Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Working at Starbucks is Overstimulating. (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by Enough-Negotiation71
Nonstop fight or flight during last-minute announced promotions from corporate or from the app. games, system updates that never work the first time, verbal abuse due to product outages, customers with no patience, passive aggressive customers with patience, customers with patience who don’t have social capabilities so they stare into your soul and critique every move you make until their order is ready.
Noise from the headsets, the ding from the ovens, the ding from the drive thru that you can still hear when you sit in silence at home, the noise from dishes on your break, the blenders, scooping ice, steaming your pitchers, rinsing them, the music in the lobby.
The conversations and names you can never hear when trying to take orders due to the noises behind you. Always being between 2-3 separate conversations with your team and customers. All while keeping it cool, remaining calm, and pretending like you’re not stressed, you’re not overwhelmed, you don’t feel anxiety or frustrated the second you clock in for the job.
What do you do to cope to make sure you don’t become overstimulated and have a panic attack or completely become overwhelmed and shut down when you’re in constant motion and no time to detach?
Noise from the headsets, the ding from the ovens, the ding from the drive thru that you can still hear when you sit in silence at home, the noise from dishes on your break, the blenders, scooping ice, steaming your pitchers, rinsing them, the music in the lobby.
The conversations and names you can never hear when trying to take orders due to the noises behind you. Always being between 2-3 separate conversations with your team and customers. All while keeping it cool, remaining calm, and pretending like you’re not stressed, you’re not overwhelmed, you don’t feel anxiety or frustrated the second you clock in for the job.
What do you do to cope to make sure you don’t become overstimulated and have a panic attack or completely become overwhelmed and shut down when you’re in constant motion and no time to detach?
designated-grapes 45 points 1y ago
overstimulation from the noise made me almost quit on the spot which lead me to seek medical help a year ago. Turns out I have ADHD and that was what was causing the over stimulation. Medication has helped tremendously for me. Also stimming. I click my pen when I'm DTO/R or click the tongs together when I'm warming. Once I get into my rythmn on bar, I tune out the noise around me.
When I even start feeling a bit overwhelmed, I ask to go to the restroom. I stand in there and do a quick little breathing exercise.
When I even start feeling a bit overwhelmed, I ask to go to the restroom. I stand in there and do a quick little breathing exercise.
dirteanne 1 points 1y ago
I have to take headset breaks, or else I start to get snappy. It's ridiculously overstimulating.
FrustratingBears 1 points 1y ago
my breaks consist of me sitting down in my car in complete silence, just staring at the dashboard
it’s a nice sound isolation chamber XD
it’s a nice sound isolation chamber XD
keylimerose 34 points 1y ago
i have no coping mechanism besides going to the bathroom on my ten and crying. tomorrow is my last day🤠👍
meekLil 6 points 1y ago
Happy last day!!
keylimerose 4 points 1y ago
thank u meekLil !!!! my feet hurt lol but im 11.5 hours so i think they r giving me 2 lunches?? hopefully
Jessicap1400 2 points 1y ago
They should! I worked a 12 yesterday but they gave me only one 1 hour lunch so they might do that
meekLil 1 points 1y ago
i hope so too! make it an amazing lunch😤 and put your feet up !
C0ffeeCoffeeC0ffee 15 points 1y ago
I tried to do DTR without a headset the other day cause that's how they do it at my new store and I almost had a panic attack. I think I'm addicted to the overstimulation. I don't get it, but here we are.
Edit: I also almost had a panic attack from being overwhelmed in the grocery store today though so idk.
CBD is super helpful but also expensive
Edit: I also almost had a panic attack from being overwhelmed in the grocery store today though so idk.
CBD is super helpful but also expensive
FfierceLaw 3 points 1y ago
It's not fair because you're not in on the partner conversations, I feel like I have been sent to the corner with the ashes, never to move and no one is talking to me but some of the customers
C0ffeeCoffeeC0ffee 2 points 1y ago
Yup its like outcast corner without a headset
Guilty_Owlz 2 points 1y ago
100%
philosopher_cat_lady 14 points 1y ago
This is exactly why I take my headset off all the time. Then I get fussed at about it. And I say, "I can't keep it on. I can't think." I can't stand the constant chatter from my coworkers on the headset talking about whatever they want to talk about, nothing that has anything to do with work.
