oh lord. this will be your literal nightmare.

Find someone familiar with your kind of situation and ask them to help you work through what you need.

Be sure to fill out your voluntary disability form and reasonable accommodations.

Ask for help connecting with the disability network.

I believe in you! The job definitely takes some getting used to. If it feels overwhelming in the beginning, that is normal. It is going to take you a good 2-4 months to feel fully competent in every part of the job.

You may find it useful to talk with your trainer and supervisors about the communication and training methods that work best for you. There are a lot of roles in this job, you won't necessarily be stuck doing something you hate.

The social aspects of dealing with customers can be difficult at times. I just try to remember that these people are all addicted to caffeine and/or sugar. If they are being difficult or overly demanding, I try to not take it personally. Caffeine is absolutely a drug. The lack of it will negatively affect customers' moods/manners.

Good luck!

While you’re training I would pay attention to positions that feel most comfortable for you. Are you at a drive thru store or cafe only? As much as drive thru window is very customer facing, it’s also probably the least likely (at least in my experience) to have to be interrupted. It was my favorite when I first started because it was very routine for the most part. Now that I have been here for awhile I definitely prefer being on drive bar, making espresso beverages for the drive thru, it tends to be the spot where I can get most in the zone. I definitely think connecting to the partner network would be helpful, I want to say talk with your store manager as well, but I feel like you might have to try and feel that out how receptive they are to working with you as far as accommodations like more flexibility in which positions you’re put on and also possibly things like whether longer but less frequent shifts work better or shorter shifts but more days per week. Good luck!

i am autistic and work in a kiosk! starting out is always hellish, it’s a lot of information to learn in a short period of time, and at my store i was thrown in by myself on closing (i was trained for midday) my first day after training. i hope you don’t have a similar experience to me but i say that just to let you know that i made it through. it gets easier and it’s almost like being on autopilot. getting interrupted sucks, i usually just say “one moment please” or “i’ll be right with you” and if they have more to say i’ll be firm and let them know i need to finish whatever task i have at hand. i know the customer always comes first but usually people are pretty understanding and i’ve never had an issue thus far. with the people staring at you part, i get it, i’m training someone right now and all he does is watch me, but for the most part customers don’t really watch like that. they usually have somewhere to be or something they’re busy with and don’t have the time to watch. with the people who do stare, it can be hard to shake, but you do get used to it. it requires a lot of masking and spoons, unfortunately, and i haven’t yet found a way to get around that. it’s easy to get overworked with a lot of hours so know it’s okay if you need time to recuperate, we all do, autistic or not (but especially autistic). i wish i had more tips but all i can do is wish you luck, and i hope you find joy there! i love working with coffee (it’s a hyperfixation) which always makes work fun. i hope you can find something similar to enjoy during your time working with us :))

it’s going to be overwhelming at first. i’m not autistic but i’m a few other types of neurodivergent and at first it feels like you’re absolute trash and you’ll never learn everything because there’s just so much to know, but it gets better i promise. just remember that eventually (maybe a month, maybe 4, but it will happen) you will know almost everything and be able to function well in your position. everyone feels overwhelmed when they start and if you have a good team it’s way easier to acclimate and then it will mostly just be fun :)

Take a deep breath when feeling overwhelmed, crazy customers that treat you like shit CLEARLY have something else going on in their life so try not to let it bring you down, and don't be afraid to ask for help

It can be a really fun job but it can get really crazy sometimes.