So, I'm a fresh green apron, only a couple of months, but I've been noticing some pretty substantial issues re: quality control and wanted to see if other partners were noticing the same in their stores?

Cracked straws, low quality reusable cups, many cup & lid defects, warming pouches all glued together/ not enough adhesive, refresher box lids not opening fully/impossible to remove, etc.

On top of this, a large variety of longstanding issues that never seem to get fixed and everyone works around, instead: broken machines, too cold fridges (freezes product), broken timers, PLUMBING ISSUES (clogged sinks, constant faucet breaks), printers crashing/nonfunctional weekly, computers crashing/disconnecting/rebooting nearly daily, ice machine not breaking up ice prior to dropping, etc.

All of these issues - mostly maintenance related, and instead the focus has been on these silly daily "commitments", a veritable short essay at the start and end of every shift - the conflicting mantra of lowering drive thru times but also demanding better customer connections, all while being subjected to overly complex orders and "hacks" the company refuses to fix, enabling customers to order drinks with over 8 modifications, of which they are trying to circumvent pricing or replicate an already existing drink - all while a large proportion of these same customers become irate when their orders are not understood or made to their complex desire, or made to circumvent the pricing for their sizes (i.e. espresso shots w/ extra milk in a venti cup (they want it filled to the top, essentially a 60% or more discount drink, while also taking almost four or five times as long to make))

Sorry, at this point I'm venting. But, I've yet to work somewhere with this many maintenance issues at the very least - and I've had quite a few jobs yet, in a lot of different fields. Frankly, I'm amazed my own store continues to function, as the only reason it remotely does is because of the extreme effort by my coworkers that is *severely* underpaid for what they are doing and having to problem solve. Especially when we know just how much money we're making yet it is obvious Starbucks, despite their "third place" doctrine, is nothing more than just another corporate entity that has lost its understanding of how their stores function, and rather get lost chasing "metrics", that inevitably make customers feel unvalued and not want to come back and pay for overpriced syrup in coffee.

I'm only here for the benefits. But I'm terrified for my long term, I'm terrified at the writing on the wall that I've seen half a dozen times already. I'm noticing the trend that I know spells overworked and underpaid and full staff walkouts. I'm terrified I'll just be suddenly out of a job again because we gotta keep getting that money for the execs while there's no incentive to work harder or do better when the best I can hope for is a "good job" and another not enough paycheck that goes straight to rent and bills.

My diet consists of grilled cheese sandwiches and trenta pink drinks. Expired protein boxes and ham and swiss sandwiches. I'm bouncy, bubbly, happy at work and garner tons of compliments from customers as "refreshing" and "good to see some enthusiastic customer service", because I'm just doing what our ideal is marketed as, yet I am getting nothing but corrections and bad rep behind the scenes because I should focus more on the *metrics*, yet when focusing on only speed I'm corrected for not doing good enough connections - an impossible balancing act that seems predicated on the idea that we can achieve this improbably deep conversation and emotional dialogue within the span of 5 seconds. It's a wonder why I keep getting the feedback from customers that they just don't feel like they're actually welcome in the store, we hurry them out and dish out their diabetic swill into their arms and push them out the door.

Alright, venting over... What about you? How are you feeling?