Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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How do you train your partners to ‘touch the cup’? Apparently it’s mandatory in our district but a lot of confusion as to how to use it? Do we stop making the drink and chat up the customer waiting or just be friendly and try to smile and greet them? How much conversation are we to have to have? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by serenagorda
serenagorda [OP] 3 points 3y ago
The idea is ok .. I get it for the barista who doesn’t connect at the bar but when we have both bars open and besides someone grinding coffee , music on and both the baristas are yelling out that they are making the drink ( at that time the customer runs to the handoff cause they heard their name.. and another yelling when you hand the drink out.. way too much !! I like the idea of chatting to a certain extent when handing out the drink but to be honest a chatty barista is going to drive the others waiting for drinks crazy!! I think being genuine snd friendly is enough and to be honest if you have s lineup it doesn’t make sense! Just hand out with a smile at least! No customer expects to have a barista ask about ‘ how’s your day going?? The most overused question! Let’s be friendly but we don’t need to learn anyone’s life story
M_Karli 3 points 3y ago
As someone who can easily have to make/prep 4/5 drinks at a time on the weekends, I'm dreading when my store starts pushing this. Am I supposed to slow down (which gives me angry guests) or do I try to talk to them all at once?!
pumpkinsnice 3 points 3y ago
I’m a shift supervisor and barista trainer. The way our store is taught is that before you begin making a drink, you call out to the person by name and let them know you’re starting their drink. At that point you can ask the customer if you have any questions about the order (like, an iced white mocha gets whip but 90% of my customers dont want it). You make the drink while talking to the customer, call it out again (venti iced chai tea latte for Mike!), hand it to them, and wish them a good day.
If you’re a newer barista, it can be difficult to make drinks while also talking to customers. Multitasking is hard when you’re struggling to remember recipes. Just do your best and communicate to your partners if you need help. Bare minimum, call out the drink and name of the person lol.
If you’re a newer barista, it can be difficult to make drinks while also talking to customers. Multitasking is hard when you’re struggling to remember recipes. Just do your best and communicate to your partners if you need help. Bare minimum, call out the drink and name of the person lol.
gingervitis_93 3 points 3y ago
Whaaat?? I've never heard of this... Is this primarily for stores that are slower? My store is pretty consistently busy, especially during peak times (obvious, but like... We get SUPER busy) to the point sometimes customers can have a hard time hearing me call out drinks with their names. I'm a little quiet and I try to be louder.
If I know specifically customers are waiting on specific drinks, I'll tell them "Hey Mike yours is next!" Or reassure them I'm working quickly and will get their drinks to them soon.
But connecting while making drinks all the time sounds like a great way to slow down the barista... Especially if they're hard of hearing (which I am).
If I know specifically customers are waiting on specific drinks, I'll tell them "Hey Mike yours is next!" Or reassure them I'm working quickly and will get their drinks to them soon.
But connecting while making drinks all the time sounds like a great way to slow down the barista... Especially if they're hard of hearing (which I am).
pumpkinsnice 2 points 3y ago
Its technically policy to do this every time. But, to be quite honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a store actually do it. Unless its a super slow store. Mine is considered “slow” because of lower sales, but we actually just have absurdly busy peak times (8am-10:30am) and then a slower day after, closing late with nearly no sales at night cuz our lobby is entirely students doing homework. So, when its not peak, we’re definitely chatting up every customer. On peak, the experienced baristas are usually on bar because theyre skilled enough to make drinks and chat at the same time.
But, being totally honest, I have literally never seen another store do this. Its policy, its something we’re definitely trained on, its something our district manager emphasizes.. but no one does it. My store does since we’re staffed appropriately to do so during peak, and slow enough later that its okay. But we are definitely an outlier.
But, being totally honest, I have literally never seen another store do this. Its policy, its something we’re definitely trained on, its something our district manager emphasizes.. but no one does it. My store does since we’re staffed appropriately to do so during peak, and slow enough later that its okay. But we are definitely an outlier.
gingervitis_93 2 points 3y ago
Yeah wow. If I have time, Ill definitely chat! But for me, it's also a hearing issue. I'm a little hard of hearing, so I have to be looking at the person to hear them. I can't look away. But I also have to look at the drink I'm making... So it's a lot of multitasking. Haha
asswaterv2 2 points 3y ago
this sounds awful if i was a customer and someone started asking me questions about my drink after i already ordered i'd be kinda upset tbh. i don't get why starbucks wants us to connect so badly very very few customers (at least at my store) like it. most clearly want to be left alone and i feel like it's bordering on rude or socially inappropriate to push interaction on someone who's on the phone or clearly just doesn't wanna be bothered
pumpkinsnice 2 points 3y ago
I mean, we’re not supposed to interrogate people. Im usually like “Sam? White mocha right? Alright working on it now, I got you.” And I make it, if they seem chatty i chat, if not I wont. Or I chat up whoevers next lol.
SkinnyDippinginTexas 1 points 3y ago
It depends. I worked at a kiosk inside a corporate building (although it was a real Starbucks, not a licensed store) and no one wanted to chit chat, everyone wanted their drink ASAP
colonade17 1 points 3y ago
It's a concept that was only recently introduced last quarter as "calling our the cups as you put the sticker on it to let people know their drink is getting started" that was literally the entire direction from my SM. The idea is really to get baristas to get their heads up and engaging with customers. As a SSV as long as I see baristas on bar engaging with customers I'm not coaching this, but when I see them staring at the counter and ignoring customers or chatting to other baristas that's when I enforce this.
serenagorda [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Do you have to call out the drink that you are making such and such for ‘joe’?
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