Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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How can I be gentle when I correct our green bean? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by Normal_Human_4567
TL;DR at end, this was longer than I meant it to be 😬
Hi all. I'm still fairly new myself (June start) which is why I'm feeling so weird about this. I want to preface this by saying I know our green bean (2 weeks in) is doing her best, and she is genuinely really lovely.
I'm just struggling a bit to support her while doing my own job as well, and I'm looking for a little advice.
As an example, we had a delivery order come through, and she continued serving customers after I let her know it had printed, which was fine but it did need done. (Orders come up on the screen as they come in, and print when the driver is 5 minutes away or so.) A few minutes later the driver came in and was waiting so I said "hey, this needs done now, here's how you do it. I'll slide so don't worry about customers." Abby started, and then went to serve a customer. I said Abby, you have to get this done, the driver is here. I go to make a drink and she is back on till, serving customers, ignoring the delivery order. The driver waited ten minutes for an order that was basically two cups of tea and a toastie because I told her THREE times to sort that out and she just wouldn't listen.
Another thing, arguably the biggest issue, is that she never says where she is. I turn round holding usually boiling hot drinks to get something, and I'll trip over her because I don't know she's there. Every time it happens I say "Abby you NEED to tell me when you walk behind me, one of us is going to get hurt" and every time she says sorry, won't do it again. And then five minutes later, she does.
Has anyone got any advice? How can I approach this? *Should* I approach this? I don't plan on going to my SSVs or SM, because I don't want her to think I don't like her. I only correct her if it's something that directly affects me working (eg if I trip over her with hot coffee), and not even then sometimes. I'm also partly suspicious that some of my frustration is because I'm not good enough yet to cover for her while she's learning.
Thanks for your time!
TL;DR. Green bean is lovely, but tends to get under my feet when she tries to help. I don't know how to kindly correct her, and some mistakes are simple to fix but constantly happening. Part of it may be my own inexperience tripping me up, but how can I gently correct her?
Hi all. I'm still fairly new myself (June start) which is why I'm feeling so weird about this. I want to preface this by saying I know our green bean (2 weeks in) is doing her best, and she is genuinely really lovely.
I'm just struggling a bit to support her while doing my own job as well, and I'm looking for a little advice.
As an example, we had a delivery order come through, and she continued serving customers after I let her know it had printed, which was fine but it did need done. (Orders come up on the screen as they come in, and print when the driver is 5 minutes away or so.) A few minutes later the driver came in and was waiting so I said "hey, this needs done now, here's how you do it. I'll slide so don't worry about customers." Abby started, and then went to serve a customer. I said Abby, you have to get this done, the driver is here. I go to make a drink and she is back on till, serving customers, ignoring the delivery order. The driver waited ten minutes for an order that was basically two cups of tea and a toastie because I told her THREE times to sort that out and she just wouldn't listen.
Another thing, arguably the biggest issue, is that she never says where she is. I turn round holding usually boiling hot drinks to get something, and I'll trip over her because I don't know she's there. Every time it happens I say "Abby you NEED to tell me when you walk behind me, one of us is going to get hurt" and every time she says sorry, won't do it again. And then five minutes later, she does.
Has anyone got any advice? How can I approach this? *Should* I approach this? I don't plan on going to my SSVs or SM, because I don't want her to think I don't like her. I only correct her if it's something that directly affects me working (eg if I trip over her with hot coffee), and not even then sometimes. I'm also partly suspicious that some of my frustration is because I'm not good enough yet to cover for her while she's learning.
Thanks for your time!
TL;DR. Green bean is lovely, but tends to get under my feet when she tries to help. I don't know how to kindly correct her, and some mistakes are simple to fix but constantly happening. Part of it may be my own inexperience tripping me up, but how can I gently correct her?
oftbkk 15 points 1y ago
i usually say “just so you know, next time you need to do ___ but you’re doing great” and if something needs to be done right away something like “can you please go package the delivery? i’ll take over for you since it needs to be done right away”
or you could do it yourself.
or you could do it yourself.
Normal_Human_4567 [OP] 0 points 1y ago
I do this, but it's when something happens multiple times. The main one is the not saying anything when she's walking past, because it happens multiple times a day and there have been several close calls. I do try and be patient but when I trip over her and say "Abby please let me know where you are when you walk behind me", and five minutes later I turn round with fresh coffee and smack into her, it's really difficult to not get frustrated.
