I don't know why they don't understand this is a customer service job.... blows my mind.
Also, I would hate being on bar my entire shift. Why do they want that??

And don't even get me started on the dirty work...like please do some fucking dishes while you are standing around doing nothing...

Oh oh oh! And CLOSE THE ICE BIN!!!

I can't say I agree completely about the social anxiety part. Sometimes you can't really just pick and choose your job. Especially in instances like mine where I really had no choice but still dealt with a lot of anxiety issues. But I still did my best! And I hope your partners who truly do deal with that are still giving their best as well and not just trying to get out of work.

If someone wants to be hired to stay planted on cold bar and make tik tok layered teas and fraps, I’m all for it.

I totally understand what you’re saying, but it’s hard to agree w/o some context. Are you dealing w/new hires who roll their eyes and complain when put on register/DT? are they specifically asking to be put
bar despite lack of experience? Are they consistently doing the bare minimum, resisting coaching and disrupting the workflow of other partners? If this is the case, then yeah that is super frustrating, esp. since you’ve been there for so long. But if they just are having trouble connecting w/customers, I would ask you to think about why that might be, and if there’s anything that yourself and others could be doing to support and coach them through it (I’m an SSV too, but only been here a year, and though it’s always great to have new hires that are super self-sufficient, it’s also our job to help them learn and blossom). Think about this: some ppl struggle socially bc of mental health issues/neurodivergence, some may be going through rly shitty things at home, someone could have lost a loved one and needed to prioritize grieving over being peppy/talkative, some may just have a different personality type. No matter what, everyone deserves a chance to learn and grow, and through the little time I’ve been here, I’ve witnessed major growth from people re/the social aspect of this job. Yes, this job is customer service focused, and customer connections are a big part of it—but it really isn’t everything. Maybe the people w/social anxiety are just trying really hard to retain all the info that’s thrown at them, and maybe they just need some gentle tips on things to say to people? Small talk doesn’t come naturally to many people, and if we’re being honest, the push for customer connections is confusing when we’re also taught that we need to be as fast as possible at all costs (and our customers can be super entitled and impatient anyways). It’s hard to make connections feel genuine when all of them are rushed, and the vast majority of customers really just want to get in and out as quickly as possible. Yeah, there are a decent handful of regulars who do enjoy a conversation, but Starbucks has heavily shifted to a convenience model, encouraging mobile orders, delivery, and converting many stores to DT. The siren is one of the biggest franchises in the world, not an independent coffee shop where we actually have time to craft our drinks/customers are patient—and though I know I’ll be here for a long time, and I truly love my job, I have to be honest about the fact that corporate is out of touch regarding connections. It’s a loud, often chaotic environment, there are always tasks that need to be done, and it can be hard to focus on coming up w/something to say when you’re just trying to retain a bunch of new info at once.
Sure, maybe some people would be better suited at a job that requires less customer interaction, but that isn’t always so easy to find—many people come here for the benefits, and really need them to get medical care or to get through college. It’s a rough world, and it isn’t easy to find a job w/the same benefits that will hire w/o a degree or good resume. Starbucks is sometimes the only job opportunity that someone has.
It’s one thing if new hires are rude/disrespectful, or consistently slack off and make the environment truly toxic/disruptive, or if they openly said that they just wanted to be here to make tiktok drinks and don’t have any respect for the hard work that folks like you have put into this job for so long. But if they just struggle w/socializing, that’s something that can be coached and changed—it isn’t up to us who gets hired, and unless you have a shitty manager, we have to trust our manager’s judgement in hiring them. ❤️

Edit: grammar

i definitely agree with the tiktok drinks part, and the lack of responsibility i’ve seen in new hires. on the social anxiety aspect though, i disagree. i was very open with my manager during my initial interview and told her that the main reason i wanted to work at Starbucks was to improve my interactions with people, because my social anxiety at the time was pretty crippling. my first couple of weeks on drive thru id be stuttering after every word, and the same thing happened on register. what helped me the most was having supportive partners and a supportive environment. i can solo dto, dtr, and drive thru bar now if i really have to, and i can do it with ease. it’s all a learning curve and we have to have patience for people who need more time with it.

And all they wanna do is bar. They don’t even restock shit. Like where the Fck u think those lids come from? The sky?

Last year a green bean was blown away that we cleaned bathrooms. Like they couldn’t grasp the idea of putting gloves on and scrubbing the toilet. They legitimately thought we had cleaners come every night and clean our bathrooms, like little Christmas elves sneaking in and magically cleaning our store.

They didn’t last very long.

Lack of fucking urgency OH MY GOD!! I swear I am the only one at my store with a brain cell and work ethic

i agreed with you up until the social anxiety part. i had really bad social anxiety before i became a partner, and it help me actually get better with talking to people. sure im still shy and non-confrontational, but i literally couldn’t even order for myself or go to a store alone before i worked at sbux.

As a shift of 15 yrs I feel this in my soul. Over the last couple years there has been an influx of people who seem to think that this job is just going to be easy and fun. Some of this post is word for word what I have actually been told by a new hire before. They won’t do reg or DT because they can’t “deal” with people. Same person is slow AF on bar making subpar drinks, ignoring customers while they joke and laugh with other baristas and lean on the counter whenever they don’t have a drink to make, refusing to wipe a counter or stock anything. If they don’t have anyone they like to talk to around they usually pull out their phones and don’t even try to hide it because they don’t think they are doing anything wrong. They usually have over inflated egos and complain about being told what to do and refuse to take any feedback or constructive criticism. Most of the people who act like this and claim to have social anxiety do not have social anxiety, they just don’t want to do it or just find it mildly uncomfortable. Have had the same person also start saying they want to promote soon because they want the $$$.

