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Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind

Full History - 2021 - 12 - 13 - ID#rfn46q
549
i (college student) am a 1+ year corporate partner, and recently started at a licensed a couple weeks ago as an on-campus job... and honestly? i’m horrified (reddit.com)
submitted by reclusivegiraffe
flamingavocados 338 points 1y ago
You’re gonna be their life saver oh my gosh. The quality is horrible…

I have plans to transfer to an on-campus Starbucks soon from my current store and now I’m low key worried lmao
i_wear_a_bison_hat 9 points 1y ago
Bleach that Foul Demonic Pitcher!!! :D
Malevolent_barnacle 167 points 1y ago
Talk to me bout them nails tho - if I could have claws I'd leave corp. bux in a heartbeat
yirium 81 points 1y ago
You're technically not supposed to in most places but they're way less strict about it (I've worked for both)
drinkliquidclocks 41 points 1y ago
I work at a licensed store and we are allowed to 🙂 we also make way less money though 🙃
rainy-gray 31 points 1y ago
i know the target ones let you but all real Starbucks ban it because of food safety rules
wanderer1522 30 points 1y ago
Excuse me but Target stores do not let you have nails. Maybe there's some lax stores near you but it is officially against the rules.
rainy-gray 1 points 1y ago
weird the one by us let's u. it's super weird.
drinkliquidclocks 13 points 1y ago
I know, that was the purpose of my comment. I work at a licensed store. We aren't a Starbucks
mama_bibi 7 points 1y ago
Not all licensed stores are target though
rainy-gray 3 points 1y ago
oh sorry i didnt know what licensed store means.
Victoriamarie03 8 points 1y ago
I also worked at a Kroger which did not care... regardless as someone who's always been in the industry .. theyre just gross; I wouldn't get them still if I had the option.. I wouldn't want someone making my coffee with big long nails, especially knowing how I work too... it's very hand immersive why would you want to glue a big wad of germs on your hand if you're in the food business ... just saying... and a lot of people genuinely don't know how gross fake nails are in general.
rainy-gray 2 points 1y ago
for real. and nail polish chipping off into stuff. yikes.
NeonNightlights 2 points 1y ago
This really depends on what company you work under. I’m licensed now after spending a couple of years at corporate and make more than twice what I used to make despite being in the same area. So if you wanna work with the bux but the pay at your licensed is bad I guarantee there are probably better licensed locations for you to work at! (and to stay on topic my manager also has long nails so most licensed stores def don’t care about it)
serenityforeva3 1 points 1y ago
We can’t at my licensed store :((
manningtondude -12 points 1y ago
Should we assume by that second emoji that you're in Australia 🌏? AUD is worth less than USD so that fits.
Malevolent_barnacle 4 points 1y ago
Nah, I'm pretty sure that's the 'this is fine/internally screaming' emoji
manningtondude -9 points 1y ago
Oh. I just assumed it was an Australian smiley... Or somewhere in South America or something. Crazy upside down people with their confused, backward toilets and their upside-down smileys and their magnetic boots so they don't fall off the bottom of the Earth.
Sea_Singer1692 9 points 1y ago
So funny because they are missing two nails in this pic. Probably not in someone's drink, but could you have asked for a better warning?? 😂
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 2 points 1y ago
they fall off too easily — even though my licensed store lets it slide, i just stopped wearing them because it was too annoying
victorious_gem 102 points 1y ago
I'm not gonna lie, I worked at a licensed stored (in a supermarket) before I started working at a corporate store && they was mad things we weren't taught to do 😅
florencelovelace 19 points 1y ago
i started working at a corporate starbucks this month after being at a licensed one and all the stuff we did at the licensed one DEFINITELY don’t meet standards
barista-baby 84 points 1y ago
i was gonna say stained but after seeing it clean…that’s absolutely disgusting

i’m a college student and am ashamed to say that this is expected for a lot of college kids these days (not all, but too many)…laziness at it’s max right here

