Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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TIPS FOR NEW 320’s on DTO (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by mrbubblegxm
First off! Welcome to the team. I know it all seems super stressful and scary right now but we were all in your shoes. 296 for reference.
(I’m a DTO/DTR god because my shifts only ever put me though I loved it. I was able to manage entire lines by myself. However,,,,,, I didn’t know how to make iced coffee until like my 6th month so.)
Let’s cut right to it. Ranked tips from most helpful/important.
1. Always repeat back their order. It seems annoying and redundant at first but it has caught so many mistakes on my part and the customers part. This is the time where people say oh i wanted that hot, or could i get that w no whip. super critical.
1.5 (forgot halfway through) study THE buttons. whenever I had downtime between cars, already stocked my area, i looked through all the buttons. and memorized them all. this makes those pesky drinks like hot chocolates, the odd frap, misto’s, etc easier to find. and plus you’re able to ring up way faster. i know the menu buttons better than all my night shifts 😭 but again not a flex since i was lagging in other areas .
2. Friendly greeting. It’s dumb I know. I’m super antisocial myself. But a simple good afternoon or morning how are you today? Simple yet respectful, makes the rest of the convo easier. (Will also make asking for names less awkward)
3. Organize your drink stand. I love my bar babes but you always need to double check and organize drinks because many will look alike and before you know it, you’ve handed out the wrong drink.
4. Communicate! Use your headsets to ask for help. questions. get updates. it’s always 10x better to ask for help.
5. Be confident. Customers are blood hungry sharks who will trip you up especially if they’re already difficult to begin with. You know the menu and policies. they don’t. simple as that.
6. Have three-four questions to ask guests when they’re at the register window and then just rotate. This way you don’t get stuck with how are you? But you don’t have to improvise too much.
7. Have a shift or manager show you how to assign recovery cards/refunds/reload gift cards. etc.
8. GET BAR TIME IN. GET CS TIME IN. GET OVEN TIME IN. GET CLEANING TIME IN. GET PREP TIME IN. don’t be like me bvs then ur shift will just keep u on DTR.
(I’m a DTO/DTR god because my shifts only ever put me though I loved it. I was able to manage entire lines by myself. However,,,,,, I didn’t know how to make iced coffee until like my 6th month so.)
Let’s cut right to it. Ranked tips from most helpful/important.
1. Always repeat back their order. It seems annoying and redundant at first but it has caught so many mistakes on my part and the customers part. This is the time where people say oh i wanted that hot, or could i get that w no whip. super critical.
1.5 (forgot halfway through) study THE buttons. whenever I had downtime between cars, already stocked my area, i looked through all the buttons. and memorized them all. this makes those pesky drinks like hot chocolates, the odd frap, misto’s, etc easier to find. and plus you’re able to ring up way faster. i know the menu buttons better than all my night shifts 😭 but again not a flex since i was lagging in other areas .
2. Friendly greeting. It’s dumb I know. I’m super antisocial myself. But a simple good afternoon or morning how are you today? Simple yet respectful, makes the rest of the convo easier. (Will also make asking for names less awkward)
3. Organize your drink stand. I love my bar babes but you always need to double check and organize drinks because many will look alike and before you know it, you’ve handed out the wrong drink.
4. Communicate! Use your headsets to ask for help. questions. get updates. it’s always 10x better to ask for help.
5. Be confident. Customers are blood hungry sharks who will trip you up especially if they’re already difficult to begin with. You know the menu and policies. they don’t. simple as that.
6. Have three-four questions to ask guests when they’re at the register window and then just rotate. This way you don’t get stuck with how are you? But you don’t have to improvise too much.
7. Have a shift or manager show you how to assign recovery cards/refunds/reload gift cards. etc.
8. GET BAR TIME IN. GET CS TIME IN. GET OVEN TIME IN. GET CLEANING TIME IN. GET PREP TIME IN. don’t be like me bvs then ur shift will just keep u on DTR.
Ashesremindme 16 points 1y ago
These are all good, but I'd like to add:
-Always ask hot or iced
-If someone asks for a nondairy or nonfat milk, always ask if they still want the whipped cream
-If they order a refresher, ask if they want it made with lemonade
These are the most important things to ask so that the bar person can get the drinks made with less likelihood of needing to remake something due to the customer not mentioning they really wanted it made the other way. These are also the most common things I hear our green beans forgetting to ask.
A handy tip for the whipped cream thing; whenever I'm on DTO and someone gets a milk alternative but still wants the whip, if you key in "no whip" and then hit whip again, it'll say "add whip" on the sticker. Then the bar person doesn't need to ask, and you don't need to remember what they said they wanted.
-Always ask hot or iced
-If someone asks for a nondairy or nonfat milk, always ask if they still want the whipped cream
-If they order a refresher, ask if they want it made with lemonade
These are the most important things to ask so that the bar person can get the drinks made with less likelihood of needing to remake something due to the customer not mentioning they really wanted it made the other way. These are also the most common things I hear our green beans forgetting to ask.
A handy tip for the whipped cream thing; whenever I'm on DTO and someone gets a milk alternative but still wants the whip, if you key in "no whip" and then hit whip again, it'll say "add whip" on the sticker. Then the bar person doesn't need to ask, and you don't need to remember what they said they wanted.
star_pants 5 points 1y ago
For studying the buttons! Asking more tenured partners to give you drinks to ring in or favourites to find for practice is super helpful!
distraughtcato 3 points 1y ago
(320 here!) I love ringing up partners who are off/going on break, they give me a lot of practice with the buttons
star_pants 3 points 1y ago
It's what I did way back when I started, and what I encourage green beans to do now. Most of the tenured baristas I know have specific, slightly odd drinks that require actually looking for them so it's excellent practice for when specific customers come in.
bestowcurse 3 points 1y ago
I love to ask if anyone has any show or movie recs. Sometimes people just aren't show or movie watchers but if they are then congrats you can get plenty of time discussing that with them.
If they have pets with them, ask about their pets! I ask names first then just kind of go from there. Dogs on the window are a lifesaver because people always want to talk about their dogs.
(Edit) I should clarify I also ask the dogs name on dto if I see them so get them in a good mood too
If they have pets with them, ask about their pets! I ask names first then just kind of go from there. Dogs on the window are a lifesaver because people always want to talk about their dogs.
(Edit) I should clarify I also ask the dogs name on dto if I see them so get them in a good mood too
FfierceLaw 3 points 1y ago
Thank you for repeating the order. When I’m on warming I appreciate the second run through to get amounts, warmed/not warmed correct
OneRoseDark 3 points 1y ago
Question to ask: "what's the best thing that's happened to you today?"
people LOVE this one
people LOVE this one
linearSpree 2 points 1y ago
i like to give new baristas a run down of some of our regulars orders or how we go about ringing up our regulars orders. especially the ones who get pissy when you have to repeat it more than once
Quirky-Emphasis-250 2 points 1y ago
what are some better questions to ask other than how was your day? or got any plans for today?
-beam-me-up- 2 points 1y ago
Well 👏 said 👏
ellsb3lls 2 points 1y ago
I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS
medusas-garden 1 points 1y ago
Biggest tip imo is communication. PLEASE say something if you’re waiting on something. Don’t like breathe down peoples necks but I’ve been having a lot of issues lately with drive they people bit communicating and more than once I’ve gone there to see our window time is at 15 minutes.
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