honestly i became a shift bc i needed more money. i lost my second job due to covid, and now i can’t afford to lose the extra per hour. so if that’s your main incentive- do not.

things i don’t like: a lot more responsibility. i’m full time, and typically scheduled to run the floor most of my shifts, if not all of them. it takes a lot more “brain power” to run a shift then it does to just kinda show up, make some drinks, go home. obviously baristas do a lot more than just that, but as a shift i have to do all that plus planning how the floor is run (which can make or break a day, and is certainly stressful), deal with customer escalations if my manager isn’t there, be the person most baristas go to with questions, make sure whatever tasks get done, etc. it’s pretty common for shifts to miss breaks, especially tens. or have them absurdly late or early. which, of course, makes it all worse. i and with running the floor most days, i miss out on some of my favorite positions- i rarely get to do back of house stuff, or bar, just because it’s too difficult to run the floor from the positions. so that’s something that i struggle with. you also need to be more mindful of how you’re acting on the floor. baristas can tell if the shift is stressed, tired, angry, etc. and that can impact them. so it’s more important to not necessarily hide that stuff, but be more careful about letting it show on the floor. that’s probably my weakest skill as a shift and something i’m working on. i also tend to have to stay late to finish up certain tasks or because we fell behind, which i kind of like bc it ups my hours (i want to be like full 40 hours a week but my manager can’t spare that many for one partner) but also... it sucks to stay past your off time, even if it’s willingly. i think i did that as a barista tho so, and not all shifts do that, so it may just be a me thing! there’s also a few things i don’t like but i think they’re specific to my store so they won’t impact you!

things i do like: while running the floor daily is stressful, it’s also nice to know that i’m in charge. if something’s going wrong, but i know how to fix it, i can just hop on and fix it. i don’t have to ask someone else, or just kinda wait for someone else to fix it. like if drinks are taking forever bc one partner is really struggling, i can notice that and swap them with someone else. it’s also really, really satisfying to have ran a good floor. when everyone leaves in a good mood, the store looks good, and we ran good all day??? that’s sooooo satisfying. i also like being the person people go to if they need help, but i think that’s also how i act on the floor and with my partners as much as the title. i also do tips at my store, which i only could do since becoming a shift and i love it. small thing but i love my 90 minutes of chillin in the back counting once a week. i’m also a sucker for praise and i feel that easier to come by as a shift if you do well.

honestly, i think it can be worth it. if you like the idea of more responsibility, of running the show, of helping your partners in that aspect, you’d be a great fit and like it. i would recommend talking with the shifts at your store, and seeing what they say about it. they’ll be most able to tell how it impacts you and your store.

Money

I like having the responsibility. Running a shift was like putting the pieces of a puzzle perfectly in place. Most of my time as a shift was as the opener at a busy drivethru, so my deployment was usually 7-9 partners. It felt great to deploy partners in just the right spots for peak to run smoothly.

What I didn’t like were bad/inconsistent managers. Managers will take their frustrations or shortcomings out on you. I was a shift for 3 total managers and 1 was absolutely amazing. 1 was a friend before she became a manager but was a poor manager. And 1 was someone I could get along with amazingly well one moment, and then get so frustrated with the next moment that I literally “saw red” on one occasion

So if you like your manager, but more importantly think they’re a good manager, then I’d definitely recommend being a shift

Advice: Really pay attention to how your shifts talk about your manager behind their back. When I was a barista, I was living my best life and doing what I was told. Didnt have any real responsibility. I figured I could transfer that positive energy into the shift team who always had something negative to say about my manager and chalked it up to stress. WELL MAN I got promoted and not a month in, I realize how shitty my manager actually is and why those complaints are warranted. The pay is honestly not worth it sometimes. Some baristas get more hours than shifts do with less responsibility so it evens out.

If your gonna be somewhere and have the opportunity to make more money do it. I always wanted to be the shift simply because I didn’t like my shifts. I never skip breaks, lead by example and listen to your partners needs. It’s been hell on earth lately tho, was great when I started shifting a few years ago.. times are changing. Use this as a way of bettering your resume not because you’ll enjoy it. You can basically add “manager” on your resume now so that’s about the only reasons I did it anyways. More money, control breaks/no more shitty shifts, good for resume/experience managing.

