Telling us to do better but literally changing nothing 😏

Was at a store that was at 30 seconds consistently (and that was on the high end) one of the fastest in our area. We got the fastest times for our state for a couple weeks, our DM didn’t even acknowledge it on the weekly conference call or at all …. So we kinda didn’t care any more after that because even if we do well it’s not recognized or celebrated… does a customer even notice 30 seconds vs 32 seconds ? Why kill yourselves for that when it actually seems to diminish our tips because it’s less connection and less time to think about a tip…. There no incentives anymore it doesn’t effect a raise and I’m killing my self to shave off a couple seconds. No thanks …

Drive thru times will never be good enough, and even when they’re great they still want them better

We break the HME box so drive thru can be broken.

I always try to get times down but it’s not because right care about the Starbucks customer experience I’ve made it a game with myself. I’m almost always in drive through bar during peak so the time are pretty reliant on how quickly I’m moving. I find that the time passes by very quickly when I’m just pushing myself to go as fast as I can. I feel like I’m playing one of those restaurant computer games lol

Our store is probably 60% drive 30% mobile 10% front or somewhere around there in terms of orders and we have really been trying to improve our times, in fact we are one of the most improved in our district which is amazing!

I think there is something each role can do to improve times and it very much is a team effort. If your floor/baristas do not work well together it will be hard to improve times.

These tips are specifically for peak and apply to what we do at my store. All stores are a bit different and mine is far from the standard setup (our cold bar is literally an ice bin and a sink there is barely a square foot of counter space that is taken up by both pitchers) so some of these might not make sense for all stores but hopefully they help!

DTR- If drink is ready be handing it out with one hand while taking currency with the other. If you are waiting on something check if its being made and/or communicate what you are waiting on.

DTO- Sleeve and stopper your drinks for drive if you have time. Connect the rest of your team with what's going on drive as your DTR is usually speaking to the customer. If your store does not have a customer support during peak (mine never does) then flex to support whenever you can.

Drive bar- Communicate what you need BEFORE you need it. It is so much easier if someone does not have to rush to get you something because it is holding you up. Check syrup bottles as you pump watch your milks as you pull them, sometimes kegs have small signs they are getting low, tell someone you need lids before you are out. DO NOT STEP AWAY FROM YOUR BAR. Obviously starbucks is dynamic and chaotic and things always have exceptions but if everyone is doing what they should be you should not need to leave your bar.

Front bar- You and front tag team handing out mobiles. Always be communicating with drive bar when you are making drinks for them and if you are not making mobiles/front drinks you are always making drive drinks.

CBS- Prioritize drive drinks over front and beverage sequencing is even more important here than the other bars (in my opinion). Also despite it not being standard I will always batch blend when I can. It is one standard I just can not get behind. During winter especially you can flex to a supportive role when people need things! Don't commit to something that prevents you from immediately returning to your bar but you should be able to stock sleeves/lids or maybe even grab a syrup here and there.

Front- You are your warmers best friend, run food to drive for them flex to support and try and welcome all the customers in. Drive thru is a hard place to make connections in sometimes so if you are front try to raise your connections store out there where you aren't slowing your times down.

Warmer- (I have only warmed once during peak typically our shifts are warmers) I feel like warming is an art that I will never fully grasp. It might just be me but this is one of the hardest positions in my opinion. (My store usually has a 90%-100% uph during peak) Food inherently takes longer than anything else, you are the only one doing it and besides running your food there isn't really a way anyone else can help you. From my observations it's all about prep, while your items are in the oven prep the next items, the bags for the items in the oven, then communicate what needs to be ran and to where. I feel like being organized is one of the best things to speed up warming.


Just a side note: a lot of people don't feel motivated to improve times and honestly it's completely fair there isn't too much reason on an individual level to 'care'. But for me personally I find it FUN it is super interesting to me and exciting to find better and different ways to improve our times and its like a competition with ourselves. But, a lot of people will take it too seriously and make it seem like the world is ending because our times weren't perfect some days. I feel as though my store usually has a good balance between trying to get better times but also if it does not work out some days it does not work out. On some level our times are out of our control.