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Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind

Full History - 2019 - 04 - 20 - ID#bfd55r
13
Start date is coming up. Extremely nervous, so many questions. (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by snailsareprettycool
I'll soon be a "green bean." I am speaking to the manager later today to know when my start date is and wow am I anxious. I'm excited to learn, but anxious due to hearing how difficult it is.

I know I'll be doing computer training first, but what does this entail? I asked if it explains the POS and how to use it but she said unfortunately no. That's my biggest concern right now. Is there an easy way to learn all the buttons? I worked at another fast-paced, coffee place previously for over a year and the buttons on it were color-coded for hot, cold, and sizes were just to the left of those. Easy to learn; concerned Starbucks will be complicated and all over the place.

How difficult it is to learn the menu? It seems very overwhelming but am more than willing to "study" it before moving to actually working the bar.

How many buttons are on the ovens usually? Is it more of a timer to set or are there specific buttons for specific foods?

My mind is blanking on the seemingly millions of questions I have so, baristas, what tips, tricks, advice do you have for an incoming green bean?
DoWhatMakesYouRad 10 points 4y ago
It was pretty challenging for me to learn, but it really does come with practice. However, I think it was challenging bc I have never worked in an environment like this before and I had pretty shoddy training.
So I think since you have worked in a coffee shop before and are used to that kind of multiasking you'll do great!!
I think it was after about 10ish days of work that i really had a handle on the POS (Though not all of those days were actually on the POS 100% of the time, and I'm a slow learner...)
I think you got this!
snailsareprettycool [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Thanks so much for the advice! Love the username btw!
DoWhatMakesYouRad 1 points 4y ago
Good luck! You can do it.
And thank you 😊
pinkindigo 4 points 4y ago
Hello, green bean!!

It honestly just takes time to learn! Most likely someone will be with you so you can ask questions about where things are in the system. Don’t be afraid to ask customers to repeat their order if they say it really fast, or repeat it back to them if you are unsure! Most people are very understanding if you let them know that you are a brand new barista, or literally write on your name tag that you are a newbie! Try not to take grumpy customers too seriously, if you are kind and helpful they should have no reason to be rude to a new partner! Other than that I would just look around the different POS drink/food pages when it’s slow so you can find where little obscure items are. After a couple days ringing you will most likely know where almost everything is!

The ovens have about 8 buttons that have the different food categories; pastries, sandwiches, paninis, etc. Once you click the category there is a button for each type of item; muffin, croissant, loaf, etc. It’s pretty easy to find each item because of how it is laid out!

I would also recommend flipping through drink cards if you have time just to familiarize yourself with how some drinks are made in between when you are training on bar. It can be challenging to remember anything at first but practice makes perfect. Once you make 20 of any drink you’ll be doing it on auto-pilot, I promise. 😂

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I asked so many questions when I started but honestly that’s how you learn! Your coworkers should be very understanding because all of them have been in your shoes. Good luck out there! If you have any more questions feel free to message me! ☺️
snailsareprettycool [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Omg, this is so helpful and reassuring. Thank you for putting so much effort into helping!!

(It was a huge relief to read that you can put "newbie" on the name tag, haha. Will definitely be doing that!)
livw17 3 points 4y ago
In regards to the oven question- that’s probably one of the easiest things to learn. Every single food item has its own category/button so let’s say if it’s a breakfast sandwich you press that button and get a list of all the breakfast sandwiches then you just look at the package and see which one you have to press. Hope this helps. Good luck!! I’m sure you’ll do great!
snailsareprettycool [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Yessss, that reassures me a ton, thanks!! Was hoping it'd be that simple!
[deleted] 3 points 4y ago
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magicalmissfitz 3 points 4y ago
Aaaaay a fellow newbie! My manager is actually who recommended checking out Reddit for a lot of the questions I had so the good news is we’re in the right place 😂

I had my “first sip” Thursday where I did onboarding documents like tax, emergency contact, etc. and sampled a drink or two and talked with my manager about my official availability (I told him I could open during my interview but they need you to fill out a form with exact hours you can work). I was there maybe an hour and a half.