Opened up a new store and as one of the only experienced hires, I became a shift within a week. There's a lot more to the job than I had expected. And you would be learning on the job for a while, I've done about 3 or 4 months as a shift and I still have questions, but I get better at organizing my day and finding new ways to get stuff done all the time.
Are you willing to give up the more fun aspects of the job like making drinks, having laughs with customers at orders, getting to know your partners on the floor? You'll be the backbone of the shift, doing your shift tasks while running around to make sure everything is in its place, stocked and backed up, filled and refilled.
Do you work well under pressure? Shit happens and as the supervisor, you're the acting manager whenever they aren't there. The other day my screen at the window died, and as my team looked like chickens with their heads cut off I calmed the panic, provided a temporary solution, redeployed my positions and went to work fixing it (and I did! Got a good cheer from my team when everything went back to normal)
Are you good at communicating with your team? You and the other shifts will become a sub group in your team, and communicating with them is SO important. When your shift is done you can't just leave, you have to set up the next shift for success. Fill them in on the day, what went wrong/right, what to look out for, and in general keeping each other in the loop so everyone is always on the same page for orders, deliveries, deposits, etc.
Can you keep your cool while being screamed at by a lady who definitely DID specify that her latte was iced?? When customers have problems that your baristas feel are escalating, you will have to invite yourself into that conversation to help. I've had drinks slammed down in my face, a regular pulls me aside every day for 20 minutes to explain why the frap she finished wasn't perfect, and you have to stay collected while trying to make them happy. One of my problems is my big sister instinct... have to fight that off while standing up for my baristas, or the customers won't leave happy at all.
Can you multitask?? Now as far as I know human brains aren't actually capable of doing two things at once, just switching between them really fast. Oh boy will you have a million things going on at once. You need to be everywhere, hear everything, and respond when necessary. If you leave the floor to complete a shift task, listen contasntly for a lull... for a sign that you need to go back and help/coach. You're never really off the floor, not even on your breaks.

When I was hired I informed the store manager that I would not work for any less than x amount per hour. They informed me that I would need to be a SSV In order to receive what I requested per hour. I have passed restaurant management under my belt and have had larger responsibility than what SSV does. I've had my own business for about 16 years now and I lost it during covid. Mainly because the industry is in music. So I started working at Starbucks just to kill some time waiting until the music industry would open. After starting as a shift supervisor and seeing that there was only a dollar and some change difference between barista and shift, I demoted myself. There's a lot of b******* and fluff as well as unnecessary responsibility that seem to be pushed more and more on shifts. The pay difference is not worth it at all. Unless you're considering becoming an ASM to an SM I would not advise becoming a SSVs.

I became a shift because i genuinely care for the baristas. I had a shift that would purposely misgender me and make jokes about my ethnicity. I knew the weight of coming into work when he was there. On my shifts, they feel comfortable asking questions and coming to me for help.

While the pay raise was definitely a factor, I think I was mostly motivated by my partners. They were the ones who encouraged me to go for the position cuz they saw me as a leader.

I love the fact that I get to work on other aspects like Inventory and money and the flexibility of my position is better for me health wise (I have bad ankles and standing in one place for a long time killed my feet and ankles everyday). I find the job less challenging and more about time management (which is something I’m still mastering). Could just be that I was gifted a wonderful crew that knows how to work with customers, but the selfish part of my brain likes to say it’s the way I put them on the floor

There is still a lot of stress with the job i.e. putting in tickets for broken things, dealing with VERY angry customers, being low on inventory, having the truck come early or very late, have a list ten miles long of things to accomplish and forgetting some of them.

Overall, I’ve been blessed with a good store and amazing partners/SSVs that help me become better as well as teach me new tips and tricks to make my job easier. A good crew makes everything run smoother.

Also I’ve only been an SSV for about two months so the job hasn’t really lost its pizzaz yet lol

Quite frankly: partners kept getting screwed over by incompetent leadership, and i knew i could do at least a good enough job to stop every peak and close from being a disaster

This probably sounds arrogant but I had more or less mastered being a barista and was bored so I asked to be a shift because I wanted to learn more about the inventory, accounting, and marketing side of how the store runs.

