Barista is just a catch all job title. In reality, most of us spend very little time making drinks. There are a lot of tasks that are required of you and making drinks is only one of them.

You’ve only been a partner for 2 weeks, you’ll get there. In my opinion, it’s best that trainees get well rounded on every task besides bar first. There are a few new people at my store who were trained with an emphasis on bar and getting them to do anything else besides standing by the label printer waiting for a drink to print is like pulling teeth.

I'm a shift lead, and I know I have a bad habit of sending the same barista to the same position each night. The best thing for my Baristas to do is to ask to be elsewhere ("Can I be on bar/drive/register?" Is usually all they need to say.) I'll try to at least give them some time on said position, even if only for an hour.

Try to ask the Shift for some time on something other than customer support so you can get some practice.

I didn't get bar time for my first 3 months because I was the newest and no one wanted to give me a chance. You have to constantly advocate for yourself and get others to as well. About a month in of no bar I started complaining to shifts and the SM and finally about 3 months in I got a chance.

I feel this. When I started, I was out at POS or DTW all the time for three months straight (with the occasional CS role). I had the same shift supervisors working certain parts of the day and I normally worked opening/peak so it sort of made sense. I remember I went to my first evening shift and told that shift supervisor that I wanted some more time on Cafe Bar because I felt out of practice. She put me on DT Bar that shift for the first time and while I was scared shitless at the time, I ended up loving it. She will put me on Bar anytime she can to this day. The other shifts I had would still keep me on POS, DTW, or CS cycle because, well, I was there so often I became good at them. I asked the shifts at the time for more variety and with the exception of the one who didn’t really listen, they said that they needed the strongest people on their strongest positions during peak. One shift (who demoted a year ago and is much more fun to work with now) said she always put new people there so they could observe and learn.

I ended up going to my manager and asking how I could get more time off of POS/DTW. I have anxiety and have a very expressive face so I know the stress shows every time. She said the same thing about strongest people in strongest positions due to me working mostly/solely mornings (read: peak) but she found ways to get me on Cafe Bar and Mobile Bar. I am back to being in the same position all the time but I don’t mind because it’s Warming and I love Warming. There was also a shift who shortly afterwards started the morning asking people what positions they wanted that day which was lovely.

So go to your shift leads/store manager and ask if you could switch it up a bit. Say you feel like you don’t have enough experience in other positions and need to exercise those muscles so to speak. A good manager/shift should be able to find a compromise where you get a chance to practice at more stations. I would also go to all your shifts you regularly work with and say, “Hey I have been here for so long and I need more practice on (insert station here). Can I do that today at some point?” They should be able to fit it in where they can if they are good at their job