That's literally the exact same way I run warming and how everyone at my store runs warming. So if it's technically against policy, whoops, but I ain't stopping.

My stickers go on the rail, when the food is in the oven I put the sticker on the bag, it's organized and has a flow. If that's against policy, so be it. I'm not stopping

honestly idk the "correct way" but that's how I do it. I separate cafe/mobiles and dt orders then warm accordingly.
today i literally had like 4 bacon goudas and if I hadn't pulled stickers that way i wouldn't have known to batch them

all my ssv's do it this way too, even the stricklers

i was told im breaking health code policies by doing that, so i read the entire health code manual thing. aint a damn thing about stickers 😭

The only reason management is really starting to crack down on it more from what I was told by a dm is now MOPs are tracking stickers being pulled and giving customer time estimates off that. So technically if you’re not following the warming routine, which is to sticker the bag first and only pull 4 stickers at a time, and instead pulling a ton of stickers people are being told to come in sooner and have their items not be ready.
After the whole craft training thing too they are really wanting baristas to be following routines, especially with bars and warming.

Ssv here: technically this is against policy. However I do this and tell my trainees about it because it is so so helpful during rushes. Especially if you’ve got dbl smoked bacon, two birthday pops, then another dbl smoked bacon. You can put both bacons in at once and get both pops. Significantly cuts down on food wait times, which is where our store struggles with drive thru times. The weak link in the chain is the warning station. I wouldn’t do this if it was slow, but during those crazy rushes and peak it is really helpful to do

I do it that way. Separate them so one oven is running drive thru and the other mobile/cafe that way they’re saying is stupid imo.

It’s out of routine but we get slammed I stick the stickers to the rail we compromised with our manager and said we wouldn’t pull more than 6 stickers

who cares as long as it gets done ur sm is doing too much

This is how I’ve always done warming, and I was the strongest person on warming for as long as I worked for the Siren. Literally cannot keep up with peak otherwise. Not to mention troubleshooting mobile order

We wouldn't need to pull stickers as often if we weren't being asked to work at inhuman speeds and also if that stupid syrup guard didn't completely hide what was on the sticker.

Also I swear I was hearing of stores just continuous printing their stickers so there'd be a several foot long rope of stickers they'd pull from. I thought that was stupid, but that was standard at many, many stores not long ago.

This is how we all do it at our store 🤷🏻‍♀️
Edit: we even put the drink stickers on the counter when it gets backed up to be able to mentally sequence as we go

My SM taught me to do it that way. She actively discourages sticker straight to bag. You’re using the best method!

There are some policies that exist to squeeze every ounce of productivity they can get. Your method is group oriented, and makes sense to a human being. Their method is flow based and they’re trying to get optimal flow over a period of time, so that’s why they try and stop the organizing style because it has moments that can slow that their optimal flow, even for like seconds, and to them it makes a difference. Because we are human, and not robots, this is literally almost impossible to notice.

I was one for putting stickers on bags first thing but that was before we became a huge mobil store. We have so much mobil food especially during peak, that if we don’t take stickers and out them on the warming stand we loose drive food and create a bottle neck. Our otw times would be terrible. It’s necessary to line up stickers.

I’m pretty sure majority of people do it that way, and it’s extremely effective. I don’t think there’s ever been a correct way to do warming so I think your manager just wanted you to do it her way at that specific time. Unless you’re getting more slack for it from multiple partners, then it may be a case where your SM taught all of them that way and they think it’s the “correct way”

That’s how I do warming and it seems like literally everyone else lol.

Just let her know that this way helps you stay organized and fast. There shouldn’t be any problem with your manager about that. There’s no policy about it. There are are “routines” that you should be using. But if you’re faster then it shouldn’t matter. Sounds like your boss is a control freak. If it becomes more of a problem… they can move you from warming. And if you feel like your job is being targeted, go to your DM.

I run food the exact same way. If I put stickers directly on the bags first there is a good chance I’m losing the bag/sticker in the chaos. If it’s not busy then sure, but during peak? No thanks, I’ll take my line of stickers and stay somewhat organized! lol

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I think they got mad out of like a personal pet peeve of theirs. Because I don’t know anyone who during a rush puts all the stickers on bags immediately

As a higher capacity partner with almost three years in my warming routine is: pull 2 stickers put them on the bag and food goes in the oven, pull two more put them on bags next to prepped food about to go in, and then 2 stickers on the metal bar to sequence my next food items. I don’t recommend it if you aren’t as comfortable in that position yet and maybe it’s not exactly “standard” but I find it to be very efficient. Especially if I’m DTO helping out the front reg partner it’s easy for them to see what I did and what goes in next.

I’m weird, I’ll either put them on the railing or the counter. Depending my mood I guess 😂 don’t worry op. You’re not alone in this

It isn’t anything about health code, it messes with the algorithm and makes the system think we are moving faster than we are. It gives customers a wait time based on how quick you’re pulling tickets. You’re literally sabotaging yourself by not moving as fast as the algorithm thinks you are.

