I wasn't placed on bar until I had been a barista for almost 6mos. Every store does things differently.

For the most part if you're working ~30h a week I say it takes 6 weeks to make a barista.

Just don't stop asking questions, keep pushing yourself to improve and you will. You can't just show up and expect things to get better. You gotta try.

Tbf, Jan-Feb are slow months for retails. Use this time to brush up on stuffs. If you’re on register, study every single screen and find different ways to ring in modifications. Even learn little tricks here and there - do you know how to ring in multiple gift cards at one? What about those weird multi packs? If you’re on bar, practice art/sequence. Maybe try deep cleaning something bc once you have to take apart something, you’ll learn a lot. Good luck.

I started end of November, finished training by beginning of December (4 shifts) and was put on bar by my 3rd shift. I’ve now been here 2 months and can comfortably do cafe or drive bar during peak, but my store had amazing shifts that give me lots of bar practice!!!

Take notes! Ask if your store has the core drink cards somewhere. Study, ask to be put on bar when it's not crazy busy, don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions! Usually more seasoned partners can appreciate that they can share their tips and knowledge and that you are making an effort. That's the reason I got put on bar earlier than some other who just accepted whatever position without requesting ever. If you ever forget, and theres no one around to ask, punch the drink into the POS and itll have the base recipe there

I trained over four days in one week in September. I was on bar the following weekend, so basically my first actual shift. I took to bar like a duck to water, so it was super easy for my SM to put me there.

I’ve been working here since October and I was never put on bar up until sometime last month. I would always be drive thru...I think it’s mainly due to a nice shift giving me bar time since she actually listens unlike my other shifts...but once they realized I’m not bad at bar I started getting more time.