Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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I’m a supervisor, advice for getting a jerk barista to do his job? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by pumpkinsnice
I work closings at a fairly slow store. We just hired this new guy maybe two months ago, and he is insufferable. He acts like he knows everything (he doesn’t), he makes drinks incorrectly constantly (and refuses to let anyone train him because he “knows”), rings people up incorrectly, never puts names on cups, etc. I’ve told my store manager about him basically every single shift, and I’m not the only one. Our supervisor group chat is basically complaining about him.
I’ve tried everything. I write his name and a task list and times the tasks need to be done by. He just doesn’t do them. I remind him as much as I can, but he won’t do them unless I’m standing there babysitting him, but then I don’t get my own work done. Most every barista closing the bar will have most every task done by the time I finish counting the tills, but he’ll have nothing done. And its not that he doesn’t know what to do; the task list is right there. He just doesn’t do it.
Our manager is too nice. She won’t write him up for insubordination. She just tells him to make sure he listens to us (he doesn’t). I’m at my wits end. What should I do to make him do his job?? Is there anything I can do??
I’ve tried everything. I write his name and a task list and times the tasks need to be done by. He just doesn’t do them. I remind him as much as I can, but he won’t do them unless I’m standing there babysitting him, but then I don’t get my own work done. Most every barista closing the bar will have most every task done by the time I finish counting the tills, but he’ll have nothing done. And its not that he doesn’t know what to do; the task list is right there. He just doesn’t do it.
Our manager is too nice. She won’t write him up for insubordination. She just tells him to make sure he listens to us (he doesn’t). I’m at my wits end. What should I do to make him do his job?? Is there anything I can do??
program_guide19 7 points 3y ago
If you have another closer, send him home. Take him to the backroom and tell him that he can go home because he’s holding you back and you’d rather close without him. Starbucks only hires 1% of the people that they interview, and if he doesn’t wanna do it, there’s plenty of people who will. Also maybe push your manager a little bit and tell them that you’ll be forced to call the district manager.
TheBlueSuperNova 5 points 3y ago
Uhhh where did you find out it’s only 1%??
the_senor_cardgage 3 points 3y ago
Yeah, if you can swing it, send his ass home- and if you can't swing it, see if anyone else can come in to help you close after you give him the boot. If he doesn't get the hint the first time, he'll start to get it when his paychecks take a hard dip. If not, see colonade17's reply for the best procedural practice.
pumpkinsnice [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Unfortunately, 1 closer and 1 supervisor can’t do it all ourselves. We have the biggest lobby in the district, and that alone takes forever. If everyone were good closers, we’d get most our tasks done before we actually close, so I’d do tills, 1 barista doing the last dishes + pilling the machines, and 1 barista mopping the lobby. And we’d be out on time or early. But he doesn’t start working on closing tasks until the tills are done and we have 15 minutes left. Once I babysit him, he works.
Last night I did send him home earlier though. He had an exactly 5 hour shift, and in my state we get fined if they dont take a lunch by the 5th hour if you work longer than 5 hours. I was going to send him home 5 mins early, and then he decided to tell me 3 mins before clocking out that he clocked in ten mins early. So I sent him home immediately and told the store manager.
Unfortunately for us, my manager basically hires anyone. He looked good on paper since this wasnt his first job, but I cant get him to do his job.
Last night I did send him home earlier though. He had an exactly 5 hour shift, and in my state we get fined if they dont take a lunch by the 5th hour if you work longer than 5 hours. I was going to send him home 5 mins early, and then he decided to tell me 3 mins before clocking out that he clocked in ten mins early. So I sent him home immediately and told the store manager.
Unfortunately for us, my manager basically hires anyone. He looked good on paper since this wasnt his first job, but I cant get him to do his job.
colonade17 5 points 3y ago
I've had to deal with a similar situation in my store. I tried to take any time we were slow to coach the partner. Review recipes using an "I do , we do, you do" model at first (I show the barista how to do something, then we do it together, and then they do it on their own. Then the next shift we have together I switch to asking him to show me something we worked on, and then using the starbucks what/what/why model. I found it helpful to have recipe cards, or routines printed out from the hub to be able to have a physical copy to convince the partner they they didn't actually know things they thought they did. sadly all that effort made very little impact, the fact that 2 other new partners made significant progress helped convince my SM that the problem was that barista.
After 6 months of the entire shift team trying to get the SM to do something and seeing very little improvement I contacted my DM, who came in to observe (this barista hadn't met our DM yet and didn't recognize him). The next day my SM gave a corrective action, later that week after more insubordination and a nasty customer complaint about the barista the guy was fired.
I think it would help to ask your SM to do an observation of the barista, though if he knows the SM is in the store he'll probably be on his best behavior. If it really seems like a lost cause then it helps to have specific problems documented especially things that negatively impact the customer experience, add labor that could have been avoided, or other waste that's a direct result of his conduct.
After 6 months of the entire shift team trying to get the SM to do something and seeing very little improvement I contacted my DM, who came in to observe (this barista hadn't met our DM yet and didn't recognize him). The next day my SM gave a corrective action, later that week after more insubordination and a nasty customer complaint about the barista the guy was fired.
I think it would help to ask your SM to do an observation of the barista, though if he knows the SM is in the store he'll probably be on his best behavior. If it really seems like a lost cause then it helps to have specific problems documented especially things that negatively impact the customer experience, add labor that could have been avoided, or other waste that's a direct result of his conduct.
pumpkinsnice [OP] 3 points 3y ago
She’s done observations of him before; he acts like an angel when she’s around. She’s even acknowledged it so whenever anyone has an issue, she asks all the supervisors and we all say the same thing. I may see if another store’s manager can come observe; we all know the DM super well so I know that wouldn’t work.
