Try talking to this new partner about this. I was certainly eager to learn to be on bar but in my 4 or so months I’m usually way too awkward to just disrupt a bar partner’s sequencing. I really just ask the ssv if I could be on bar.talking to him about staying planted helps.

Maybe just let them know that register is a planted position and that they should only be sliding off to grab warming in order to make sure that everything is as efficient as possible to not have everyone running into each other.

It sounds like we are in a similar situation. We have a relatively new barista and from what I have been told and overheard, she doesn't have much time left with us. One shift mentioned that she might be trying to prove herself and that she worked at a coffee place previously. She has a difficult time staying planted and every shift knows that you cannot put her on customer support because nothing will get done. No matter what position she is in, she is always finding somewhere to put herself. On POS tries to help on bar, which throws me off and also makes me fall behind. On CS, she's hopping on DTW and taking payments!! She's a nice girl but she's really started to get on my nerves as well as everyone else's. I don't want her to get fired for the sheer principle of the thing, but if she does happen to get fired, it will make our store run better.

If you don't like what somebody is doing -- especially a new person who doesn't even know the dynamics of the job yet -- say it to them, don't just give random cues and hope they figure it out themselves. I mean that in the nicest way possible. The person probaly has no idea they're throwing things out of wack, and taling a drink out of their hands occasionally to say "I can do it" isn't communicating that at all. Can't expect them to know something they've never been told.

i was so overwhelmed my first time on bar that i literally started crying — our SM gave me an extra 8 hour shift on my day off where she’d be there and fully staffed and i’d just be a bonus barista that could work on one of our drive bars and pull tickets as i felt comfortable. that helped a ton, but what also helped a lot was spending tons of time at the register learning drinks as people ordered them. as for the new guy, my advice is to remind him that partners are to remain planted where the shift has instructed them to be to ensure smooth operation. if he doesn’t, i would speak to a shift or your SM to correct his behavior quickly. explain it in terms of “this is hindering my success and learning ability here” and it should go over smoothly.

Usually new partners are just a little over enthusiastic about learning on bar. It’s kind of the most appealing, fun part of the job at first. So they sort of squeeze in there at any opportunity. It can be a bit annoying, especially once you’re in your flow and have everything set up and suddenly they’re mixing up drinks and doing things out of sequence haha. But just gentle reminders to them to stay planted or even just saying something to your shift if you’re comfortable should help. Try not to get too annoyed and deal with it calmly so you don’t cause tension! They’re just being a classic green bean it sounds like, I doubt they mean to be in the way