This is my first time posting to Reddit.... so let’s see how it goes. First, a little back story. Our SM was fired the DAY we returned to the store after the Corona break.
Ever since coming back from Corona, customers have just been outrageous! It’s like they were left being hit with the stupid stick for two months! Even regulars I used to really enjoy seeing are seeming less and less friendly.... and the bad customers have only gotten worse. No, I’m sorry Karen, you can’t lean over my bar today due to the ACTUAL PANDEMIC we’re facing. Alright, Brad, your joke about getting the cops called on you might have been funny if it wasn’t the thirtieth time I’ve heard it today. And if it was funny and not just trying to get a rise out of us. Even the fucking “You should smile more” creeps haven’t let off. Dude, you can’t see me smile.
Since our SM was fired, our store was quickly put under the direction of someone who knows absolutely jack shit. They’re an outside hire and just straight up REFUSES to learn anything! They barely know how to heat up food, much less bar! All they do is sit in Café and work on their laptop. Our scheduling before was bad, but now it’s downright horrible. Every day these last few weeks there was an instance where there were only two partners on the floor for an hour and a half or more. One of these fell around the time the shift needed a lunch break, but decided to push it back as to not leave the other partner on the floor alone. Our new SM (who was in Café) told them they had to take their lunch or they’d be fired. I don’t really think that’s a real rule, just a show of what an asshole they are. New SM also fired a shift recently, leaving us with a shift shortage, so they actually had to step up and do their job. I primarily work nights and we normally have two-three people after 3 pm, which is awful when we get slammed from 3-4. On SM’s night, however, we had SIX people closing. Not just mids, but actually closing. Most of the baristas that were on the shift were green beans and usually worked mornings, so when the 3-4 rush hit, they panicked. Only two of us were seasoned baristas and really, there was only so much we could do. People packed café (even though we have a five person rule!) and our SM just watched. They eventually came over and asked if it was always like this, to which we replied, “Yeah, it is.” (SM then proceeded to print out reports and “show” me that we aren’t always that busy.... yeah, morning does more business because they have ten people. What they weren’t looking at was how consistent business stayed the rest of the day after people started leaving.... it’s like the conveyor belt model. If there’s less people, we’re going to do less business because we can’t keep up with demands.)
On top of dealing with all that, our store has also been feeling the storages. My last shift was a few days ago (I took some time off) and the main things we were out of were vanilla/SF vanilla, caramel, white mocha, cold brew, and frap base. That’s not even including the cups and such we’re out of! It’s ridiculous we’re even open!!!
I’m just really frustrated and thinking about quitting. I don’t really want to leave Starbucks because it is a decent job, but I’m not sure how much more stress I can handle.