Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Any love I used to have for working as a barista is gone (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by legolassssssss
I worked at a smaller coffee shop chain for 3 years, and after 1 year at Starbucks almost any affection I had for the job of a barista is gone.
I can handle shitty customers, but combined with lack of staff, underpaid, overworked, incompetent staff and asshole manager it's just too much.
I am absolutely miserable and every day I dont go home crying is a success.
Not everything has been bad but at this point my mental health cannot take it anymore.
Hoping to be promoted to a customer as soon as I find other work.
Thanks for listening to my rant and if you're in the same boat as me you're not alone in your feelings and they are 100 percent justified.
I can handle shitty customers, but combined with lack of staff, underpaid, overworked, incompetent staff and asshole manager it's just too much.
I am absolutely miserable and every day I dont go home crying is a success.
Not everything has been bad but at this point my mental health cannot take it anymore.
Hoping to be promoted to a customer as soon as I find other work.
Thanks for listening to my rant and if you're in the same boat as me you're not alone in your feelings and they are 100 percent justified.
_coffees 20 points 2y ago
I want to leave so bad but I’m dependent on the benefits, mainly health insurance. Once I find a better job that has benefits I’m out of here for good.
[deleted] 16 points 2y ago
On one hand Starbucks has really good benefits for a fast food company. On the other hand it almost seems like they lure in vulnerable people and get away with treating them like shit because they have to stay.
_coffees 11 points 2y ago
This is a common tactic for many companies (in the US at least). They offer you benefits, stocks, 401K etc. to encourage you to stay with the company for as long as possible. It’s not necessarily unique to Starbucks, although they are one of the few fast food places to offer these benefits. It’s a smart move on their part but yea it can feel like a trap sometimes, especially when the pay is so low for the amount of work we do.
syntheticstrawbrry 3 points 2y ago
Yeah same. I’m using my Lyra benefits and WAS using the insurance, but that got cut because I was off by 5 hours :/ I considered working at target or something but I also hear that you don’t get many hours, like 8 hour work weeks and I’m looking for at least 25. It feels like I’m kinda stuck there.
curlyscrew 3 points 2y ago
targets benefits are much worse and much harder to get, you have to average at least 30 hours I believe in order to qualify for any benefits so it’s pretty difficult to maintain if you don’t want to be full time
legolassssssss [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Luckily I'm canadian so less reliant on the benefits (the dental and eye benefits are very good though) so I'm less trapped.
I'm really sorry that you suffer due to the shitty health care :(
I'm really sorry that you suffer due to the shitty health care :(
_coffees 1 points 2y ago
Nice, how is the healthcare over there in Canada? And yea, there are some cheaper healthcare alternatives here but they’re not very good and I’m just accustomed to the premium healthcare that I can get by working here.
legolassssssss [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Its decent, most things are covered by government health care. Things like vision, dental, and mental health arent covered. Pharmaceuticals arent covered either but they are very cheap to what is going on in the states from what I can tell. I dont make much money so any drugs I need are free at the moment cause I am low income.
Mariiriini 1 points 2y ago
Yup. Need health insurance until I finish my degree so I can get a job to pay for health insurance or have it as a benefit again. I definitely spite-study on my breaks.
ContentAd490 16 points 2y ago
Yesterday was my last day :) I won’t even be a Starbucks customer anymore. Plenty of other places with better coffee. Sad because I used to love the bux
cadmus1890 4 points 2y ago
This is the mood
ilikebigavocados666 2 points 2y ago
same boo
ilikebigavocados666 4 points 2y ago
apply to anywhere & everywhere! so many local coffee shops. post on ig or facebook and see if anyone has any recommendations or insights to other jobs. that's how I got my new job and quit Sbux ASAP!
ChthonicDreamer 4 points 2y ago
I just got a new job and ive put in my 2 weeks. Hope you find something soon!
legolassssssss [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Congrats!!! And thank you! :)
ANONYMOUSvipBARISTA 3 points 2y ago
THIS!!
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This is the exact reason why I ended my employment with Starbucks when they offered that separation package. I'm fortunate where I was just working for more or less the experience, and didn't need the money, but my heart goes out to all of you that don't have a choice and have to suffer through it.
​
There's this misconception that SBUX cares about their employees (and yes, I didn't use the word partner). A lot of the benefits are definitely great, but it seems like to most people they're meaningless. Rather than offering $240/year for "fitness reimbursement" I think it would be nice if maybe they paid the $9/hr and had an extra person on the floor at all times. Even if they cut some of the healthcare benefits, they could make the work environment so much better.
​
I would love to see a Starbucks Undercover Boss... that would be GREAT. To see some of these managers exposed is what I would live for. There were things that my manager did, which honestly, if I had reported them to SBUX, the labor board, or a few other places, they would be fined thousands of dollars and likely out of a job.
​
It is sad that SBUX allows stuff like this to happen, and, despite the progressive, "speak up" mindset that they praise and push, most SM's are tight knit with the DM's, and the DM's will never do anything whatsoever if a complaint gets sent, and baristas know this and risk/fear retaliation. Obviously there are some good apples out there, but my experience was just as bitter as Pikes Place, or just as rotten as that mocha that expired 3 days ago but is still sitting on bar.
​
This is the exact reason why I ended my employment with Starbucks when they offered that separation package. I'm fortunate where I was just working for more or less the experience, and didn't need the money, but my heart goes out to all of you that don't have a choice and have to suffer through it.
​
There's this misconception that SBUX cares about their employees (and yes, I didn't use the word partner). A lot of the benefits are definitely great, but it seems like to most people they're meaningless. Rather than offering $240/year for "fitness reimbursement" I think it would be nice if maybe they paid the $9/hr and had an extra person on the floor at all times. Even if they cut some of the healthcare benefits, they could make the work environment so much better.
​
I would love to see a Starbucks Undercover Boss... that would be GREAT. To see some of these managers exposed is what I would live for. There were things that my manager did, which honestly, if I had reported them to SBUX, the labor board, or a few other places, they would be fined thousands of dollars and likely out of a job.
​
It is sad that SBUX allows stuff like this to happen, and, despite the progressive, "speak up" mindset that they praise and push, most SM's are tight knit with the DM's, and the DM's will never do anything whatsoever if a complaint gets sent, and baristas know this and risk/fear retaliation. Obviously there are some good apples out there, but my experience was just as bitter as Pikes Place, or just as rotten as that mocha that expired 3 days ago but is still sitting on bar.
[deleted] 3 points 2y ago
today was the first time we had 3 people on floor before 10am and everything went so smoothly, it was the weirdest shift i’ve ever done
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