Rinse out the espresso cup. Wipe the espresso machine. Sloooowly wipe all of the counters. Fill all the beans. Empty the grounds tray. Clean your sink area. Refill tea/refresher pitchers. Take dirty dishes to the sink. Wipe down the insides of all the fridges. Refill syrup bottles. Stock cups, lids, straws, napkins, paper towels. Stock milks, juice, bases. Stock inclusions, powders, salt, etc. Fill up inclusions and powders containers. Organize cabinets. Try to use up extra lids in the cabinet. Wipe down the glass shields. Refill mochas, chai, frap base. Wipe containers. Fill up sugar and honey bins. Fill up tea caddies and organize the packets neatly. Change sanitzer buckets. Scoop ice. Walk the cafe and push in chairs, wipe tables. Clean inclusions out of cold bar sink drain. Rinse steam pitchers and shakers. Refill mocha/strawberry puree squeeze bottles in cold bar. Marry milks and restock. Loosen drink carrier trays. Change sani trays on bar. FIFO milks, etc. Find stuff thats past its due date. Make sure everything is dated correctly.

I felt the same way when I first started. Thought I was going to lose my mind just standing in a position during downtime. I would always offer to my shift to take out the trash or clean the drains etc- stuff no one else wanted to do. Mostly I just got use to the pace over time, but I think my shifts also caught on eventually that I would rather be doing something...anything...versus nothing. It's also helpful for the shifts to know you're down to do the odd jobs because some workers would really rather just stand there- saves the shifts from having to guess how to use you best.

Definitely feel you, I’m lazy but when it’s slow I get kind of anxious that I’m just standing around lol unless someone else is chatting with me! I think you’ll get used to it—stocking, making backups, cleaning and checking around for tasks are kind of all you can do. I hate CSR because of that, I like being on drive because there’s usually only like 10 mins max that nobody shows up. Just watch what other people do or ask your shift :)

I wish my store was slower and I had time to actually stock and clean enjoy it!

Thanks for your guys' input. Little update: I was on bar during a rush (but not peak cause I guess they're different?) And I've been slinging drinks for 2 hours. Such appreciation for the support barista and everyone else for dealing with my chaos. It was fun though!

I was so shocked when I moved from corporate to licensed 🤣 I would ask your shift if there's anything you can be doing. Or maybe ask your store manager or a veteran shift about things you can do when it's slower to help the store