Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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language compensation (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by Professional_Pie5776
hi all! i was just wondering if starbucks gives raises for speaking a language other than english? i was just thinking we should since where i am located we get a good amount of customers that speak spanish and only our spanish speaking partners can help complete their order. we also build relationships with these spanish only customers because when they come back they know who can help them. i asked my manager and they said no but he is new to the company so i’m not sure how reliable of a source they are. anyways please let me know, thanks!!
hauxbi 91 points 9m ago
lol my manager told me i couldn’t speak spanish with my coworkers OR our freaking customers, and if they try speaking spanish to me first that i should steer the convo away from that and make them stop. starbucks doesn’t give raises for anything at all, you get a raise every year you’re with the company and that’s it
miniinovaa 69 points 8m ago
…. That sounds illegal
hauxbi 57 points 8m ago
absolutely. i did not listen LOL she’s not about to prohibit me from speaking my mother language with anybody i please
Jewicer 53 points 8m ago
ummm report that?
ElijahLordoftheWoods 38 points 8m ago
Report this higher up. We have pins for Spanish speakers so they can be easier identified if someone needs help in Spanish. It’s also probably illegal to bar you from speaking Spanish at work.
hauxbi 16 points 8m ago
it was long ago and also involved another partner who already quit. honestly i shouldve but by now i think it would be really hard since i have no proof, and im not planning on staying here long term anyway! also, she talked to me about it but no way im following that bs, i never listened and im still speaking spanish to whoever wants to speak to me in spanish. its definitely illegal to bar me from it so if she brings it up again i think i will contact ethics about it.
friendlySkeletor 9 points 8m ago
Did she give a reason why? Thats incredibly fucking sus honestly.
hauxbi 12 points 8m ago
she did! she said because other partners said they feel uncomfortable (nobody said that she tends to lie like this and make you feel bad about what ‘other partners’ think of you). we’re in canada in a wildly diverse city and every partner speaks a second language LOL
trbpanda 89 points 9m ago
yall think starbucks gives raises?
MasterMischievous 0 points 8m ago
Everyone in my region just got like 4 dollar raise… so yeah they definitely give raises
barrrristaaa 6 points 8m ago
the raises are yearly, this last raise was corporate wide, they just changed the minimum wage throughout their stores which affected most barista’s pay
clouds183 58 points 9m ago
no but you can unionize and work that into your contract !!
thriftysentinal 5 points 8m ago
Lmaooo
Ristrettooo 36 points 9m ago
No. Aside from blanket raises that cover everybody, you get raises based on your time with the company and nothing else.
Dry-Consideration763 16 points 8m ago
Not even, when minimum wage was raised in my area everyone was bumped to just 15$/hr no matter if they were here for a few month or multiple years
jazzysoranio 6 points 8m ago
Yup. Me. New shifts kept making the same as I did even though I had been a shift for two or three years longer than they had.
Far-Macaroon2702 5 points 8m ago
I don’t know if I believe this. I’ve been with the company for 4 years and barely make over minimum wage
Broad-Flounder-4971 11 points 8m ago
When I’m the only Spanish speaker on the floor, I wish I was compensated. Spoiler alert: my Spanish is very fucking broken. I was fluent when I was younger due to actually speaking it on a regular basis, but that was a decade ago and my Spanish is on gringa life support now.
I hate that America doesn’t put more effort into encouraging both Spanish and ASL at least as basic competency levels. I live in a very culturally diverse city, so there’s a few other languages I’ve dabbled in as I want to be able to communicate with any sweet little old ladies I come across (and anyone for that matter).
It’s fucked and natural born speakers should 200% get a bump in pay for their bilingual abilities. It doesn’t have to be something amazing, but anything to acknowledge their extremely important addition to our store.
I hate that America doesn’t put more effort into encouraging both Spanish and ASL at least as basic competency levels. I live in a very culturally diverse city, so there’s a few other languages I’ve dabbled in as I want to be able to communicate with any sweet little old ladies I come across (and anyone for that matter).
It’s fucked and natural born speakers should 200% get a bump in pay for their bilingual abilities. It doesn’t have to be something amazing, but anything to acknowledge their extremely important addition to our store.
MasterMischievous 3 points 8m ago
I just feel like that opens a big door for high schoolers who took 4 years in Spanish thinking they need raises too.
Broad-Flounder-4971 0 points 8m ago
So what. Raises for everyone. Incentivizes learning Spanish. Win-win-win.
ricardimus 10 points 8m ago
I never offer my Spanish unless it’s necessary. Old manager tried to get me a “hablo español” apron but I said no unless I get paid mor
Professional_Pie5776 [OP] 6 points 8m ago
i was just thinking of not speaking spanish anymore because we don’t get compensated for additional skills but i really do love some of the frequent spanish speaking customers and it would be weird to be like “no mas español” lol
dontcry2022 10 points 8m ago
I understand it is a skill and I do agree you should be compensated for it since it is necessary for some customers to be able to order, and it additionally allows for increased customer connections
That being said, customers are people. I wouldn't *not* communicate with a customer who prefers to or can only communicate in Spanish.
I am curious though about what Starbucks' expectation is for partners when we do have Spanish customers, you would think all partners would be equipped with a way to communicate effectively. I don't know Spanish well enough to speak it with customers so I pretty much always have to get another partner to come to the register when a customer doesn't speak English.
That being said, customers are people. I wouldn't *not* communicate with a customer who prefers to or can only communicate in Spanish.
I am curious though about what Starbucks' expectation is for partners when we do have Spanish customers, you would think all partners would be equipped with a way to communicate effectively. I don't know Spanish well enough to speak it with customers so I pretty much always have to get another partner to come to the register when a customer doesn't speak English.
ricardimus 0 points 8m ago
I’m curios too. I may not offer, but if I’m ever asked I say yes. Not for the bux tho, I enjoy an inclusive environment so I always try to strive for that.
At the same time, I’ve heard people say no but I understand it. But I’ll always say yes
At the same time, I’ve heard people say no but I understand it. But I’ll always say yes
ricardimus 0 points 8m ago
Really what the apron thing offers the accessibility for you to be asked to translate. I feel like it’s totally reasonable to keep your regulars. I just don’t advertise I speak Spanish.
clarinetpjp 3 points 8m ago
It’s required to speak 2 languages at my Starbucks lol
PK_Pixel 2 points 8m ago
Cries in 4 languages that I used on the daily. Never got a raise for it.
CamdenF 1 points 8m ago
This is on your SM. You should be aiming to hire a diverse group of folks to help connect with as many customers as possible.
Enough-Ad-368 1 points 8m ago
It really depends on your manager, you can try making the argument that you provide a superior experience than others through being able to use your second language towards the customer experience and you think you should be compensated for that since it’s extra work that not everyone else does or can do.
gingergal-n-dog 2 points 8m ago
Why the down votes? It's up to the dm. They can give you a 1 time rate bump.
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