i agree, but bar is also a planted position—if someone is flexing in to support while you need product, they should grab the product and not you. if they try to flex anyway, ask them to grab your product.

this.

Unpopular opinion, I appreciate the help, especially when I’m on drive thru bar. When the DTO guy starts or finishes any drink for me, it just makes things go quicker and I don’t have a hard time figuring out the order because I can literally just look at the sticker and communicate with the person who was on my bar.

Absolutely. And if you're on cold bar, I promise dt knows that strawberry acai you just set down is not the latte they're waiting on from me. You don't need to pull my next 5 stickers and put them on/around the hot bar just to get to yours. I'll put it where it belongs in a minute, I promise.

Yeah don’t finish my drinks and don’t mis queue my cups

YES!!! I am picking up shifts at a store near me and I didn’t realize how much people messing with my stickers threw me off until someone started pulling mine without asking. She started pulling and was like “I need this one…. pull pull pull… yeah this one, (shoves sticker in my face) right now.” I immediately turned to her and said “hi, I know you don’t know me, but don’t touch my stickers. I can only do two drinks at a time and when you pull all the stickers out and line them up I start to have a panic attack and then you get zero drinks. I know you need this drink but the cafe needs the three drinks that you pulled before it.” Agh pisses me off.

Mostly same for me, but:

There is one partner at my store who has free reign of my bar. He and I can just bar-tango like no other, he knows exactly when I need him to step in, whether that be grabbing a refresher, wiping my splash zone, rinsing a pitcher. See, I am one of those people who is nonchalantly backstroking away (8 drinks going at once, no problemo!!) until they're suddenly drowning without warning (that light ice request on the last drink may as well be an anchor).


I don't swallow my pride and ask for help until it's too late, is what I'm saying.

He reads me and just prevents those breakdowns by queuing this shot or heroically making that one crazily-modded killmerightnowchiatto. And the relief I feel when I work a shift with him is so great, because if I fail, he won't let me fail.

Literally on my 10 after being on bar. I hate when I go to pour a latte and the person on drive to over so I’m like. 🧍‍♀️

My first store was busy but a bit on the smaller side so at bar you could listen to what was being ordered and get it started before the cup was placed. This was back when we were marking cups. And the manager was very likable but was not very capable on bar. She was at POS and I was on bar and I hear Venti Americano so I pull my shots, line up my shot glasses, and then grab the cup and proceed to coat my hand in scalding water because she had filled the cup with water for me without saying anything

I always ask I’m very scatterbrained and don’t mind when ppl pull my stickers or finish my drinks but when I’m helping on bar I always ask first if there okay with it if there not I’ll just take whatever drinks they give me and restock and clean if they don’t give me anything

The one exception to this, for me: please for the love of all that is holy somebody please whip/finish/lid my Frappuccino’s and iced mochas so I don’t collapse the cup and spill drinks everywhere fighting with the fucking done kids that never fit right

i ABSOLUTELY hate it when my coworkers pull out all the stickers i the queue and just place them around the espresso machines!!! it does NOT help and now i have to peel off the stickers instead of just pulling them out

Oh this does not only apply for bar, this also applies for warming and CS.

Over time, I have become really good at warming to handle all incoming stuff and do it as efficient and quick as the tickets come out (mobile, delivery, cafe AND the superhearing of the incoming next cafe order of a customer), and I hate it so much when someone messes with the tickets when I am bowing down to get whatever the fuck food I need to pull out of the tray while some random barista pulls out the ticket, thinking they're helping me, and sticks them to the metal thing at the warming station or on some bag that I didn't register that this is a new item to be done. NO. DON'T MESS WITH THE TICKETS, I've seen so many mishaps with warmed stuff that went to the trash because I didn't see the ticket or I did the ticket already but it didn't get stuck onto the bag because someone stuck it elsewhere. It just throws me off and I have gotten a couple of "friendly reminders" from my SM and SSV that I should do my job better even though I am doing it already as efficient, but my reg barista or sometimes CS barista walks by and thinks they're helping. Funnily, when I am planted and the reg barista and CS barista is doing their job, we're extemely well coordinated and no one makes mistakes.

Please don't mess with planted positions!! If stuff is blinking or making noises, just leave it to the planted barista!!

The only time I think it's fine for someone to step in is when there's a bunch of complicated orders incl TikTok drinks and my super strong partner steps in and takes all the complicated stuff so I can focus on making the (less complicated) hot drinks (I am just a 2 month old bean and still learning on bar, am not super fast, but also not too slow).

Omg I have this one coworker who goes around trying to finish drinks whenever she’s on DTO or window and it drives me up the wall 😭 I know she means well and like I get what she’s trying to do but PLS GET OUT OF MY WAY

My store is the exact opposite, if there isn't a large line or there's drinks on opposite bars, we start, finish or straight up do the drink for them. We work very closely together and I feel like it has helped us be closer as a team with great communication

I could have written this

I don't mind if people help start or finish cold bar drinks, but do not touch the hot bar. Then you're just in the way. And usually no one pulls stickers unless it's cafe bar and they are looking for a cafe sticker instead of making the 10 mobile orders first.

YES!!! I hate it so much and it instantly puts me in a bad mood. I am good at bar. I am great at bar. I will get your drinks out fast if you keep me stocked and stay out of my way. There have been so many times where people just start grabbing my drinks and start making them or try finishing them. But it pisses me off so much because it seems like every time they do that, they mess up the drink and I have to do it over again. Could’ve been avoided if they would just let me be. I hate to sound so entitled or something, and I appreciate the help when it’s busy, but please stop throwing me off and stop name-calling me when I get upset because someone decided to start/finish my drink wrong :(

Ugh my manager is so guilty of pulling stickers, we’ve all told them multiple times not to cause it messes up our flow and can disturb mobile order times but every time they wander over to bar, they just stand there, and pull 8-10 stickers. They also don’t help at all even if they think bar needs help, they think pulling stickers is help enough. Ugh

I always love the help as long as the person does well organizing the queue. Gives me an idea what’s coming and helps me plan a couple steps ahead. But I also trained way back when before stickers appeared. It’s also a good way to learn how work together and how to jive with each other.

I 100% understand where you are coming from, but ig I’ve never had this kinda feeling on bar. I was train to work around people doing that and getting use to it. But I also work in a kiosk in a mall, so maybe It’s just because I’m use to working in a more confined space

yup.

you sound like a pussy.

Train other people the correct way to bar. If everyone knows the right way to do it, there should not be any crossing over each other or getting in each other's way. If you feel like people are in your way it's likely partially your fault as well