So this is what happens when you don't invite your SM to an after work party...

We are so short staffed I would hire twins right now and claim I had no idea they were related.

this is like... so weird bc romantic/sexual relationships... yes. i can kinda understand the concern. friendship though? good luck enforcing lmao.

They are trying to get ahead of the certain unionization efforts of stores in the future.

They’re reminding you that they can use this to fire you, transfer you, cut your hours, not promote you. They’re doing it now to intimidate you in not following the buffalo store’s lead.

Keep your friendships among each other private from management. Don’t talk about your life outside of work. Management is starting to take notes, identify leaders, friendships, etc, in order to temper any hints of organizing.

It shouldn’t be this way, but it is what it is.

At my old store two of are partners we’re dating and lived together not to mention they are offering a bonus for referring a friend where I am so this is weird

“Ma’am… I have something to confess.”

“Oh no, what is it??”

“I-I’ve… I’ve made a close friend at this store! We even have each other’s Instagrams!”

“NO!! It mustn’t be!! Tell me it’s not true! You’re forcing my hand… there is nothing left to salvage here. I will call for a transfer tomorrow. Dismissed… and farewell, underling.”

Part of their plan to union-bust

This is just to protect their asses and give them more reasons to terminate if necessary. Obviously there ARE relationships the are inappropriate (ie, sexual relationships between management and non-management), but friendships are not one of them. Literally everyone at my store has friends (or family) they see outside of work.

I've worked for the company for 15 years and never seen this I wouldn't sign it. I would of called corporate lol my store passed around a sheet that we all had to sign and working in drive thru and I was like mmmmm no note signing thanks 😅

Well my store missed this memo. At one point, five or six partners were roommates and we also have a different group, maybe the same size, that plays games all the time together outside of work.

I think it’s meant for people who were in my situation. I’m a shift who moved into an apartment with one of my baristas. My manager was going to have us sign something like this but then he was able to transfer to another store as a shift. It’s basically to make sure both of us understand that we leave home life at home. For example, if my roommate and I got into a bad argument then worked together the next day, and I try to make him miserable at work to spite him, then there is documentation where I said I wouldn’t do that. Or alternatively To make sure I don’t give him special treatment, like if he’s having a bad day so I let him be on dishes but then another partner comes in a few days later in a similar mood but I just ignore them, it’s documented I said I wouldn’t do that nor does he expect that sort of treatment.

I would not sign this if my SM asked me to

We had a barista suddenly transfer to a different location with no explanation. The next week, my SM announced that she’s pregnant and got engaged… to the barista. Who’s also the father. Mystery solved.

So my store hasn’t had a solid manager in the last 2 years. If we weren’t all friends with each other, our store would have burned to the entire ground, honestly. We’ve had quarters with numbers that are beyond expectations, WITHOUT any manager to guide us. So if they want the company to succeed, why would they separate us all to different stores? And weren’t they actually asking partners to recruit people they might deem fit for the roll? Wouldn’t that literally entail us suggesting friends and such??

*yikes*

I used to work at a big gym chain and we had to sign a contract prior to being hired that included a bit about if an employee were to be discovered having a physical relationship with a coworker or a member, even someone from a different club, was grounds for immediate termination and a permanent ban from future employment and membership with the company. So while yes, it is out of line, it's not unheard of. At my SB, nobody really cared. We all knew who was friends outside of work and who wasn't.

i’m friends with one of my SSVs but we were friends 2 years before she became one, is that something i should DiScLoSe?

me and my girlfriend work in the same store, she’s a barista and i’m a shift. my manager schedules us for the same shift and will sometimes give us days off together if it fits with availability. i work in germany. at first we couldn’t work together but we became understaffed severely (3 baristas and a manager and a shift (me lol)) and we were allowed to work together and now she says we are the most efficient pair of employees she’s seen🥰

this is like that one episode in gossip girl where everyone thinks dan and blair are having an affair but they're really just secretly friends

Corporate is *really* watching our asses now huh..

Considering my old SM had an affair with a shift, I would say my store needed this.

My girlfriend referred me to work at Starbucks. Neither of us had to fill out any forms. We just work different shifts. No one cares. Even if we worked the same shift, which we had to before due to a call out, we’re grown adults and don’t need to act like we’re in a relationship at work.

Regarding friendships literally everyone is friends with each other; at least at my current store and the store I trained. Starbucks hires friendly people so like ….? Lol everyone will have to fill those out for everyone

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Well corporate would definitely have an issue with my store because everyone on night crew is tight af

my store manager got onto me for getting all buddy-buddy with the baristas when i was still an ssv, yet she was hella close with our former district manager

Well if this is true policy… my former SM is breaking that rule.
She hired a shift manager that she is super
Buddy Buddy with.
Like everyone sees the favoritism except the shift manager (she is a little naive and generally too nice).

Is this related to the whole relationship/dating other partners from your own store situation? Haven’t heard about this before

Lol every sad attempt to keep stores from unionizing.

I started having a fling with my SSV and my SM was rooting for us to become more serious. So, no. Lol

Meanwhile my district is full of managers fucking eachother. Like sweet summer child do you not know???

I'm a former Store Manager. I know/knew the policy on this and found it ridiculous. Of course you develop close friendships and sometimes other things blossom. I was up front with all my partners. I had ZERO issue with this until it became a problem. Everyone knew this and respected it, shit, I used to hang with my partners out of store sometimes and had super close friendships. Everyone knew not to cross the line. If you respect your partners and they respect you this SHOULD be a non-issue. Most Sm's are assholes though.