Something else I like to do is adjust the volume of the music to an acceptable level.
Something else I like to do is adjust the volume of the music to an acceptable level.
Jessicap1400 3 points 1y ago
You can also adjust the volume to the headset!! Literally a life saver
philosopher_cat_lady 3 points 1y ago
I keep that thing as low as possible.
MawcDrums 4 points 1y ago
BEE BEe bee bee booo boo boo booo as I mash the volume down arrow after taking someone's headset from them LOL
badatlife15 13 points 1y ago
I found these ear buds to work, I used the ones from Calmer, but I have also heard good things about Loop. They don’t make it so that the overall volume is reduced, but soften the noises. When I got mine I think I was anticipating something more like noise canceling, which it doesn’t do (at least not for me, my sister also got the same kind and said she couldn’t hear her fan/ac going at home), but i lost one of them and haven’t replaced them yet and can definitely tell I’m more on edge than I was with them.
SavannaHeat 5 points 1y ago
Yes!!! I wear my loop earplugs every single shift. I recommend them to all Starbucks baristas (and really everyone in general). What’s great about them is I can still hear everything and everyone (when I’m listening to them and trying to understand them) but I can put things in the background and zone out SO EASILY. So like when someone’s grinding coffee, it’s not a problem. When the oven is constantly beeping, not a problem. The blender, not a problem. Any and every noise that is either loud, screechy, or painful is not an issue at all for me, and now I can work in peace. In fact, when I’m working register, I can actually hear the customers better than when I don’t wear my loops because the background noises are dramatically lessened, and because I’m fully paying attention to and listening to the customer, I can understand everything. But when I don’t have earplugs in and I have all those background noises, it doesn’t matter how much I’m listening, I usually can’t understand the customers. I get frazzled less, stressed less, annoyed less, and because of it, I can make the drinks to perfection every time, I can connect with customers and keep a positive energy. Seriously everyone needs them, whether you get loops or another brand like them, it’s a worthy investment, especially for people like us who work in loud environments.
meekLil 1 points 1y ago
which loop earplugs did you get? the quiet ones or experience?
SavannaHeat 4 points 1y ago
So I actually collect them lol I have quiets and experiences. For this job I recommend the experiences, since the quiets would take away too much sound. However, if I were you, I’d purchase the experience pros that way you can customize how much sound dampening you want. When I’m working, I wear two experiences. When I’m on my break, I put the mutes in my experiences or I’ll wear a pair of my quiets if I brought them that day.
badatlife15 2 points 1y ago
This is really good to know, Calmer doesn’t have different settings, but they seemed to be less noticeable (I got translucent ones that fit directly in my ear so no one could even tell). I’m planning on asking my mom to get me a replacement for Christmas (if I make it at Starbucks that long) so I will definitely check those out.
meekLil 2 points 1y ago
okay thank you so much!
Tvdrone16 10 points 1y ago
I just smoke. A lot. Plus I got this thc juice that I mix with the strawberry acai that makes things a lot more tolerable
flaudew 8 points 1y ago
Sometimes I sing or hum quietly to myself under the mask. On your breaks you could go to the quietest spot you can find, out to your car maybe? Or you could use earbuds or ear plugs during the breaks. Sometimes on the way to work I ride without music on so I can soak up the silence then, and often on the way home if it was a particularly overstimulating day I'll do the same thing. I feel your pain, my fellow barista. This job is wild.
ilovejimin 7 points 1y ago
oh god the music!! my coworkers turn the music up full volume, i don’t know how they can even focus on anything with that. don’t forget the TIMERS (or do not all stores use these) i hate the timers because half the time — at my new store at least — we won’t even do what’s meant to be done once they go off. it’s just 3 timers going off within 30 minutes for no reason. being at the register makes me want to shut down during peaks, not to mention if i have to grab my own warming. i need to remind myself to go at my own pace though and stay calm 🤮
FairProfessional0 4 points 1y ago
When I start to get overwhelmed by the noises I move my headset behind my ear to muffle that direct sound, or if it’s when I’m on DTO I just cover one of my ears or lower the volume of the headset to as low as I can while still being able to hear customers. Worst case scenario I find an excuse to be in the back to catch a break (I usually do this by taking a sip of my drink or grabbing cups and lids to restock so that my coworkers don’t think I’m just wanting to be lazy).