The reason I asked her to do the order is that I didn't think I could do bar, make the order and help Abby on till all at once. It was just the two of us and I thought if I slid, it would allow her to focus on the order.
The reason I asked her to do the order is that I didn't think I could do bar, make the order and help Abby on till all at once. It was just the two of us and I thought if I slid, it would allow her to focus on the order.
tjdurl -1 points 1y ago
Maybe look behind you before you carry hot coffee
FfierceLaw 6 points 1y ago
So . . . I had a shift promise a customer 2 travelers Saturday morning (in 5 minutes no less) when we could barely keep up with brewing all the coffees for everyone else. All that brewing was my job but every time I told a customer at the POS “I’ll be right with you!” and tried to start coffee brewing, Shift snapped at me to get back to the POS! She was putting me in an impossible position! So I just decided “screw her” and stayed at the POS ringing up a never-ending line of cafe customers while that traveler customer waited and cups for Pike piled up. I don’t know what she expected. Sooooo . . .to answer your question: REASSURE YOUR NEW PARTNER THAT IT IS OK TO LET OTHER CAFE CUSTOMERS WAIT WHILE THE DELIVERY ORDER IS MADE AND PACKAGED. Or do it yourself! She CLEARLY felt in an impossible position too. And yes, I’m yelling. Because you failed to see it from her point of view. Make it clear which of several jobs you want her to prioritize at the moment and just tell her it’s ok to let the other ones go undone or find someone else to do them. She was afraid to let a customer wait, I hope you hear and understand. I’m too proud to say this to that shift. I handled it by giving away the next shift I would have had with her
Normal_Human_4567 [OP] 4 points 1y ago
Sorry, maybe I didn't make it clear! I told her when the order printed, sort the order, customers can wait. I saw her write the bags and then go back to the till. I then told her that the order *needs* to be done, I'll slide, don't worry about customers. I saw her on till after that and said that *I will slide, customers can wait.* I told the next customer with her in earshot that I would be with them in a minute. And went to make the two drinks I had going. And she went back on till.
I did make it very clear that she didn't have to worry about customers at all, and to prioritize the order. I'm not sure why she decided to just *not* do that, which is why I was asking for advice
I did make it very clear that she didn't have to worry about customers at all, and to prioritize the order. I'm not sure why she decided to just *not* do that, which is why I was asking for advice
Jaxammx 6 points 1y ago
As a SSV, I would want my partners to bring this to my attention. I think you did everything correctly but I feel that a shift or someone higher should have handled it. Especially, if you’re bother on the “newer” side. Some people just don’t listen and sometimes authority has to “handle it”, if that makes any sense.
Normal_Human_4567 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
No, that makes sense! I just feel like if she hears from someone else "oh yeah so-and-so said this about you" she'll feel I'm going behind her back, and I don't want that. I've seen green beans on here saying they feel their store doesn't like them and I don't want her to feel like that.
ResponsibleMess9775 5 points 1y ago
Omg i feel you i have a someone at my store who’s been a partner for like almost 10 years that is literally so unhelpful it makes me wanna die. I know this may not seem very helpful but i suggest to keep doing what youre doing. Keep telling her what she needs to do and hopefully she’ll get it eventually. She may just be really overwhelmed with learning everything and she forgets, and if it continues to be a problem maybe talk to your fav SSV about it. I get it though totally frustrating 🙄
Normal_Human_4567 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
I do get it, everything is a lot when you start. It's just things that actively make my job harder, I struggle staying patient with, especially multiple times a shift. Like the sneaking thing, that's not a case of *if* there's going to be an accident, it's *when*. And I personally don't want 2nd degree burns over something that could be *so* easily avoided.
I think my SM does have some idea, because today he asked her to do pastry case and then as I was doing my final once-over with him and making sure everything was done, I noticed that it hadn't been done. I didn't intentionally fob her in, I was just going "so I've put eveything through, done the machines, cold bar's done, I just need to do the sinks... Oh, the pastry case needs done too"
I figure long-term things are going to get caught eventually, it's just how to address the short term things. I just don't know how to say "hey, stop trying to help, I'll ask if I need it"
I think my SM does have some idea, because today he asked her to do pastry case and then as I was doing my final once-over with him and making sure everything was done, I noticed that it hadn't been done. I didn't intentionally fob her in, I was just going "so I've put eveything through, done the machines, cold bar's done, I just need to do the sinks... Oh, the pastry case needs done too"
I figure long-term things are going to get caught eventually, it's just how to address the short term things. I just don't know how to say "hey, stop trying to help, I'll ask if I need it"
ResponsibleMess9775 2 points 1y ago
Maybe you can even try saying that! There’s partners at my store too who like jump around all over the place cause their previous manager never really deployed anyone so its super frustrating. But maybe even try “thanks i got it if you could do this that would actually be more helpful” or something like that. I know she might think youre an asshole at the time but maybe if youre nice to her on downtime she’ll get that youre not trying to be mean. It gets super crazy at my store sometimes and sometimes baristas, including myself can get a little snippy but we all know its nothing personal its just the stresses of the job, she’ll learn that part eventually too!
