I've been working here for almost a year and I STILL get anxious about going to work. Right now I'm 10 minutes from starting and we're already out of peach, liquid cane, whips, and who knows what else until I start. It's stressful for sure and customers are super rude towards baristas, but that's literally how it is #tobeapartner.

Im about 3 weeks into in and ive learned that if you have a great team, everything will be okay. We all communicate about what we dont have and we all try to keep things moving even when we are behind. I get nervous still but I know my team is here to help pick me up. It takes time! Just keep learning and remember, quality first. My trainer told me that she would rather me be a little slower but as long as the drinks are great, then its okay!

The entirety of my first month I had anxiety. I was a closer and don’t know how to do any closing tasks and my shifts got frustrated when I didn’t know what to do for a lot of stuff. We got out late a lot and they got frustrated with me. I had one point just after finishing training where I felt like I was on the verge of tears.

It gets better the more you learn. I personally found it very helpful to be straight up with my shifts and Sm and ask what I can do better. They gave me very direct criticism which is just what I needed, and I worked on what they told me to work on. The more you work the better it all gets. You don’t make as many mistakes once you’ve made the same drink a million times. You eventually learn where everything is so you don’t have to keep asking people where to find things, etc.

It’s extraordinarily stressful starting off, but I have to say that, for me, getting through the rough period was very gratifying once it’s done.