reginaldioz 3 points 1y ago
we haven’t had long straws and for some reason people get really pissed about it? everytime im in the window i get verbally abused by someone for not having a product. i handed someone a straw and she said “i don’t know what this’ll do. thanks for nothing.” and rolled her eyes at me. i was gobsmacked because she was so nice a second ago and her kids were in the backseat telling her that wasn’t nice and i was just standing there trying not to cry 😐
ArtistPurple5555 2 points 1y ago
I FELT THIS ! it's not realistic to NOT be overstimulated and frustrated. I literally have to stop for a moment and zone out so i can at least ground my own self. It's genuinely not a good working condition for all starbucks. I usually take a honey packet and fidget with that in my pocket for self soothing :-) i dont have much advice though, but please know you arent alone ! its so overwhelming and its so hard to work efficiently at starbucks. you arent doing anything wrong at all, trust me. I also do slight lil movements too to calm myself down
Guilty_Owlz 2 points 1y ago
I transferred to a DT for a period of time and not only did they not train me on anything drive, they just left me doing DTR and DTO all the time. The one time they put me on drive bar, 6 ppl watched me run around making drinks and stressing and didn't help me. Just watched me with pity on their faces then took me off after 5 min and never put me on again. I was from a small cafe store and while we did a ton of business (I'm actually quite good on bar; I'm typically the morning rush bar person) it just didn't compare. While they had 2-4 people for each other, they left me to fend alone. One of my worst 3 months at starbucks and not just because of that.
But yeah I have adhd and severe auditory processing issues (I never realized how much I focused on lip-reading until I couldn't see anything) so working at starbucks has been a fucking nightmare. I would crash not only from exhaustion but from overstimulation every night and it took me two full days off to recover every week. Working at the DT was a special kind of hell that left me so severely depressed I was suicidal after 2 weeks.
Stay safe out there my friends and wear as much noise cancelling stuff as you can once you get off work. Try to hit some nature or bury yourself in bed or a bath. It kind of helps. Good luck <3
But yeah I have adhd and severe auditory processing issues (I never realized how much I focused on lip-reading until I couldn't see anything) so working at starbucks has been a fucking nightmare. I would crash not only from exhaustion but from overstimulation every night and it took me two full days off to recover every week. Working at the DT was a special kind of hell that left me so severely depressed I was suicidal after 2 weeks.
Stay safe out there my friends and wear as much noise cancelling stuff as you can once you get off work. Try to hit some nature or bury yourself in bed or a bath. It kind of helps. Good luck <3
Saradigm 2 points 1y ago
I’m just so used to being spread thin I don’t even know lol. I remind myself all I can do is my best. I’ve worked here 3 years but I’m leaving soon. I can handle rude customers because I know they’re just babies having tantrums and I don’t get many but now one of my shift’s is a passive aggressive bitch and it’s really triggering so im looking for another job. I can cope with the environment just enough, but interpersonal bullshit I can’t.
prettylilfears 2 points 1y ago
i dance to release the energy my body feels when i’m overstimulated. it helps ease my discomfort and keeps me present with myself more than what’s going on around me.
Prineak 2 points 1y ago
Drive thru was the worst idea.
kookubo 2 points 1y ago
I go out to my car or at least outside on breaks. Completely away from all the noise. I also hum and sing little songs quietly under my breath. Don't forget the pen clicking or pen shaking!
gabrielle_gremory 2 points 1y ago
I usually go to my car on every break. Is relaxing as I don’t have anyone to feel like I have to interact with.
Jessicap1400 1 points 1y ago
You can always lower the volume on the headsets!! I think we all have the same kind? I learned this last week and life saver. I also go outside and sit alone for my 10s and 30s and also a lot of thc to calm my nerves and help my arthritis
liamshatzer 1 points 1y ago
I finally found a solution to this!!! I quit
FfierceLaw 1 points 1y ago
Work at Amazon FC when you're not at Starbucks. No customers! They are the silent absent weirdos who order the stuff you pick. Aisle after aisle of sameness, no earbuds allowed, no coworker conversations because they are going up and down the aisles too. Very unstimulating but a paycheck every week not every other week and more per hour than Starbucks
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