There seems to be a lot of social anxiety with the kids coming of age now , they were the first gen that grew up with fast reliable internet everywhere and screens , phones etc. the iPod touch was the first touch screen I had when I was in high school, cells were still flip phones or side kicks (the newest tech). They seem to be used to texting and have very little experience with phone calls or speaking to other ppl through texting instead of face to face. I don’t think it’s just Sbux but I believe the percentage of ppl with social anxiety is much higher than a decade ago. They do their best and hopefully practice and the job of having to interact more will help

unpopular opinion but i think that people with social anxiety just lack experience talking with people and have deep insecurities of feeling dumb or lesser to other people. before covid i was insanely extroverted and loved talking to people. a year later of isolation and not having to talk to anyone suddenly i found it very hard to be my old outgoing self. this only got better with practice and putting myself in awkward positions like window.

You should talk with your SM about their interview process. Seems odd that people who have no intention of being a partner are sneaking in like this..

Hard disagree about the social anxiety, otherwise yea

Agreed. You can usually tell when someone just wont last, usually within the first couple days.

When I first started working 2 years ago, I experienced my first panic attack caused by actual people and not myself. It was my first job, I was a teen and I was terrified of messing up. It’s kind of unfair to dismiss people, especially underage people like me when I started, based on social anxiety. The majority of people my age experience it due to the fact that we spend a lot less time socializing in person with people we don’t know than previous generations. And a lot of the times I need something mind numbing to do, so sometimes doing bar, taking orders, or restocking is better for me, while other times I’m great on window or register. Coming on the job just to make TikTok drinks though… I can see how that can be very annoying.

I can understand the tiktok part, but give us socially anxious people a break 😳! I need to improve on my social skills in a professional setting.

Legit ass, especially the anxiety part. I empathize because I also used to have severe social anxiety, but if it’s inhibiting your ability to do every aspect of the job, you should find somewhere else to work

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I started working at starbucks because of my social anxiety, but because I wanted to improve my social skills. I’ve asked to work front, mobile orders, and drive mostly. I also work opens and i try to be as interactive with customers as possible. That being said, I’m an introvert and it’s difficult. I haven’t had any problems yet, but I could see why someone in a similar situation as me would

As someone with crippling anxiety, former partner and now a gm for elsewhere, let people have their time, if someone wants to live and die on bar, let them, buut everyone should At least learn all positions

working at starbucks helped my social anxiety. before i started working in food service i could barely talk to anyone, and now i can.

Part of the interview is describing a day in the life of a barista. So not only should customer service be mentioned, but so should the cleaning. I think it's important to go into a bit of detail that not only will they be making drinks, they will also be expected and held accountable to cleaning (in ALL their down time) and to customer connection. Its important to go into detail about deep cleaning as well, like scrubbing floors, drains and bathrooms as well as what is expected in terms of talking to customers. Yes it's important to staff, but it's also very important to hire with intent.

Ive seen a few green beans be shocked at the prospect of doing floors/bathrooms. One even had the audacity to say "I'm not a janitor" 😀

I remember some people getting hired and solely taking pics in their aprons and of the bar and drink and what not. They would complain that they couldn’t make “fun creation” for themselves constantly (worked at the busiest location in the district and with a strict SM). Some would straight refuse to talk to customers and I get it with the social anxiety bc I suffer from that too but unfortunately you gotta just push through or get on meds if it’s that bad.

Duuude the social anxiety part is so real lol

Barista work is a very demanding job that I never wanted to do as a teenager. Which is why I think majority of new beans idolize it. It’s a fun job but you need to know how to work first before that. It’s insane hearing kids tell me they can’t do a job when I’m training. Worked at other shops besides the siren and my mentality on it is to talk it out, be understanding but knowing damn well they are going to do it no matter what. That’s the job. I get that we all deal with anxiety but the benefit barista work has is that it often can be a great way to quell that feeling. Strictly speaking from non Starbucks perspective. The time I worked at Starbucks was one of the worst experiences I’ve had working in coffee based on management. The team building aspect was there though until corporate stamped that out.

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I felt this... and you're 8 years like me! Are you a 207 too? lol

SM and I am on stage when I work POS and my crew is not. I’m having them focus on recipes and sequencing. It’s ok, they can fill in on register but know that they have a rescue. I do my best to accommodate them. However, it is a retail job that involves interaction with customers so baristas do need to come out of their shell a bit. Some find that they are able to step up to POS and thrive once they get into it.

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I really do want to spend a lot of time complaining about all the mental conditions and disorders people have that inhibit their ability to do their job in a way that specifically further emburdens myself, but I want to do it in a way that isn’t mean? I don’t know how to strike that tone though. Like I totally understand having social anxiety and I don’t want to shame anymore for it but sometimes shit gets exhausting for me, especially when they don’t want to try to power through at all. Like, we get the job we get, anxiety is valid, but man sometimes I get run down by it.

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Agreed.

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