well first thing you need to know is that solo barring is not a one person job considering the amount of orders starbucks gets and the channels for ordering (drive, cafe, mobile) there’s gonna be a lot, so don’t get down that you fall behind, it happens to quite literally everyone.

second, make use of the customer support/drive person if you can and they’re willing. ask them to put in cold foam for u when u need it or ask them to finish a frap for you while you juggle other drinks. it really helps a lot if needed.

third, not sure if u already do this, but if you have multiple espresso drinks, que all the shots necessary and have milk pitchers ready. when one milk stops, steam another while the shots pour for the first drink. continue this pattern. also take advantage of both bars. you can steam 3 milks and pull much more shots in such less time that way. pump all the syrup that needs to go in (ik this probably ain’t standard, but sometimes standard isn’t the most efficient)

fourth, keep your area clean. ik this seems probably unnecessary, but to me at least it’s hard for me to go my fastest and be the most efficient if my area is crowded and messy. take the time to put milks back and do a little cleaning here and there. it only takes a few seconds and can make a difference in your performance. trust me lol. *pro tip*: as long as the crema on top of the shot is still intact, the shot is still good, no need to dump it after *only* 10 seconds.

you’ll develop your own flow like many others do when it comes to solo barring. you’ll get faster and more efficient. it really does take time, so try not to be hard on yourself.

oh also, batch blend. if your store doesn’t care and is not strict on this, batch blend. it saves a shit ton of time and you can batch blend like 3 ventis, maybe even 4 if you’re brave enough, but yea lol

if you have cold brew taps, while it’s pouring try to get something else done, like pouring up the milk, or adding whip cream to the bottom of fraps that get them or finishing a refresher, something that takes little time, but make sure to watch out for your cold brew!

if you have a brewed coffee, but you have an espresso drink behind it, start on the espresso drink first, get your coffee, then finish the espresso drink. double, possibly triple drinks in less time.

and probably the best tip i can give, *constantly* be thinking about your next move.

hope this helps!! :)

I just keep telling myself I can only go as fast as I can go in order to make drinks to standard. You’re not a superhero and can’t be in multiple places at once. I try to be cognizant of how many drinks are in each order to make sure I’m always working on an entire order first before pulling other stickers for cafe/mobile/delivery (if I’m working on drive thru). Just make sure you’re sequencing properly and try to not get bogged down by how much there is because there’s no point. Ask for help when you need it if there’s people around to help!

here 4 tips also because i feel the exact same

As a Barista who gets to Solo-Bar 2-3 times per day, at a DT store with high-customer volume:

This is what helps me.
1. Keep your station clean.
Messes mess with my head and send me into panic mode, so I clean EVERYTHING. I just keep a cloth handy at each station.

Clear station = clear-head for me.

2. Sequence:
Steam milk
Queue shots
Pump syrups
Steam milk
Queue shots
Steam milk
Finish and “connect” (if you’re giving to Cafe/mobile)

Repeat.

Now, when I’m doing solo, my cadence is more like this:

Steam milk que bar 1

Steam milk que bar 2

Pump syrups bar 1 and 2

Put Frappuccino in blender and start cold foam

Pour/finish drink 1 & 2

Steam milk bars 1 and 2

Queue shots bars 1 & 2

Pump syrups bars 1 & 2

Pump syrups cold-brews and iced coffees

Fill any cold-brews, iced coffees, etc, put teas/refreshers in shaker cups

Finish Frappuccino when the blender stops.

Finish drinks bars 1 & 2 when the steamers stop.

And always—always double-batch any Frappuccinos that are the same. I don’t do more than 2 venti’s together though, because it doesn’t really work right.

Tips: count how many seconds your cold-brew tap takes to fill each cup size, that way you can do something else while it’s filling without overfilling it.

If the frap has chips, it drips (mocha drizzle on frapps with frappe chips)

One tip is to make sure you’re sticking to one bar for mobiles/cafe and the other for drive, or one for mobiles and the other for cafe (whatever your setup is) as it’s just easier to keep track of and will keep you organized.

Staying organized is really the core tip here, like making sure you’re lining up the cups and pitchers as you’re sequencing in the same place and in the same way every time so you can build some muscle memory and rely less on active thought like “okay, I think this one printed first” or “where’d my milk go?”

Focusing on being efficient over being fast is going to be your best bet here and will also increase your speed over time.

Check the next sticker as it prints to make sure you’re not going to cold bar to make one drink when you could have taken the next sticker with you and made two drinks at once. If it’s two different stations, ignore it and come back, but if it’s the same one, take those stickers with you so you can be planted for at least a minute or two.

Solo bar is hard.