I was a barista for a year and a half at a Starbucks franchise. I loved it, but there was a lot of BS that happened because it was not a licensed store and management could do basically whatever they wanted... my manager would basically completely disregard Starbucks procedures unless a higher up from Starbucks was there, and then she would remind us of all the stuff we were supposed to be doing and put on a big show while her supervisor was there. We never used timers, didn't pay attention to coffee cadence, didn't have assigned positions, and broke more rules than I can count. Another time, a customer stole an $18 dollar mug, and upper management made us all pay money we had made in tips to make up for it. (Don't get me wrong, my direct manager was a great person and loved her employees, but she did not have good work practices.) After months of trying to figure out how in the heck to do my job correctly (which was a giant guessing game) I really wanted to work in a licensed store where I could do my job right.

In March I was furloughed when my franchised branch was closed due to Covid. I've been working as a nanny this summer to pay the bills. Today I received a job offer at a licensed store to be a Starbucks barista! I'm super excited to be an actual partner/be on a team again. (I'll probably have a bunch of bad habits from my wacky barista job, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually!) Here's to a new team, and a better work environment.