*edit: not knocking college students, i am one myself, i just think a quick scrub once in a while would be better than nothing
deprimada 34 points 1y ago
But also school burns you the fuck out big time. No wonder so many college students are “lazy”
barista-baby 7 points 1y ago
i’m a college student so i 100% understand burn out, school really gets to your head, but those pitchers would’ve had to have been used a looooong time without a good scrub for them to get that filthy
mama_bibi -15 points 1y ago
Def not an excuse. Im a single mom who works full time and still has to clean and cook and take care of my child after working 8 hours and busting my ass. Work ethic is a mind set
deprimada 6 points 1y ago
Ok you want a cookie?
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 2 points 1y ago
there are several older adult employees here as well.
barista-baby 1 points 1y ago
that’s just embarrassing then
heytherecomputer 76 points 1y ago
Girl lost a nail in the process 😭
urlessies 20 points 1y ago
two! 😭😭
Coffeeaftersex 34 points 1y ago
I work at a licensed and corporate sbux and honestly for me it is the opposite experience. My licensed sbux is MUCH CLEANER than my corporate sbux. 😌
wanderer1522 45 points 1y ago
Thank you for saying that. I feel like people are constantly shitting on licensed stores for things like this but it's really a store-to-store thing. It's totally dependent on your team and your leadership what your store looks like. Whether you're corporate or licensed if your team doesn't care it's gonna get gross quick.
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 2 points 1y ago
i’m not shitting on licensed stores in general, but i am shitting on my licensed store 😭
wanderer1522 2 points 1y ago
Oh, I wasn't trying to accuse you of the general assumption! Sorry for the misunderstanding. Good luck with your new store! 😄
natalieeil 2 points 1y ago
This ^^
anitasdoodles 29 points 1y ago
lol they're like this at mine too. I piled them all in the sink and put the smallest amount of bleach in each and they came out looking new. I think people rinse them out with hot water but never give them a wipe down or scrub.
drinkliquidclocks 19 points 1y ago
Honestly even with a small amount of scrubbing power even regular dish soap will get them really clear, that is just sad 😭
NyanBecca 16 points 1y ago
I’ve only ever heard horror stories from partners who come from or go to franchise locations
Arith_Medic_WasTaken 13 points 1y ago
Yeah. Dish practices at a lot of stores are real bad. We can't even use hot water for dishes at mine.
WineAndHolySpirits 3 points 1y ago
Is the hot water broken or something?
Arith_Medic_WasTaken 6 points 1y ago
No it's fully functional. Hot water is a "hazard" apparently
ruin_24 2 points 1y ago
Crazy. We wash all dishes/hardware at 120⁰ and have to check and make sure it is at or above 100⁰ every 3 hours.
i_am_me47 9 points 1y ago
i also went from a corporate store to an on campus one (just a we proudly service not a licensed one but still) and it was equally as horrific. Moldy food in the bottom of the poor Hobart, using undiluted 4x strawberry açaí concentrate, never cleaning out the coffee urns, refusing to put pumps on syrups and just guessing how much goes in, using the same sani for days on end, etc…

i ended up quitting because my supervisor made me stand on the floor for TWENTY MINUTES because i finished closing way before i was scheduled for (since i’m experienced and efficient). i don’t get it since i was literally saving labor
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 1 points 1y ago
oh, is there a difference between a proudly served and a licensed? this store is a proudly served — it goes under a different name.
CatOfSachse 1 points 1y ago
WPS is operated under license from Nestle Corp

Licensed is operated by the grocery store, licensed through Starbucks and can sell a lot more Starbucks merchandise.

At WPS we only got basic expresso, syrups/sauces, teas. Pastries we had to make ourselves. Season drinks are a hit or miss, and then it’s a pain when people want to use the Starbucks card cause Starbucks cards are not accepted at WPS.

https://www.nestlecoffeepartnerssl.com/our-brands/we-proudly-serve-starbucks-coffee-program
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 1 points 1y ago
ok that makes sense. we’re definitely a WPS — this store is run though the dining hall service on my campus.
IAMACHRISTMASWIZARD 9 points 1y ago
i work in a corporate store and all the tea pitchers looked like this until a month ago😭 theyre only clean now cuz i realized it IS possible to scrub the nasty off and everyone else was just too lazy to
potatopoisoning 10 points 1y ago
If you ever have the time for it, you can fill one of the 3 compartment sinks with 6-8 urnex packets (depending on sink size) and fill it with hot water, soak for 30 minutes, and rinse very well. Anything that has coffee or tea stains will come right out (pitchers, sauce tubs, brew baskets, steaming pitchers, etc), anything but that kiwi starfruit green.
IAMACHRISTMASWIZARD 4 points 1y ago
yoooo- i may have to ask my ssv if we can do this next clean play

