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Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind

Full History - 2021 - 03 - 24 - ID#mcpd3w
2
needing advice from my fellow shifts.. (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by cammywams

i was just recently promoted to shift and have felt pretty good about it until recently..

i’ve been feeling pretty down on myself as of lately. I’m becoming overwhelmed with the pressure of being a shift supervisor and being expected to always meet goals/standards, get all tasks done whilst also supporting baristas on the floor, constantly having to deal with rude people, on top of being understaffed (most of the time) and/or not having the strongest of partners. Today was the first time I had an actual breakdown at work and I’m just not feeling very good about my promotion anymore.

Tomorrow I close with no assistance from another SSV for the first time and I also open on Sunday morning with no assistance for the first time as well.

I’m just feeling like these next few days could make or break me and I need some advice from my fellow supervisors. Can you give me advice on how you balance everything whilst trying to maintain a positive and motivating attitude?

And also, advice on time management during closing? I stress myself out so much during closes because I’m just thinking about the long list of tasks that have to be completed on top of running breaks, helping out on the floor, doing my shift duties, etc.

Also, any other random advice is welcome. ❤️
croissantboyy 5 points 2y ago
Definitely go with writing down a list of all your SSV tasks and try to revise it in the order that would be best (ie pm temps, then turning off one oven before close, then milk count, etc. ) Have a separate checklist for barista tasks so you can delegate everything and check off as they get finished (dump and rinse brewers, make sure back door/front doors are locked, turn off music, clean bars, dishes, mop floor, etc). You are also able to drop the tip bag number whenever you want so if you do that earlier in the shift and just keep the tip bag open in the safe until you finish off the night and put the rest in. There's a CSR card that has a task list for closing as well so you can use that as a reference for your own list. Make sure to add a task of "rags away and tied up" because i used to forget that a lot and make sure to do a walkthrough of the store before leaving to make sure you didn't miss anything silly.

It's also helpful to try and do the tasks that can be done before close like changing all the trashes (you'd do a little closer to close depending on how busy) dumping and rinsing out all but one brewer, cleaning the back up tea pitchers, dropping tolls that are no longer in use and keeping at least one open, filling the tills with the amount of coin rolls you should always have in there, basically just anything you can do early to minimize the amount of tasks you have once you are closed. You got this!

ANOTHER BUG THING IS TO MAKE SURE THOSE BREAKS GET DONE ON TIME!!! if your store is doing block scheduling it can be rough esp if you have halves to give. just try to write out a break schedule in the beginning of your shift with tentative times so you can keep track since you obvi can't give out 4 tens at the same time like the dcr will tell you to do
Individual-That 3 points 2y ago
Break all of your tasks down & compartmentalize.

I have to print out a list of what I need to do, and I check it off as necessary.

No one is expecting perfection, it is a learned skill to multitask - and you be fine!

And congratulations!
sp_c_g_d 2 points 2y ago
That last part is huge for me. I typically show up fifteen early to grab a drink and write down my basic plan for the day before I have to hi/bye the first block partners.
Bwaybelter 2 points 2y ago
As the previous comment said, lists are SUPER helpful! As is breaking down the day into reasonable chunks (aka open, when breaks/pulls/orders need to be done, etc) to give you a guide. As a shift for a little while now, you have to be a steady presence for your baristas. Every person is different, so it will take a while for both you and your baristas to gain the distinct vibe from when you are running the floor, but the most important things at the end of the day are just 1) everyone is safe/doing alright despite the stress, 2) everyone had their breaks (try not to miss yours either!), 3) the $ stuff is taken care of. Everything else is a work in progress: don’t be too hard on yourself as you learn!
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