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Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind

Full History - 2021 - 10 - 09 - ID#q4yxu9
9
I don't know what to do ... Help? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by wackoquackounikid
​I've been a barista for close to four months now, and at the beginning, I loved it. The team was super supportive, and the management was great. 

I then went back to my hometown for a few weeks, and by the time I had returned my store's previous manager had taken an LOA, and a solid 40% of the staff left the store. The new manager was extremely corporate-oriented, and I found her rather intimidating (not sure why though).

As a creature of habit and routine, this big change really shocked me. There were different borrowed partners every day that would speak to me as if I knew nothing. I was on POS and warming once for an entire 8-hour shift. I went home in ​t​​ears every day for a week.

Needless to say, with the change at work, and school starting up, my mental and physical health began to tank. As a person that would typically show up 20 mins before my shift, I was now chronically late, sometimes just by a minute or two, but other times by over 30 minutes.

I felt awful about it each time. I set all my alarms, made sure the volume was turned all the way up, but I would still sleep in.

So, I got written up. Perfectly justifiable, but I was so panicked during the talk with my SM that I forgot everything about essentially everything, and wrote nothing down in the section for partner comments.

I kinda regret it now, because I could have taken the opportunity to disclose that I have a disability: diagnosed depression, anxiety, and chronic migraines, frequent dissociation, and undiagnosed (but strongly suspected by my psychiatrist) ADHD, so I look 'perfectly fine' on the outside. All of this impairs my memory (sometimes I mix up shifts starting at the half hour with those that start on the hour) even though I keep a very detailed calendar, and makes waking up and getting out of bed almost an impossible feat.

I was also adjusting to being in school again with all in-person classes, and with my class schedule, the only times I can work are in the mornings.

(I don't like giving excuses for things when I know that I'm in the wrong. I'm saying all this for some context)

In the next week after my write-up I was late two more times. I got my final written warning yesterday, and I'm so scared that I'll get fired if I'm ever late again.

The thing is, I'm really quite decent at my job when I am working, and my manager did say that she doesn't want for me to 'be forced to separate'. I know that I'm on such thin ice, that I'm scared to say anything that might make me look even worse.

I just don't know what to do now. It feels like my life is falling apart even though I'm trying so hard to do everything right.

I still haven't mentioned anything about my disabilities, but I feel like it's too late for that now, and they'll just think I'm lying.

I'm heartbroken, because I need a job, and now that I've settled in with the new team, I actually feel excited to go to work. I just suck at making it there on time.

Any advice on what I could do (other than obviously having perfect attendance)?
thefoolwitch 7 points 1y ago
As a new partner with ADHD…. I get you. It is so fucking hard to get to places on time.

I honestly am not sure how you’d handle this other than perfect attendance. :( So, I’ll just ask… are you sleeping well? Maybe you’re sleeping in partly because of bad/low sleep? Could you possibly try out a new alarm clock WITH your current one, like the ones that simulate a sunrise? I have three alarm clocks (a sunrise one, my Amazon echo, and my phone) because I struggle with this so much.
wackoquackounikid [OP] 1 points 1y ago
My sleep schedule is not particularly great, although it's gotten a lot better in the past few months. I get around six hours of sleep on average, but that's with a few days at <4 and some >8. I'm working on consistency, but it's harder to do when my schedule is very different every day.

The multiple alarm clock idea sounds nice. I used to have a sunrise alarm clock, but that's broken and I need to replace it. It was great in the winter (I'm from Canada) when the sun only rises at like 10.

I just need to make sure I don't sleep through the alarms now, lol
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