It’s supposed to be your second home …

I met and married my husband when we were both baristas this is weird why would they not encourage us to make friends

My wife and I worked together before I got promoted and she had to transfer 🤣

Maybe there’s been a problem in the store that OP doesn’t know about. There may be an action pending and this is the set up for it.

What the hell? Everyone in my store is like super close

This is really funny bc our SM just hired one of his friends as a barista LMAO

How can you NOT become friends with the people you work with? Most of my close friends started off as coworkers. It's what happens when you're in a shitstorm with somebody, you bond over it, inside jokes form, it makes you a stronger team in general.

(Ex partner 283****)I actually used to work with my GF, was annoying because she would pick me the most to point stuff out to even though I've worked there a year longer. But besides that we never really had problems.

Ops. And I got a crush on one of my partners. He’s kinda new too. Goddamnit, I guess this is a sign from god.

I’m a shift and can’t hang out with any baristas outside of work. Cant have their handles or anything

Not my store. Our SM comes to our work things/bonfires/etc. Was pretty funny

Labor shortage < exterminating friendship in the workplace

Lmfao I dated a shift as a barista. I wouldn’t recommend it but still.

Never seen this but was in a situation in which a rumor started that me (then a barista now a shift) was sleeping with a shift. I mean this rumor got way off hand the District Manager even came in. She didn't mention anything that's on the letter she said that it's a black and Grey area and that problems only begin when one of the two people who are involved are preventing you from growing as a partner. Then if that is the case And your growth as a partner is being affected then one of the two will be transferred. And I no I wasn't sleeping with anyone which was the kicker like people are so petty.

Meanwhile my newest SM has hired every single one of his friends from an old coffee shop he used to run (not Starbucks) completely unfair. One of these partners goes clubbing and to concerts with this SM AND does atleast 1 no call no show a WEEK!! And also an hour late everyday! But in the supervisor meeting three months ago he said she was on her last will..

Haha. Funny.

I’m sorry, but if I’m not at least on a level of friendship with the people I work with then it would be hell. ‘Don’t make friends! Just work!’

Yeah no. We are not robots. I’d be taking that to a higher power, or just quit.

My SM is chill with close friendships, hell, I met my best friend at work! It's the romantic relationships my store needs to be mindful of... scheduling each person at different day parts, or days altogether. The other thing to keep on mind is job level... thankfully my closest bonds are with other SSVs, and we will meet up after work for drinks, but I don't hang with my baristas (90% of them are under 20....).

wow i didn’t know stores were actually like this. everyone at my store are really good friends

this company is so shitty lol they somehow continue to get worse

This policy is perfectly reasonable to and should be there for any responsible workplace. It is specifically referencing that these kinds of relationships are prohibited in cases between management and non-management partners. You wouldn't want to work at a place that allows nepotism and very close friendships or romantic relationships between supervisors and non-supervisors. An environment like that is prone to accusations of bias/unfairness/favoritism.

I'm really surprised people here are against this policy.

It's like that pretty much anywhere. If you are dating, married or a family member and one or the other takes a manager position the other has to be transferred to another location. Have had that happen at my store several times, I work at a licensed store inside a grocery store. I totally get the reason why that is, so there is no one thinking that person is getting special treatment. Where I'm at as long as you aren't a manager then you can work along any type of relationship. I have a mother, daughter on my team right now.

Everywhere I have ever worked has this policy higher positions are not allowed to date or even be friends with other staff. All companies worry about favoritism.

We have two sisters and ones a shift the other a barista. Originally they were supposed to work opposite shifts but due to our staffing it's usually me and them closing

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Wait what…my manager hired me bc my friend worked there already and knew/recommended me lol. I guess it depends reallly

The only reason I can understand this is bc when I was in high school, I worked at a movie theater with my bff from school. Both of us were 18, and our manager was 23. She ended up dating our managers roommate who also worked there, and we were good friends with the manager. It was fun at the time being tight with the person in charge, but looking back, I see all the special treatment we got. We were always put on whatever position we wanted, they bought us alcohol so we could drink in the theaters, went on breaks with us so we could get extra time and no one questioned it, let us sit in the office instead of working, let us stay late to make extra money for doing nothing but sitting on the roof drinking, etc… Like I said, I’m guilty of taking full advantage of the special treatment, but it was beyond unfair that we got to do all that while the other employees worked their butts off in the concession stand. Not to mention an absolute shit show went down when my bff and the roommate broke up. That workplace became real hostile real fast.

Not at all

this and a referral bonus

When I worked out store was so close. Family

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But they want current partners to recommend people they know for hiring (and why would we recommend people we aren’t friends with/don’t have a good opinion of?)

At my store EVERYONE would hang out with each other and it was not unusual for us to go out to dinner together, go to the beach, or just hang out. No one cared at all ever

Dude at my store we literally have a shift and they’re partner working, and two baristas who’re dating.

All though it definitely gets in the way and causes problems.

I feel like it’s pretty standard to discourage close personal relationships between management and non-management workers. Not between people at the same level/pay grade. But discouraging friendships in non-management partners is strange.

My SM doesn’t care at all. He actually encouraged me and another shift to move in together. We did. With a barista too.

Friendship is like everything else at Starbucks: anyone can be disciplined at any time for doing it, or for not doing it, or it can be ignored or rewarded. Just try to stay in the “in” clique and you will be fine!

My best friend since I was 2 is transferring into my store, and my SM knows all about that. If that's not a "close relationship", idk what is.

I also found out recently that most of my store was invited to my SM's wedding (long before I worked there).

All my coworkers are friends. I can honestly imagine hanging out with any one of them outside of work.

NO. WTF

Sometime clicks form and it becomes toxic to the store