Yes it’s against standard but unless you’re pulling a shitton of stickers at once or you end up with stickers out of order it’s really not an issue. We all do it that way at my store lol

Seems like management is mad about something else and is putting you under a microscope. My sm dm and her boss (reigonal?) all have seen me do this every time they visit (for some reason I get put on oven when we are getting a visit lol)

standards might seem like they don't work for you when *you* have a system that works for YOU in that moment for JUST that time for JUST that store for JUST such a situation.


if your store is the highest in connection, drive time, speed, transactions - someone will come in to see how you do it so they can copy it to get other stores to do it that way so we all can do it... if you're NOT... then anyone in the company will bring up the lack of standards to why it's not being accomplished.

can't tell you how many times something gets switched around, or people move/cover another store and partners are like: "wait, i can't do it the way I'm USED to doing it. Now I'm all screwed up!"


some partners watch folks "in routine" on bar/warming and swear they're slower because they're not pulling a handful of stickers or doing it in 'their' way. it's not slower because they can't get the 2nd drink out at the same time as the first... you've actually slowed down the first drink to make that happen. To you, you got both of them out in a minute instead of one out every 30 seconds. Might seem like a wash in time, but if you're slowing down one to speed up another you're causing bottlenecks in service.


sometimes you're slowing down that first warming/drink item in order to speed up the fourth one. in the moment feels like it's better, but if that first item is for a separate person you just slowed down their drink so the person who ordered over two minutes later gets their drink at the same time as them.


people fought EVERY routine, and standard when brought up. Trust me. Watching people twitch when we talk about how shots don't "die" after ten seconds was hard to see ... but it's fighting an uphill battle - unless everyone everywhere starts doing it your way - you're doing it incorrectly.

Your lead should be providing you with a resource that demonstrates and explains what exactly the policy is and why. I would check for an operations manual, possibly the Beverage Resource Manual? Something, somewhere will have the "official" "standard".

So it def isn’t standard, I’ve gone thru three SMs who all say don’t line stickers up on the printer, however Ngl I still let my baristas do it when SM isn’t around. I feel like everyone works differently and things like that are so small and don’t really have an effect so if it works, I let them do it 🤷🏻‍♀️

Bro thats literally how i was trained, even out manager does that

I put them immediately on bags but other partners at my store put the. On the metal..sounds like you have some baristas with god complexes there

When I’m out on warming I do both. I have a lineup of stickered bags in order and I have stickers stuck out in the metal in front of me. That way I can see where my cafe/mobile and DT orders are in the lineup and I can sticker accordingly. My store is high volume and they really pressure to prioritize drive thru so having as many stickers out of the machine at once as I possibly can helps me to arrange the orders the best way possible to make everyone happy.

Putting it on bags makes such a mess, if someone comes at you for doing it in a way that makes you more efficient they are just looking to be mad

That's in no way shape or form "wrong". As long as it works for you and it's efficient and not taking longer than necessary you should be fine. Someone saying "oh well I prefer it run a different way" would only make sense if that way was actually overall better. But in this case it isn't.
Reminds me of how someone came into my store and scared everyone into how they HAVE to pull shots into the shot glass for EVERYTHING and will throw out your drink and make you do it again if they see you doing it not their way. :^) They aren't right (except for shaken espressos) and just cause more time and effort for drinks when we're getting slammed with 90 peaks

yeah the way you do it is the standard at my location

The thing about putting the stickers elsewhere is u gotta let that person know. Sorry if u mentioned about this but I didn’t read ur whole post. Anyway the problem is when I jump on warming or bar and the person stick the stickers up top I don’t see it because my vision don’t go there, if it’s in the table I’ll definitely see it. So yeah usually I’ll see it if it’s stuck there instead.

Yes, a few years ago we had label printers that would continuously print until the queue was gone but that does not scale well. Your way delays orders, hinders the usability of the DPM, and causes the mobile app to provide inaccurate wait times. Your #1 priority should be keeping the oven busy, not “feeling caught up”. As a 3 year partner who works at a high volume store I have absolutely no issue doing it the written way.

Think about it this way: it’s in Starbucks’ best interest to have you working as efficiently as possible. The routines aren’t there just because they feel like it should be done that way for fun, they’re there to guide partners on how to do things quickly. Starbucks cares more about your speed than you do.

That’s how I do it I have been with bux for a year now and gone through 3 sm so I think ur sm is just being annoying

I go by order. I put the stickers right on the bags but I prep a whole order. So if one mobile has 3 food items I pull all of the stickers and put them on bags then i sequence based on how long each thing takes. When I get to the last item I pull the next order which may have 1 for drive, then if it’s a small one I usually pull more stickers but I never have more than 3-4 stickers out at a time

Every store I’ve even picked up a shift at does it your way, I’d be shocked if there is a policy against it as we do it even when we have ghostees (which is when we don’t even batch blend try and be perfect with standard etc.)