I wanted to do more. Just being a barista was getting monotonous and I wanted to challenge myself. Becoming a shift showed me how to put my leadership skills into action. It made me a better teacher. There’s also more to a regular day than just coming in and working in a specific role all day. Learning how manage time to get breaks done and the pull, it made working more challenging and therefore a little more fun.

It’s definitely challenging and most days I want to quit (but that’s bc of customers and covid). The money is good, but having the ability to create a fun work environment on my shift is really what did it for me.

To be totally honest, I was talked into it by my friends who were shifts because they pointed out to me that if I was basically going to be doing the same amount of work/effort as they were, I should be getting paid fairly for it. I never really enjoyed like "being in charge" or whatever, but I'm in an environment where it genuinely feels more like a partnership with my team than me being totally in charge. So I would say if you put a lot of effort and care into your work and it's something you feel like doing, go for it. It's probably the best decision I've made in my job so far aside from transferring to my current store. If you have a team you care about it's extremely rewarding ❤️

experience — I need experience managing teams to partner with my degree to get my foot in the door at any kind of job I really want

As a closing partner, I was already leading closes at my store, and everyone would come to me to ask what tasks needed to be finished and when. So it only made sense for me to get paid for the extra work I already do. I was a shift at my last job too, so once again, just made sense.
If you feel when you're on the floor you become a leader anyways, or take charge of a room, you should definitely become a shift. Get paid for the extra work and the leadership.
On the other hand, if you're more into mindless work on the floor, stay a barista. That's something I miss the most, and seems other people are mentioning as well. My favorite position was bar, and I always prided myself in my speed, accuracy, and drink quality. As a shift, I never get to spend much time if at all on bar. It doesn't mean I can't be a part of the drink crafting process, I love coaching other baristas and seeing all the beautiful drinks they send out, but like I said, miss the craft.

I did it cuz I wanted to be the shift I needed. I hate when partners don't feel good and are guilted into coming in, or are always put on bar or reg cuz they are they best so they get burnt out, are having trouble with their personal life and want a distraction. My partners work so hard for me cuz I let them leave an hour earlier, or give an extra ten, or recognize when they need a mental health day. Having the upper hand doesn't mean you have to be controlling, sometimes you can just be in someone's corner

I quit two weeks ago but i became one for money and i thought i’d be able to make a difference. i was obviously wrong

I only did it because (1)I needed the money as I lived on my own and was guaranteed 35+ hours at the time, and (2)the store I became a shift at was a really slow and really chill cafe at night so I was the PM supervisor. Still only do PM shift leads, but considering leaving Sbux as soon as a better opportunity presents itself. The economy where I live is starting to bounce back the slightest, so jobs are starting to become available again. But we are drowning at Starbs, and they wont even give us pizza....weak sauce

eh, it’s alright. In my opinion, I think it’s easy, but that’s because my manager is good at her job. yes, you have more responsibility, but that’s really all it is. Is it worth it, depends on the person.

I’m a brand new shift but a raise was a big factor but I’m also a good leader and teacher. Most of the partners respect me so I said why not

Money

I became a shift because 1-Money, 2-Guaranteed hours, and 3-My store was losing a shift lead and there really wasn’t anyone else my boss was willing to promote.

Money has been nice, but the 50-60 hours a week are not.

My work history is in customer service; restaurants and bars, specifically. I had planned years ago to be a teacher, but after a huge life change and a pretty awful mentor, I left and changed my degree to focus on Psychology, since I already had so many credits in that field.

I liked the SSV team at my first store. They were charismatic, honest and hard working. That team supported me and nuged me to also train to be a SSV. I have always wanted to be able to make a difference, make someone's day... make a small change, an improvement. Also, the money is nice haha. And the store I transferred to is getting a brand new drive thru store a block away, so when that opens, our current lobby location will close, and we will move down the block to a huge drive thru! I will be able to set standards and expectations, instead of following or fighting what has been set at this current store.

Personally, I enjoy people. I appreciate our differences and growth, learning styles and communication. I guess that's the Psych degree talking, but having a passion for people will make those long days running the floor less painful. It takes time, so learn, adapt, use elements you like of each SSV that guides you.