my store doesn’t sell nearly enough kiwi starfruit to put it in pitchers so we don’t have to deal with the staining😌
potatopoisoning 3 points 1y ago
Ohhh. You must be getting the 2x bases for that still! We get the new 4x bases (in the little boxes) so we can’t use it straight out of the box anymore :(
IAMACHRISTMASWIZARD 3 points 1y ago
yeah we get kiwi starfruit and mango dragonfruit in the 2x boxes still, for some reason they gave us the 4x boxes of very berry tho and we barely sell any lol
Loolander 1 points 1y ago
Please don't do this. Just scrub with bleach and a blue scouring pad.
ItzBoogieMan 9 points 1y ago
How you clean it like dat
SelocAvrap 28 points 1y ago
Honestly? Just fucking scrub it. It takes time, but it's safe (unlike using bathroom cleaner on dishes - I know some of y'all do & it's nasty) and it'll get it clean. Soak in hot, soapy water first if you need to. Then give it a quick scrub every time you wash it after that to keep it that way
Anotherface95 11 points 1y ago
My store kept mr clean sponges around, those things work wonders
nenenene 25 points 1y ago
Melamine sponges should not be used on surfaces that come in direct contact with food/drink. It’s an issue of contamination - the particles that abrade off the sponge can cause GI irritation if ingested.
Anotherface95 13 points 1y ago
😀 oh no lol
Due_Ad_6793 2 points 1y ago
We use the urnex and hot water with the Mr clean sponges then wash them again. Works wonders and that stuff comes off quick.
drinkliquidclocks 10 points 1y ago
Just scrub it. If regular soap isn't doing the trick soak it with some peroxide
galadrielgal23 9 points 1y ago
I knew that was dirty… we are slammed at our location but damn it we wash our dishes and none of our pitchers/cubes/etc. look like that, maybe a little dingy but not brown…
kortette 7 points 1y ago
Dude, literally same exact situation for me... the Mfers in this licensed store shocked me with their negligence. Crazy stuff.
megs1288 4 points 1y ago
I just transferred to a new store and cleaned all of their pitchers with some urnx and they were amazed lol. My manager thought we got new pitchers in the York order
pixieuppercut 4 points 1y ago
I worked on campus for a couple months and physically couldn’t remove a part of the espresso machine to clean it. When I asked they said they’d never cleaned it…. And I don’t want to talk about the steam wands. 🤮
heyHoe207 4 points 1y ago
The nails are a nice touch too
notawarmonger 3 points 1y ago
Unionize!!!!!
Brilliant-Taste-4226 3 points 1y ago
Oh no thank you
martinifather 3 points 1y ago
my jaw dropped to the floor
sero5074 3 points 1y ago
oh i am HORRIFIED
ricsanc 3 points 1y ago
They always tell me "It's just a stain"
Sentarry 2 points 1y ago
Yeah, that looks a little stained... just- just a little.
nickcavey 2 points 1y ago
Looks minty and citrusy
uwumoment 2 points 1y ago
ewwwww
Baristajf 2 points 1y ago
I took over a store and threw away every damn one that looked like that and bought new ones… I cannot stand garbage like this
mama_bibi 2 points 1y ago
I came from a licensed store that was cleaner and better than the corporate store im at now. If it wasnt for me and one other person this is how our tea pitchers would look. My store is disgusting and out of control
[deleted] 2 points 1y ago
[deleted]
francescugh 2 points 1y ago
scrumptious
Skydery 2 points 1y ago
Omg there was a whole biome in there
SupaFugDup 2 points 1y ago
The only pitchers that get anywhere near this bad at my licensed store is the one we use for kiwi, but like it's just a light green...not *this*
LogicalPineapple1377 6 points 1y ago
Our kiwi pitcher is fluorescent green no matter how much I soak/scrub it 🙈
mama_bibi 2 points 1y ago
I've brought in bleach. Like clorox bleach. Soaked it for an hour. The green did not come off. And people put that in their bodies. Side note a magic eraser would probably work...🤔 I'm gona try it
LZARDKING 2 points 1y ago
AAAAHHHHHH
miniinovaa 2 points 1y ago
omg how do you do this? i need to do this to ours, but no matter how much scrubbing its still nasty D:
