Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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any other autistic partners? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by rainofbrasspetals
have you had any accommodations made for you? if so, what are they and how did you go about getting them? i recently told my sm that i’m autistic and they didn’t really seem to care or offer any support. really struggling atm so any advice would be great. i’m in the UK if that makes a difference.
georgecarlinsneice 3 points 2y ago
I don’t have any accommodations, but I hope you get what you need! For me it helps if I take a break from a certain role if it’s really overstimulating and decompress a lot after work. ❤️
rainofbrasspetals [OP] 1 points 2y ago
thank you! ❤️
esaeklsg 1 points 2y ago
(Disclaimer: I am not diagnosed with any form of autism. If it helps, I do feel a lot of similarity with Asperger’s experiences, but it overlaps with some other factors I have and is hard to distinguish, so I’ve never investigated further. I’m also in the US so things might be a bit different)
My first question, because it will likely help you much faster than any more legal or documented process: Have you explained any difficulties you’ve been having to your SM or SS and said x, y, or z is something that might help? If all you said was “hey, by the way, I’m autistic” that is neither asking for help nor explaining how to help your individual circumstances.
From my personal experience, I’ve had every SM I’ve worked with say something along the lines of “You’re very literal, aren’t you?” Every. SM. I had like six. I always asked so many clarifying questions and they kind of learned how to phrase things more precisely over time. This was all just from me asking for what I needed (correct information) without any formal process.
After a quick Google, even in the UK formal accomendations, it looks like the onus of what an accomendation looks like is on you. Are you having trouble with noise and need the music turned down? Are you having trouble with unclear instructions? Do you need breaks at specific times? Think about what can be done to help you. SMs aren’t psychologists or social workers or doctors or anything of the sort. They can work with you, but you have to take first steps. A quick Google gives some more ideas for what kind of accomendations you can ask for, but it’s pretty varied.
Also think about what this means and how open you want to be about it. If you need accomendations that are noticible to other partners, they’re gonna ask about it. And a lot of people don’t have a good sense of “don’t pass this private info along” if you tell them. At least in the US I think the SM has a legal responsibility not to disclose medical information but I don’t know if that includes SS (who is also management team) and personally I don’t know how much I’d trust anyone not to talk if it was something I was private about.
(And you might be a-okay with being open about it. Just want to make sure you’re considering it.)
Past that Google seems to have some information about the formal process. I can look into it more if you want a second set of eyes, but I have no experience. You likely need an official diagnoses and to submit a form. Starbucks may or may not have a pre-made one but at a Google glance it doesn’t sound like it’s legally required to use them.
My first question, because it will likely help you much faster than any more legal or documented process: Have you explained any difficulties you’ve been having to your SM or SS and said x, y, or z is something that might help? If all you said was “hey, by the way, I’m autistic” that is neither asking for help nor explaining how to help your individual circumstances.
From my personal experience, I’ve had every SM I’ve worked with say something along the lines of “You’re very literal, aren’t you?” Every. SM. I had like six. I always asked so many clarifying questions and they kind of learned how to phrase things more precisely over time. This was all just from me asking for what I needed (correct information) without any formal process.
After a quick Google, even in the UK formal accomendations, it looks like the onus of what an accomendation looks like is on you. Are you having trouble with noise and need the music turned down? Are you having trouble with unclear instructions? Do you need breaks at specific times? Think about what can be done to help you. SMs aren’t psychologists or social workers or doctors or anything of the sort. They can work with you, but you have to take first steps. A quick Google gives some more ideas for what kind of accomendations you can ask for, but it’s pretty varied.
Also think about what this means and how open you want to be about it. If you need accomendations that are noticible to other partners, they’re gonna ask about it. And a lot of people don’t have a good sense of “don’t pass this private info along” if you tell them. At least in the US I think the SM has a legal responsibility not to disclose medical information but I don’t know if that includes SS (who is also management team) and personally I don’t know how much I’d trust anyone not to talk if it was something I was private about.
(And you might be a-okay with being open about it. Just want to make sure you’re considering it.)
Past that Google seems to have some information about the formal process. I can look into it more if you want a second set of eyes, but I have no experience. You likely need an official diagnoses and to submit a form. Starbucks may or may not have a pre-made one but at a Google glance it doesn’t sound like it’s legally required to use them.
rainofbrasspetals [OP] 1 points 2y ago
hi!
i spoke to a SS about specific needs and they then relayed them to my SM. None of the suggestions made for accommodations that me and the SS discussed have been put into place (most of them were things like spending less time on register, more routine with breaks/shifts so i know what to expect, being told more specifically what to do) so i then asked my SM more directly and was pretty much just told that most of these things aren’t possible. i’m completely open about it and most partners know.
Thank you for this, I appreciate your help, i looked into it some more after posting this and realised it’s more likely down to my specific SM not caring, rather than sbux itself.
i spoke to a SS about specific needs and they then relayed them to my SM. None of the suggestions made for accommodations that me and the SS discussed have been put into place (most of them were things like spending less time on register, more routine with breaks/shifts so i know what to expect, being told more specifically what to do) so i then asked my SM more directly and was pretty much just told that most of these things aren’t possible. i’m completely open about it and most partners know.
Thank you for this, I appreciate your help, i looked into it some more after posting this and realised it’s more likely down to my specific SM not caring, rather than sbux itself.
esaeklsg 1 points 2y ago
Yeah, as a used-to-be-US-SS, calling those accomedations impossible is absurd. Could I guarantee every one for every shift? No. Could I make large stride on all of them to better support you? Certainly.
Honestly you could go the route of asking your SM how to formally file for an accomedation, lol. I wouldn’t rely on their knowledge, but the idea that they’ll have to formally acknowledge that they, as a competent SM, find getting one person their breaks at a reliable time “impossible” fills me with some small amout of glee. Or you know, they’ll just fold and Do The Thing.
Other options include contacting the DM or if there’s a Uk version of the partner contact center.
Honestly you could go the route of asking your SM how to formally file for an accomedation, lol. I wouldn’t rely on their knowledge, but the idea that they’ll have to formally acknowledge that they, as a competent SM, find getting one person their breaks at a reliable time “impossible” fills me with some small amout of glee. Or you know, they’ll just fold and Do The Thing.
Other options include contacting the DM or if there’s a Uk version of the partner contact center.
esaeklsg 1 points 2y ago
Adding I’m pretty sure there’s a history of employers arguing that an accomendation is much more intrusive / expensive than it is. I’m not going to say that as an SS I’m not instictively concerned about how big an accomendation is asking for, but all of your asks were very understanding and very reasonable.
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