I know its all super frustrating, im a barista trainer so i especially get it!
I know its all super frustrating, im a barista trainer so i especially get it!
Normal_Human_4567 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
This is great and I will do that! The thing is that she does it without asking anyone. You don't even notice til it's already been done and you need to fix it. I just don't know how to bring it up without sounding like an utter wanker. I feel like a wanker even asking about it
ResponsibleMess9775 2 points 1y ago
Honestly you might just have to, like i said she’ll probably think that anyway but she’ll learn that way and eventually forgive you!
Few-Tax-1647 2 points 1y ago
So I’m a fairly new barista, I started about a month ago. It’s definitely not my first job, but it IS my first time in the service industry.
Multiple times now while I’ve been on front register, I’ve felt overwhelmed. I have shifts telling me I need to brew the coffee, grab this from the back, package this order, make whips, go do the dishes, etc. But our store is in a very busy location, so oftentimes, I have a constant line of customers. One day in particular I was asked to make whips. I managed to bring everything out from the back that I needed, but was of course bombarded with cafe customers. As I’m serving them, my shift yells out, “Anna we really need those whips!” Fortunately I had a break in customers right then so I finished taking the last order then turned to work on the whips. But as soon as I got started, apparently a customer walked in and up to my register. I didn’t see him because my back was turned and the same shift came up to me and, in a annoyed tone loud enough for all my coworkers and the customer to hear, said, “Anna there’s someone waiting at your register. Customer’s are supposed to be your first priority.” I was so embarrassed to be called out like that in front of everyone, but also overwhelmed about what the actual f*ck do you want from me. I can’t do two things at once.
As far as the walking behind thing, again this is my first time working in an environment like this. I’d always heard of people at restaurants yelling out “Behind you!” and whatnot, but had never had to get into the habit myself. I feel like I’m just now getting a hang of actually announcing to those around me where I’m at. And this is a month in.
I’m glad to hear that it sounds like you’ve been kind to Abby despite your frustrations with her, because this shift I have has been the complete opposite. I would just say try to remember that this could be her first job like this, and she may feel very overwhelmed and is just trying to keep up as much as she can. She definitely just needs time :)
Multiple times now while I’ve been on front register, I’ve felt overwhelmed. I have shifts telling me I need to brew the coffee, grab this from the back, package this order, make whips, go do the dishes, etc. But our store is in a very busy location, so oftentimes, I have a constant line of customers. One day in particular I was asked to make whips. I managed to bring everything out from the back that I needed, but was of course bombarded with cafe customers. As I’m serving them, my shift yells out, “Anna we really need those whips!” Fortunately I had a break in customers right then so I finished taking the last order then turned to work on the whips. But as soon as I got started, apparently a customer walked in and up to my register. I didn’t see him because my back was turned and the same shift came up to me and, in a annoyed tone loud enough for all my coworkers and the customer to hear, said, “Anna there’s someone waiting at your register. Customer’s are supposed to be your first priority.” I was so embarrassed to be called out like that in front of everyone, but also overwhelmed about what the actual f*ck do you want from me. I can’t do two things at once.
As far as the walking behind thing, again this is my first time working in an environment like this. I’d always heard of people at restaurants yelling out “Behind you!” and whatnot, but had never had to get into the habit myself. I feel like I’m just now getting a hang of actually announcing to those around me where I’m at. And this is a month in.
I’m glad to hear that it sounds like you’ve been kind to Abby despite your frustrations with her, because this shift I have has been the complete opposite. I would just say try to remember that this could be her first job like this, and she may feel very overwhelmed and is just trying to keep up as much as she can. She definitely just needs time :)
salaciainthedepths 2 points 1y ago
Was the deployment pre-agreed that she would be doing deliveries? I think direct communication is always best: saying something like hey, I noticed you’re great at connecting with customers but yesterday you didn’t manage to complete a delivery order on time. Were you struggling with understanding the order or multitasking? Are you familiar with how we package orders?