I don’t know if this is common but he had me come in the next day, Friday, for first day of training. Sometimes it’s further out because they have to schedule a barista trainer that works with your schedule availability too. It just happened that we could start right away for me. Buuuut we had some technical difficulties getting started so fast and the three hours I was there was a bit of a bust as far as structured training.

What you’re supposed to do is watch videos on things like beverage sequencing (the steps of making hot drinks, cold drinks, etc), the different roles in the store like customer support vs being on bar, and do modules that are like little lessons on everything you’ll need to learn. My manager told me that we have only 20 hours available that are dedicated to official training and after that you’re supposed to be on the floor doing stuff. So he felt super bad that he didn’t have everything set up to get me started on the right foot and not waste some of those hours.

The good news is I was able to meet a lot of the other partners and feel more comfortable instead of my usual anxious self with strangers 🤷🏻‍♀️

As far as specifics of the POS I haven’t seen the screen yet but next time I’m behind the counter and can get a glimpse I’ll try to update! In the meantime here’s a thread that basically says you have every right to be scared of it but everyone goes through it and practice makes perfect 😂 GOOD LUCK FELLOW NEW GREEN BEAN!!

$1
snailsareprettycool [OP] 2 points 4y ago
Thank you so much for all of this!! Wicked helpful. We got this, fellow green bean!
[deleted] 2 points 4y ago
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snailsareprettycool [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Will definitely be asking tons of questions! Thanks, Rose!
amm514 2 points 4y ago
Prayers through your suffering of barista basics and scenario wheels. My biggest tip is don’t expect to get it all right away. It took me 3 months till I was 100% comfortable with everything and was confident. Don’t be to hard on yourself green bean. We all were horrible once.
snailsareprettycool [OP] 1 points 4y ago
"We were all horrible once." That's great, haha. Thanks so much!
takcajaz 1 points 4y ago
Hello!
I'm an almost five month old partner, so I remember quite clearly how scary it all is. I can promise you, it's not as bad as it seems, especially compared to other jobs! Everyone at my store, especially shifts, encouraged me and told me that if you're slow to start, it's alright! I'm the youngest in my store, and though I've had a couple food service jobs before, this one was a whole new ballpark.
Ask questions, and be verbal if you need help. Otherwise, your fellow partners are going to assume you know exactly what to do or have everything under control. Too many drinks to do alone? Just ask! Not sure the exact recipe? Ask! Someone mobile ordered something that seems off? Definitely ask! We have one older lady who won't stop ordering a white mocha with ristretto long shots, so your coworkers can help you make judgement calls on stuff like this.
And believe me, mistakes happen! Just this morning, I spilled a lot of steamed milk on the counter next to the bar. My shift laughed at me, said "How did you manage to do this?" and then cleaned it up for me.
It gets easier and easier, and you're gonna be fantastic :)
ajades1013 1 points 4y ago
Took me about two weeks to get enough of a grasp to do POS and DTO/DTR by myself. Even after that I had many questions. What helped me was taking pictures of the screen and studying it at home, but honestly just be open to asking questions and receiving feedback. As long as you’re willing to learn it will all become easier as time goes on :) you won’t even realize how well you’re doing.
snailsareprettycool [OP] 1 points 4y ago
What is the DTO/DTR? Two weeks doesn't seem too bad. Will definitely take some pictures of the screen! Thank you!!
interyx 1 points 4y ago
Drive Thru Order (taking orders over the headset) and Drive Thru Register (taking money at the window.). When it's really busy those will be two roles so the person taking orders doesn't have to deal with people at the window and vice versa but if it's slow or short staffed you might end up doing both, which takes some coordination and multitasking skills.

Of course it only applies if your store has a drive thru. If you don't, I am super jealous.
snailsareprettycool [OP] 1 points 4y ago
The store I'll be at actually doesn't have one! I feel bad that yours does!
interyx 1 points 4y ago
So lucky. A single queue is a lot less pressure because they actually time you in DT.
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