But thanks for the idea. Sorry you had to deal with the same thing.
But thanks for the idea. Sorry you had to deal with the same thing.
bbun223 4 points 3y ago
We have a partner like this at our store. To make matters worse though she takes to coaching very negatively. I was her barista trainer and after training her I got promoted to SSV. So everytime she says she “wasn’t trained” on something I take it super personally. When I’m trying to keep her on task and give her a list of what I need done for our close she’s said she’s “never been trained” how to do certain things... and I’m like... yeah you have... by me. She has now also threatened to call partner resources on 2 other SSVs after they coached her on something. Anytime she is told she is doing something wrong she takes it as “harassment” and bullying. We tell her how something is standard and she straight up says “yeah well that’s dumb”. There’s a big problem if it takes someone 30 min to make whip cream and I have to babysit them and keep reminding them of the task they keep abandoning every time they serve a customer
pumpkinsnice [OP] 2 points 3y ago
Ughhh. That sounds awful. Its annoying because I was the trainer for every new hire except the awful guy. So all the other new hires know what to do; the first thing I tell them is that its always okay to ask questions. We’d rather you ask and get it right than to not ask and upset a customer. None of my trainees have issues asking questions.
But this guy was trained while I was on a mini vacation (one week off), and I don’t think he had a trainer. Just whoever was on shift, vaguely training him. He tries to argue with everything I coach him on, saying “well I was told this other way” and I have to say “Who? So I know who else needs coaching” and he never gives me a name. He’s bullshitting. He just doesn’t want to admit he doesn’t know something.
I literally had to pull him aside while he was trying to “train” someone who’d been there longer than him. I had to tell him “You’re not a trainer. You’re not teaching her right. I’ll leave you two the recipe cards so you can go over them together, but you cannot train her, you are not a trainer.” He ignored me. Every time I would hear him out on bar saying something that sounded like training, I have to drop whatever I’m doing and go out there and tell him to stop. Its aggravating.
But this guy was trained while I was on a mini vacation (one week off), and I don’t think he had a trainer. Just whoever was on shift, vaguely training him. He tries to argue with everything I coach him on, saying “well I was told this other way” and I have to say “Who? So I know who else needs coaching” and he never gives me a name. He’s bullshitting. He just doesn’t want to admit he doesn’t know something.
I literally had to pull him aside while he was trying to “train” someone who’d been there longer than him. I had to tell him “You’re not a trainer. You’re not teaching her right. I’ll leave you two the recipe cards so you can go over them together, but you cannot train her, you are not a trainer.” He ignored me. Every time I would hear him out on bar saying something that sounded like training, I have to drop whatever I’m doing and go out there and tell him to stop. Its aggravating.
coffeesparklez 3 points 3y ago
Uugghhhh. I trained a female version of this person except trade lazy for aggressively overeager. Her life's goal was proving her barista trainer (me) wrong. She tried to coach me constantly on recipes, sequencing and routines. Always incorrectly. I printed documentation out day after day after day, constantly pulling routines and recipe cards out. She would claim her way was better and she didn't care what standard was, then in the next breath talk about how she was going to retrain everyone and become a shift. 😂 I had to burn the BOH ice bin because she was straight digging ice out by plunging the whole ice bucket into the bin becuase it was faster. The logic of," I JUST SAW YOU SIT IT DOWN ON THE FLOOR THAT'S NASTY" didn't compute with her, amd when a shift asked her to fix these mistakes she refused because "we would see, her way is better." i transferred. Eff that attitude.
pumpkinsnice [OP] 1 points 3y ago
I’m having that same attitude issue with another shift. She does so many things “faster” thats a straight up health code violation. The store manager just doesn’t care. We have a big sign by the desk that says whistleblowers are legally protected, I’m tempted to report her.
bbun223 3 points 3y ago
Omg nightmare! There’s nothing I hate more then overhearing someone trying to train another partner and the information is wrong. Then I have to be the asshole coming up to them and being like “yeah both of you are wrong this is how you do this”. Sometimes it really feels like people don’t want to learn :( when I started this job I was so desperate to not feel confused everyday because of all the information... and then I watch people do something wrong for the 10th time after being coached and I sort of lose hope.
pumpkinsnice [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Real conversation I had with a coworker while he was making a venti starbucks doubleshot by putting all the ice, syrups, and shots directly into the cup, and then shaking it with the lid, while we have the recipe card for it taped to the wall
Me: ...you know thats not how you make that, right? The recipe card is right there
Him: Yup.
Me: ...okay.
Me: ...you know thats not how you make that, right? The recipe card is right there
Him: Yup.
Me: ...okay.
jackissosick 3 points 3y ago
If it wont piss off your manager for staying too long, i find that it works for me to bite the bullet and stay late. Give him a list and give him NO help until you are 100% done. Then make him do every single task on the list before he leaves. Hopefully him staying late, which has actual consequences to him will get him in shape
pumpkinsnice [OP] 3 points 3y ago
I may do that next time. She prefers us to not stay late, and some weeks depending on the hours we’re explicitly told not to. But if he does that again, I’ll definitely have him stay late. I’ll tell the other baristas not to help him. Thats such a good idea, I think it’ll work.
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