Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Barista trainer/coaching tips? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by coooffieee
i'm a 320**** partner, and my SM sat me down to talk about becoming a barista trainer. i'm super excited, but also pretty nervous! i was a trainer at my old job, but mcdonald's is waaay different from starbucks. can anyone give me a few pointers on coaching and training? 💚
whywhywhyamihere 9 points 1y ago
Learn your trainee's learning style and cater your explanation/demonstration/guidance to their preferred style.
Make sure to beef up the Starbucks training with your own knowledge of working in your own specific store - ex. things you do a little differently at your store, teaching regulars's drinks if you have time, showing where all supplies are in your back room and front of house.
Teach them about the boring stuff if your manager doesn't already do that - ex. how to book time-off, how to change availability, how to switch shifts, how to check their schedule, how to log onto Partner Hub, how to approach managers/ethics/PCC with problems.
Tell them about your team! If you have a good approachable manager (which I hope you do), let them know so they aren't nervous to approach them with problems or inquiries. Let them know that you'll be there for them to help even after their official training period is over. Tell them about your coworkers and how awesome they are and how nice some of your regulars can be.
Let them know about their rights regarding bad customers - what to do if they get upset, if they can ask their shift for a minute off the floor if they need a moment to compose themselves if they have a bad interaction with a customer, how to seek help from supervisors or management with truly awful customers.
I always try to be realistic about the job so they don't get discouraged - it will take ~3 months (or longer!) of steady work to be 100% confident in every position, and even then, you're always learning new stuff even after years!
I love training, it's my favorite thing about the job, and I think I do it well. I go "off book" for most of it because I know what is most important and which drinks are ordered most in my store. What customizations are most important to know (cold foam, custom fraps) so I adjust training time to suit my style and their needs. Good luck! You'll find your groove! And congratulations for becoming a trainer!
Make sure to beef up the Starbucks training with your own knowledge of working in your own specific store - ex. things you do a little differently at your store, teaching regulars's drinks if you have time, showing where all supplies are in your back room and front of house.
Teach them about the boring stuff if your manager doesn't already do that - ex. how to book time-off, how to change availability, how to switch shifts, how to check their schedule, how to log onto Partner Hub, how to approach managers/ethics/PCC with problems.
Tell them about your team! If you have a good approachable manager (which I hope you do), let them know so they aren't nervous to approach them with problems or inquiries. Let them know that you'll be there for them to help even after their official training period is over. Tell them about your coworkers and how awesome they are and how nice some of your regulars can be.
Let them know about their rights regarding bad customers - what to do if they get upset, if they can ask their shift for a minute off the floor if they need a moment to compose themselves if they have a bad interaction with a customer, how to seek help from supervisors or management with truly awful customers.
I always try to be realistic about the job so they don't get discouraged - it will take ~3 months (or longer!) of steady work to be 100% confident in every position, and even then, you're always learning new stuff even after years!
I love training, it's my favorite thing about the job, and I think I do it well. I go "off book" for most of it because I know what is most important and which drinks are ordered most in my store. What customizations are most important to know (cold foam, custom fraps) so I adjust training time to suit my style and their needs. Good luck! You'll find your groove! And congratulations for becoming a trainer!
whywhywhyamihere 3 points 1y ago
Oh wow that format turned out horrible, sorry I'm on mobile! Hope it's readable. If not just message me :)
SalonFormula 2 points 1y ago
It is very readable and you are a a great trainer! Those were all great tips!
Pickle-Chunk 2 points 1y ago
Great tips!
coooffieee [OP] 2 points 1y ago
oh thank you!! our store doesn't have many available trainers for me to ask, so i really do appreciate all if those tips! 💚
whywhywhyamihere 1 points 1y ago
Of course! Anytime :)
Bribarista 1 points 1y ago
Honestly it’s quite easy it’s just on them to learn the recipe. I made a quizlet for my trainees to help them memorize drink recipes and other things quicker :) @Briland13 under the Starbucks training in classes if you wanna try it
edit: in the starbucks training modules it doesn’t show anything about warming or backups so id also make sure to show your trainees those as well
edit: in the starbucks training modules it doesn’t show anything about warming or backups so id also make sure to show your trainees those as well
juiceyluicy 1 points 1y ago
Utilize the resources on the ipad.
My trainees find it really helpful to have the recipe cards on the ipad pulled up when I’m going over drinks for the first time.
I could keep going but I feel like I’d make an obnoxiously long post. I can give a load more tips if you want though. I’m the only trainer allowed to train at my store (and I train the partners for another store as well) so I have a lot of experience
My trainees find it really helpful to have the recipe cards on the ipad pulled up when I’m going over drinks for the first time.
I could keep going but I feel like I’d make an obnoxiously long post. I can give a load more tips if you want though. I’m the only trainer allowed to train at my store (and I train the partners for another store as well) so I have a lot of experience
briameowmeow 2 points 1y ago
I’d love to hear more tips. I have my first trainee Tuesday and I am pretty nervous.
juiceyluicy 2 points 1y ago
I change the order I teach each station depending on how many hours I was given to train and what time I’m training. If I’m training during peak, I’ll make sure I do front/support/customer support/ and coffee academy during any of those busy hours because I can do those things without being in the way of the people on the floor (for the most part, there are definitely exceptions to this). There’s a paper guide that your SM can print for you that has a walkthrough/checklist you can go through. I think that’s really useful for everything except bar. Use the training resources on the ipad for EVERYTHING. You’re going to forget to mention things. You’re given 20ish hours to basically give the spark notes of starbucks to a barista. I don’t use the ipad for a lot of the bar training because I don’t feel like it covers what needs to be taught. I go over every single drink recipe (when I’m going over the register [on front] with the trainees) and then when am teaching bar, I make every single drink on the “espresso” tab of the register and then I go over a couple extra drinks that use the espresso bar but aren’t on that page (I.e. honey citrus mint, hot chocolate, etc.). I also explain the syrup and shots for the standard build in an unconventional way (I think?) but it makes a lot of sense: every 4 ounces gets a pump of syrup [12oz gets 3 pumps, 16 oz gets 4 pumps, 20oz gets 5, 26oz only gets 6 because we haven’t reached another entire 4oz]. The shots makes less sense mathematically but: it’s 1 shot for every entire 8oz. 8oz short is 1 shot. 12oz tall is 1 shot (12/8 is 1.5, so we’ll round down.) I’ve found that my trainees really appreciate having this explained mathematically, because it makes the recipes make more sense fundamentally. Try and cater to what the trainee needs. I’ve had trainees who want all their extra time with me on register and some who only want to work on Frappuccino’s and some that just don’t understand the drink recipes. Focus on what your trainee needs, not what you think they need. Also, don’t assume the trainee knows anything. I’ve had trainees not know what whipped cream was or what coffee beans look like. We can’t pass judgement or assume that they SHOULD know these things, because realistically, they have no reason to know ANYTHING about coffee before getting this job.
Sorry this is kind of jumbled, I just typed the next thing that came to mind. There are A LOT of things not included in the training and we’re just there to introduce ALL of this new information to the baristas to make them more comfortable.
EDIT: I’m sure you’ll do great, don’t worry too much <3
Sorry this is kind of jumbled, I just typed the next thing that came to mind. There are A LOT of things not included in the training and we’re just there to introduce ALL of this new information to the baristas to make them more comfortable.
EDIT: I’m sure you’ll do great, don’t worry too much <3
briameowmeow 1 points 1y ago
I’m grateful for the help!
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
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