To sequence better/be faster:
1. Try to keep your bar as clean as possible. Even if it’s during peak and I have a bajillion stickers, if my bar is soaked and covered in syrup, I’ll still take a second to wipe it down. This ensures that customers’ cups aren’t covered in sticky grossness and also a clean space is a happy mind.
2. Try to designate areas for your whipped creams and caramels. It’s so annoying when I’m trying to move fast and have to look around for where I put my whipped cream this time, so I always keep both the CD and WC to my right, or in the center of the 2 bars if I’m double barring.
3. Try to be okay with pulling as many stickers as possible. Many of my coworkers will only pull a couple stickers at a time because seeing all the orders stresses them out, and since you’re newer, that’s completely fine. But I find that pulling as many stickers as possible helps sequencing immensely. That way if you pull a few drinks in a row and you see they’re all made with 2%, you can prep the milk in the steaming pitchers beforehand and it saves a lot of time.
4. Basically never stop moving! I always have one drink being made, and while the milk is steaming and the shots are pulling, I’m prepping the second drink by pouring milk and pumping syrups into the cup. If the first drink is still in the works, then I’ll prep the 3rd drink and so on. When the first drink finishes, I start the second while I’m sleeving and/or handing out the first. There should always be one drink being made and at least one drink that is prepped to go next.
5. If a drink has 3 shots, and I know this isn’t standard, but I like to queue the shots before steaming the milk since 3 shots take forever to pull. Some partners say if you queue 2 shots + 1 shot that it’s faster, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

But overall, you will naturally find ways to make yourself faster as you become more comfortable. Don’t be afraid to take your time making drinks since you’re newer. It’s more important to make a correct drink and really absorb what you’re doing, then the muscle memory will come. :)

Oi just ask love! Be brave! The way I did it is always ask if I can have some practice time after peak. I always work morning so at the start of shift I would always ask and around 10 they would let me on bar. Over time they will see your improvement and trust you more and put you on bar more offer :) sequencing takes time and you will only get better with practice!

You can definitely ask for more bar time! I had a check in with my ASM like month 3? And we just talked about how everything was going and I told her that I wasn’t feeling amazingly confident on bar and I’d love some more practice. We worked it out so I closed more often (less busy) and that I had some dedicated bar practice! Ask for it— managers want you to be successful!