Bc it’s hell when they visit and they’re also the reason why our labor is so low/why we can’t do things certain ways. They’re also super judgy when they decide to pop in and are the most condescending bitch fucks ever when they try to chat you up about what you like most about working here when you’re in the middle of solo barring a 30 half hour with 3 people working total

I work at a licensed store but funny story about when I worked corporate and our DM came in.

((This was pre covid)) our DM was standing at the hand off plane saying good morning and handing customers their coffee and I had a couple came call and complain about "the weird guy touching my coffee" 😂😂😂

A few months ago - when the covid crises really started to make a mess of everything in my store - we had a new DM show up.
She was super nice and understanding, we had a great long talk about my store and the poor state of things lately (shortage of supplies, lack of staff and so forth). She asked how I felt about it, and if I had any ideas to make things better. I told her that me and the rest of the team felt kinda left out and that Starbucks, as a company, hadn't felt the same recently. I didn't have much solutions to offer but I did point out a few things that needed fixing.
She smiled the whole time, even winked at me at the end saying : 'I'll see what I can do.'

I then went on a 2 weeks vacation. When I came back my SM told me that the DM had been pushing the whole time for me to get fired. It seemed to her that I wasn't motivated enough and that I wasn't Starbucks material.
I don't know what the biggest surprise was : the sheer hypocrisy of that person, or that the only solution she came up with was to get rid of the one guy trying to help the store out of its hole.

Because that’s the culture they have created. On purpose.

A lot of DMs are outside hires who have never had to be on the floor except for training, and they think they know better than season part era who have been on the floor for YEARS, they’re out of touch, and they refuse to acknowledge it. So when they come into the store, they’re going to criticize EVERYTHING

Also a green bean here- my old job was very similar. DMs and higher ups visited fairly often, luckily with advanced warning, but they were hella 2 faced. Everyone is different, it's all situational and depending on where you are, but god can any kind of DM or higher up from any company be the most scummy people there are smh

We had some who would bring the whole store surprise sweets by the dozen, and others who would snap a sneaky picture of someone's drink bc it wasn't in a specific drink holder on the wall

Though my store has a better relationship with our DM now, we used to hate him. Our old SM was an outside hire and created an unwelcoming and stressful environment for both partners and customers. After a year of him backing her up on her questionable (sometimes downright unethical and against policy) actions he finally put his foot down and we got a new SM and everything improved. We have a better relationship with him now but still get nervous everytime he stops by(since he can be nitpicky and a little condescending).

[deleted]

So much seems to be dependent on area with Starbucks experience. I’ve had great relationships with all of my DMs except one, and I’ve had 7. I’ve had to rely on them several times for help, and it’s always worked out. But at the same time I don’t doubt other peoples stories on here. So either I’m just lucky, or it’s different for everyone.