby barista I really appreciate this account! Recently I've come out as trans and I have two other trans partners at my store. We just got a new manager who is very unwilling to accept our pronouns and anytime we mention it she tells us not to talk about it because it makes her uncomfortable. It's really making the workplace miserable. How do I go about fixing this? I'm not going to just hush up about who I am. :(

I gotcha. You’re in a very delicate situation and I don’t know the best way to approach it.

On one hand, you can call Starbucks partner hotline and file a complaint. It’ll go through the process and chances are your manager will hear about it sooner rather than later. 

While corporate might force your manager to accept your pronouns, she’s not going to be happy and would probably undermine if she can get away with it. Things like assigning you less hours, bad shifts, write you up for anything, things like that. Things she can totally do that are within the rules but you’re not going to like. The complaint might be anonymous, but c’on... how many people are in your store?

On the other hand, you can try to talk to her about it and get to the root about what’s making her uncomfortable. Don’t try to convince and win the argument. Just listen and let her say her word. 

It’s much easier to get people to switch their minds if 1.) they like you as a person 2.) you understand their problem. After you’ve accomplished these 2 things, then you can make your argument. 

And keep in mind that there is no ‘rational’ reason to be unable to accept your pronouns. This is very likely something that’s much more deeply embedded in her personality, possibly from her upbringing. These sort of things are very difficult to change, but you don’t have to convince her completely... just enough so you can work together. 

[starbucksfaster]

1/2 Im a minor working at Starbucks and I have really small shifts and started in June, but I don't feel like I've got enough training. Im usually tasked with customer/floor support or register so I have no barring experience. So far I'm not reAlly

2/3 Enjoying my experience. Im slowly learning from mistakes and what not but a few of managers don't really seem to understand that I'm new. I come to work every weekend with a ton of anxiety and fear that my managers are going to be upset with my

3/3 current skill level. What are some tips you can give to who works at a store that trains on the principal of sink or swim?

Hey there! Sounds like a classic chicken and egg problem. You get small shifts so you don’t have experience, but you need experience to work the bar. Oh boy. 

It’s funny, because I was just like you. I worked only on the weekends at the beginning and it was always busy. In my case, I screwed up a lot on the bar during rushes. They had to kick me off a few times because I got backed up so badly. 

Anyway, everything eventually clicked and I kicked ass. Took a few months though. 

What helped a lot was getting slower night shifts where I can bar at a casual pace and get the hang of things. My partners were also helpful so that was very nice. But if I were you, I’d see if I could work some slower shifts on the bar. That way you can get your feet wet and hold your own during busy periods. And over time, this will build trust with your partners and you’ll automatically be assigned to the bar when it’s busy. 

Then you’ll probably complain about doing bar too much... :)