Everyone including my SM pulls tickets like that

Absolutely not! Stand your ground. We all do things differently and accomplish the same task.

the problem with this company is the micromanaging for simple shit like this. If this is how someone efficiently does warming, it shouldn’t be a problem. like ???

Not against policy. Everyone has their own way of being efficient and organized… geez…

Some people are standards obsessed. As a shift. My biggest concern is when baristas don’t make items to pull the whole queue out. And as someone who is on warm a lot, it just makes more sense. To be fair. In most other restaurants, you can usually see a majority of the queue, so maybe I’ve just been programmed to be that way since I’ve got years of experience doing it that way. Not being able to see 5+ orders ahead automatically has been an adjustment for sure. Haha.

I say pull 5 stickers tops. Anymore than that and you're wasting time. I HATE when I walk by and the partner has pulled 15 stickers and nothing is in the oven

Literally no one ever told me to immediately sticker a bag at my store. They said pull the mobile stickers and put them on the rail. Use one oven for cafe/mobile, and the other for DT during peak unless there are multiple DT orders, then prioritize DT.

Same with Cafe/Mobile. Try to prioritize DT, but if you get a rush either place, just do the best you can.

Of course, having the stickers laid out neatly, enables you to plan your workflow, and be able to deliver FASTER service to your clients because you can do two of the same thing at the same time.

Usually I put DT on the too rail, and Cafe/Mobile on the second rail which helps me keep track of which thing is going where.

If giving quick service is against policy, policy be damned.

That’s also how all three stores I’ve worked at so far run warming lol. I guess there’s a possibility it’s “not correct,” but it’s definitely a common thing (that I don’t see a problem with, even from a SSV perspective).

im pretty sure ive seen my own sm doing this

i personally just don’t understand why people sticker the rail when you could just put them on bags and still pull the stickers how you want to

The “right way” (for lack of better words) to do it is to stick it onto the bag because if you need warming support it makes it easier for one of your partners to jump in and help, also technically you’re only supposed to pull 3 tickets at a time (which nobody does). BUT you should technically sticker the bags and then line the bags up in order of what you’re working on because it’s more cohesive and cuts out all the extra steps. I think that’s the main reason why we sticker the bags.

this is exactly what i do and almost every partner at my store.

we are the busiest store in our district BY FAR and that's how we run warming. Clearly we're doing something right.

i feel like i’m the only one who puts the stickers on the bags 😅 i’ll line up like 6 bags of food, it’s just easier for me that way idk 😅😅

so the standard is that you’re working on the food of the stickers that are already pulled out. so you can only work on so many at a time. but for the expectations from most SM’s, you kinda have to pull more than two at a time for an order or whatever

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that's exactly how I did it when I was at Starbucks

So the way we're supposed to be doing it, according to routines and directions from when playbook originally launched, is that food you already have *in the oven* should have their sticker on a bag and ready to go. This is a visual indicator so that, let's say you have a bathroom emergency in the middle of making food, I could take over for you and know exactly where you are and not open more food erroneously or waste time looking at what you have going then figuring out where you are.

The same principle works with drinks. Any drink you're actively making should have a sticker *on the cup* so, again, if I have to take over for you for some reason, I know exactly where you are in your process.

In your situation, especially when talking about a rush and liking to see further down the line, I completely agree with you and understand your position. What I do is I line up stickers like you do but I put stickers on the bag for food I am actually making (i.e. whatever food is in the oven). That means I always have two bags stickered at any given time and the rest of my food stickers queued up top the way you described.

You do it how I do it 🤷

I got a write-up for this

From my understanding, the reason that we’re not supposed to pull stickers that far ahead is that it messes with the algorithm used to calculate wait time estimates for MOP. If we pull them, it calculates as those items being in the process of produced, which makes those estimates inaccurate, in theory (we all know people don’t actually pay attention and don’t even show up to the right store half the time). Plus it’s easier for one to fall off and potentially get lost or skipped.

Umm yeah. She’s being OCD and needs to stop micro managing you. Everyone BUT her does it your way. Duh.

My SM started wanting the same thing, stickers on bags instead of making a line of them. He said that you shouldn't waste time moving the sticker twice.

What I started doing was pulling the stickers, putting them on a bag, and then adding that bag to the bottom of my pile. I would keep two piles of bags, one for drive thru and one for mobiles/walk up orders. This way you can still get a visual for what's ahead and how many orders you have, but also keeps your manager happy and doesn't take up too much space.

It is technically not policy. Many partners do it, though, so I try to tell them 'all stickers need a home' and not to pull more than two at a time! Hopefully that helps a bit :)

I think the actual routines always say step 1 is labeling the bags but I also place the stickers on the bags
Technically I think also pulling more stickers than what your sequencing is not standard but once again, I pull as many as I can within reason to keep me knowing what’s coming next