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 1 points 1y ago
i just scrub it in hot water, but you can use urnex on them as long as you wash them well afterwards
Soap-on-a-rope1 2 points 1y ago
Yum!!
KenansCloud 2 points 1y ago
I-
emlydelgado 1 points 1y ago
omg i work on my college campus too! luckily all our supervisors came from corporate so they know how to run shit amazingly id be scarred seeing that
meloscav 1 points 1y ago
I mean luckily those are just tannin stains, but yeah—they aren’t scrubbing their pitchers.
cookprach 1 points 1y ago
this reminds me of a store i worked at. i was so grossed out i had to transfer.
in addition, everything was covered in grease from things not being cleaned out before being put in the dish water
TheActualFridge 1 points 1y ago
when ours get bad we clean em with a little bit of the urn cleaner. works like a charm
Kindly-Wear-6290 1 points 1y ago
Teach me your ways, please. I used restroom cleaner this weekend and then double washed and sanitized them after but I’m pretty sure that’s frowned upon. But I frown upon putting water into a clear pitcher that’s brown so…
Due_Ad_6793 1 points 1y ago
Urnex solution and a Mr clean eraser, then clean it again really good to get rid of residue, and ta-da.
CatOfSachse 1 points 1y ago
I worked WPS for my campus and oh my god it’s disgusting how off book they make me go
SkippyMonroe 1 points 1y ago
Not all licensed stores are this bad! (Though most are though). I’ve been in one for 2 years and there’s no way in hell I’d let that happen lol.
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 1 points 1y ago
for anyone seeing this: they were keeping the teas for 2+ days, until i started bitching about it. now they keep teas for 1 day... better, but not good enough
CatOfSachse 1 points 1y ago
My old store we kept it for up to 5 days… holy shit. Now I feel in the wrong
Frequent_Flamingo_42 1 points 1y ago
This needs a restroom cleaner soak and magic eraser scrub down 👀
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 1 points 1y ago
both of those aren’t approved for use on food surfaces — it can hurt customers!
Frequent_Flamingo_42 1 points 1y ago
You'd be surprised what I've seen a manager use to remove stains. They get washed 3xs after in the normal wash cycle so the residue isn't left behind
mlimas 1 points 1y ago
Tea stains the pitchers. We used to use a magic eraser to get the stains off
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 2 points 1y ago
those aren’t approved for use on food surfaces — it can hurt customers!
Victoriamarie03 1 points 1y ago
Them nails 😬😳
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
[deleted]
reclusivegiraffe [OP] 1 points 1y ago
?
xkcismex 1 points 1y ago
yes
Necessary_Low939 1 points 1y ago
Why don’t they replace it lolol
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
[removed]
lestrangebeauty 0 points 1y ago
i see some of these photos from other licenses and genuinely think that the license kiosk i work in might be the cleanest license in the chain 👁👄👁
[deleted] -3 points 1y ago
[deleted]
isthispassionpit 16 points 1y ago
Restroom cleaner is a bleach cleaner which is not safe on food contact surfaces! It is also not QASA approved! If you want to know how to correctly clean things, check out the manuals on the Hub. Don’t risk the health and wellbeing of customers!
_lips_like_sugar_ 9 points 1y ago
Its not food safe, you cant use that on pitchers
wildaloofrebel55 4 points 1y ago
Magic Erasers!!!!!
sheep_heavenly 8 points 1y ago
Also not approved, leaves microabrasions that let bacteria fester and make it easier to stain, harder to clean without continuing to use the "magic eraser".

Literally just scrubbing is all that's needed. You can use the sanitizer towels, they're microfiber and wipe up the yuck with no effort.
wildaloofrebel55 2 points 1y ago
Didn’t know that!! Dang! Thanks for letting me know though
galadrielgal23 -5 points 1y ago
Restroom cleaner is a beast.
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