You can’t know what the issue is unless you ask - although if she’s covering her station and sounds like she was constantly busy, we would normally flex someone else to sort out the delivery.
You can’t know what the issue is unless you ask - although if she’s covering her station and sounds like she was constantly busy, we would normally flex someone else to sort out the delivery.
Normal_Human_4567 [OP] 3 points 1y ago
My store is really small, so a good close we'll have one on bar, one on till, one supervisor floating/doing supervisor stuff. The store was busy, a constant queue of maybe 4 ish people? Abby was on till, which was mostly done in terms of pre-close, so she only had to worry about customers and deliveries.
She did know how to make the order. The first time I said "hey Abby, the driver for that order is here so if you grab that I'll slide for a minute". I told the customer I would be with them in just a minute. When I saw her *not* doing the order, I thought maybe I overestimated how much she knew how to do, so I said "Hey Abby, the driver's waiting so you need to get the order done just now. Your bags are here so you just need to pop the toastie in and grab those two teas, don't worry about serving customers, I can slide while you do that"
After that I served two people on till, and told the next person I would be with them in a minute. I went to make the two drinks, and then I hear the oven beeping that the food is done. Abby is ignoring it and serving customers, so I got the food out and told her *make the tea*, because the driver had been waiting by that point for at least 5 minutes already.
Hope that makes sense?
She did know how to make the order. The first time I said "hey Abby, the driver for that order is here so if you grab that I'll slide for a minute". I told the customer I would be with them in just a minute. When I saw her *not* doing the order, I thought maybe I overestimated how much she knew how to do, so I said "Hey Abby, the driver's waiting so you need to get the order done just now. Your bags are here so you just need to pop the toastie in and grab those two teas, don't worry about serving customers, I can slide while you do that"
After that I served two people on till, and told the next person I would be with them in a minute. I went to make the two drinks, and then I hear the oven beeping that the food is done. Abby is ignoring it and serving customers, so I got the food out and told her *make the tea*, because the driver had been waiting by that point for at least 5 minutes already.
Hope that makes sense?
salaciainthedepths 2 points 1y ago
I get what you’re saying - but you’re going to stay busy on bar and she’s staying busy on till, at that point I’d call for the SSV to sort the delivery haha.
I think having a quick debrief is your best action plan and talk to her without judgement so you can figure out what the issue was and how you can flex around each other if something like that comes up again 😊
I think having a quick debrief is your best action plan and talk to her without judgement so you can figure out what the issue was and how you can flex around each other if something like that comes up again 😊
Normal_Human_4567 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
My SSV wasn't about to help right then, I think he was on his 10 outside. I knew I couldn't cope with bar and making the order, but I also knew she couldn't do both till and order. I really thought it was the best option to let her get the order done without panicking about serving customers as well.
I caught her a few minutes later when it calmed down and I did explain to her how to manage her time between orders and customers, just in case she was too stressed to take it in the first time. I also explained it clearer than I had when I was rushing, in case it was me tripping her up.
It's less about that specific incident though, that was more of an example? I know she wants to be helpful, but I'm really struggling with supporting her when I only recently got confident in my own abilities. I picked up fast and am good at my job, but not good enough for both of us.
It sounds a shitty thing to say, but if she would just focus on her own tasks first rather than try and help without actually knowing what needs done, it would be a lot easier. One of my SSVs has been trying to help her out by giving her less things to take care of, so eg she's on bar and someone else closes it, so she learns how to make all the drinks without worrying about closing. Even with that though, she still goes and does other things and then everything is just half-done.
I caught her a few minutes later when it calmed down and I did explain to her how to manage her time between orders and customers, just in case she was too stressed to take it in the first time. I also explained it clearer than I had when I was rushing, in case it was me tripping her up.
It's less about that specific incident though, that was more of an example? I know she wants to be helpful, but I'm really struggling with supporting her when I only recently got confident in my own abilities. I picked up fast and am good at my job, but not good enough for both of us.
It sounds a shitty thing to say, but if she would just focus on her own tasks first rather than try and help without actually knowing what needs done, it would be a lot easier. One of my SSVs has been trying to help her out by giving her less things to take care of, so eg she's on bar and someone else closes it, so she learns how to make all the drinks without worrying about closing. Even with that though, she still goes and does other things and then everything is just half-done.
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
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