Y’all if you don’t wanna confront someone do not say YOU. The second you say you they will feel attacked. You need to try and use i statements. Like hey I work best when people are Polite and calm around me and I’d appreciate that kindness. It’s annoying but it works, make them think it’s their thought not yours. My therapist went over this with me lol Goodluck

“Hey, I love that you want to help everyone out and share your experience, but just a reminder that we’re all baristas with the same training at the same level. At times it can feel like you think you’re better than us and it stops feeling like we’re on the same team. Is there anyway you can tone it down a bit?”

This would be going above and beyond and is the way I would handle it if I gave a shit about them as a person or feared the social dynamic at my store. You can also just hit them with something like, “hey, tone it down; you aren’t a shift” if you care less or know they can respond to a simple, blunt comment. That wouldn’t be considered mean or rude unless you said it like an asshole.

Just try to talk to them one on one when there’s a moment of down time or catch them as they’re about to clock out so they can take it and think on it rather than stew in it all shift.

Best of luck and I hope this improves.

“Hey buckaroo, you actin a bit to big for your britches”

“Act your wage” is a good one.
Joking aside, I would honestly just be a little blunt and (privately or with a mediator) say: “Hey, I appreciate that you’re trying to help me, but I feel like you’re condescending when you talk to me that way. I don’t like that.”
I’ve had this issue as a SSV from a barista because I got “talked back to” after informing the barista that “daily tasks” on the iPad were not “all the same every day” just because the first five drop downs are daily tasks (like putting away orders, Sbux news, drains *we do daily*) and that after the repetitive tasks are listed then the other daily tasks are listed. They didn’t like that I talked “Directly” and gave “instructions” on how to access the drop down list. I’ve learned to soften how I talk with them because I am a very direct person and use policy/procedure for 99% of my work. Sometimes it’s just how their tone and body language is presented, which they may not even be conscious of.

Next time say “I appreciate the feedback” and then immediately ask “ can I give you some feedback” they will almost always say yes and then let them know that their comments come off as condescending. I would also add they are confusing you and the job. Feedback about your performance should be this vs that, you should not receive feedback about you the person. That person is to be treated with respect and assumed to have feelings.

I actually have a coworker who is a barista now. She used to be a shift supervisor years ago. I started with starbucks a little over 2 and a half years ago and she was a barista then. So she hasnt been a shift for a while. She is THE most condescending person i have ever come across.

She will be on register and ill be on bar. She will ring up customers for black coffee. Most of the time she turns around and grabs it and gives it to them right then and there. But there are times she doesnt which would be fine if she communicated with me. But this happened twice:

She rings up a customer for a hot black coffee and we're all slammed. Theres a TON of mobiles and deliveries rolling thru and an unusually large amount of people ordering at the register. She rings up a guy for a coffee and he goes and waits by the handoff area and she doesn't communicate anything with me like if she grabbed the coffee or if she can't. So about 10 minutes later or something, the customer goes up to her at the register and asks about his coffee and she gives it to him and apologizes but then she turns over to me and tells me that whenever I come across a sticker for coffee, she told me that I should always check in with her about it. Well why make the customer unnecessarily wait when thats ur job to do it but also YOU are coming into contact with the order first since ur ringing at the register so YOU should communicate with me and either say "hey i grabbed it" or "hey i cant grab that. Can u do it?" ...just something. She says i should be the one communicating with her about it when i get to the sticker. No.

Edit to add: sorry for the long rant but i speak in detail whenever i speak about things. I should have broken up the paragraphs a little more 😬. But to add, theres so many other reasons why i cant stand her. Even customers have said something about her before. Lol

dish out the same energy

I felt this. We have one of those at our store, too. He’s a huge kiss up to our new manager and then tried to feign surprise when she asked him questions. He talks down to everyone and catches an attitude when someone snaps back. He’s also treating Coffee Master as a competition and actively campaigned for Partner of the Quarter.

I had a problem like this once. I told my sm my issues and that I hated/was uncomfortable working with them. All three of us sat and talked and I told coworker exactly that. They have been awesome ever since and we’re actually good friends now.

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