Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Shower thought: "Its just coffee" minimizes what the job entails. (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by _circuts
When I was about a year into working with Starbs, I heard "its just coffee" and it made me feel better, but recently my SM said it during a shift meeting and something about it just really rubbed me the wrong way. She wasn't condescending or anything but as someone who moved from a cafe store to a dt it gets harder and harder to say that to myself and quite frankly it's not just coffee anymore. Its coffee, food, maintenance, cleaning, customer connection, drive thru times, whatever you want to consider a refresher to be and probably other things that I can't think of off the top of my head. But maybe im thinking about it all wrong.
goofball27 52 points 1y ago
I say to myself “it’s just coffee” when I’m on bar during a rush to remind myself that I don’t have to break my back worrying about drive times or how fast I can pump out cafe and mobile orders because at the end of the day the customers are getting their coffee if it’s in 30 seconds or 50. I know some stores are very strict on times and mine can be but we’re people and if you’re bogged down in 10 fraps it helps to remind myself that it is just coffee when thinking about customers
Mistakecupcake 46 points 1y ago
“It’s just coffee” is supposed to be more of a “we aren’t doctors, mistakes happen or we can’t get everything done and that’s okay because it’s just coffee” and not a “this job isn’t that hard, it’s just coffee”.
Visual-Draw-1898 12 points 1y ago
Sounds to me like you’re getting caught up in the pressures and letting them get to you. I don’t think that anyone is arguing Starbucks is an easy gig - I think the point is to remind yourself that this is not a high stakes product that we are providing to the customers so there is always a way to fix it if we mess something up. The challenges will start to feel more natural as you’re at the DT store longer; it’s faster paced but you will adjust. Just give it time and try to ground yourself
_circuts [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Y'Know, you're not wrong. The pressure is really getting to me. I've been wanting to quit ever since I transferred. I'm so stressed every day. Sometimes I wake up hearing headset voices and noises and its driving me a little nuts. Im only about 2 months in.
Stabby-Roomba 2 points 1y ago
I've found that for new jobs it takes me about 3 months to feel comfortable and confident. Maybe a little bit more. I say if you're still feeling this way by the 3 or 4 month mark or you really can't see things getting better in that time then maybe you would do better elsewhere. My store doesn't have a drive through and is just generally a really nice store to work at for a lot of reasons but even then it's still hard sometimes. I don't think I personally would be capable of doing drive through, it seems rough as hell and it's ok if it's not right for you either.
_circuts [OP] 2 points 1y ago
I used to work in a cafe store and I'm really missing it.
Visual-Draw-1898 1 points 1y ago
Yeah I’m sure there are tons that love the cafe vibe and stick to that! Wouldn’t be a horrible idea if you continue to hate it to try transferring again. Your team also can really make all the difference
ambellinatherxqueen 6 points 1y ago
Try ‘it’s just coffee’ AND ‘it’s just a job’. The ‘it’s just a job’ part has really helped and continues to help me get through these shifts. It sucks, but you just won’t be happy here if you can’t get out of your head about things you have absolutely no control over/ things that will *never* matter or change
PartlyCloudyKid 5 points 1y ago
"It's just coffee", to me, means "one thing at a time". Don't stress, don't rush, just do the job. No more, no less. Obviously, I go as fast as I can, but I don't try to go *even faster* than my limits. If I'm struggling to make drinks, food, *and* check people out because I'm the only one up front for a minute, I don't panick and think "how am I going to do all of this". Instead, I go "hey, I'll be with you in just a minute, I have a few things to make before I can take your order". They see me working hard, they can wait- it's just coffee.
Aurora_Boreallis 3 points 1y ago
I say “it’s just coffee” when customers are making a big deal out of the weight or something minuscule like as being out of a syrup but not speaking to myself because this job is not fantastically easy It’s also not ridiculously hard but we do deal with a lot of idiots and big fat babies
Ambitious-Industry-8 3 points 1y ago
I always tell myself “it’s just Starbucks” whenever I’m super stressed as a way to tell myself “this is just a job, this doesn’t define my worth, it’s just Starbucks”
Tvdrone16 3 points 1y ago
I tell my baristas they're low key chemists whenever they're feeling bummed and it always at least gets a small smile.
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