Are you a closing shift and are most of your baristas minors/highschoolers or teenagers? I have experienced this problem and nothing I did or said resolved it so I switched to mornings where the older people work. You could document them ignoring and disrespecting as well as their phone usage so your manager could have a talk with them about non-compliance

I had the same issues. Honestly I took some aside and just said ?? What can I do to get you to do x or how can I help you meet our goals ? Phrasing it as a teamwork oriented thing helped me build up that muscle memory so I could trust them to do stuff. Still have to remind people to focus but I think it helps to phrase it that way. We succeed together.

when i work with highschoolers i feel this, i had 2 ways to approach their productivity.
talk to them “like hey bestie can you blah blah”
if they didn’t want to be all bestie, i would pull who ever aside and have a 1 on 1 and just be like . “what can i do to have us be productive as a team” some will answer what position they want, some people want a checklist.
sometimes i had us make a list as a team together or goals and that usually helped.

the best way i learned to earn trust is to work as a baristas support person, and not the other way around. i learned their weaknesses and strengths. the more you talk to them you’ll find how much they want to progress. like a lot of the highschoolers want to be a barista trainer or a ssv one day, when they express it, show them that you’re here to support them, but that they need to have good work ethic first .

When it comes to non-compliance, I've found that when people feel like they relate to you better or theyre buddies with you they are more in tune to listen. For example, going out of your way to get to know or be extra friendly with the people on your team who give you the most grief, so that not only do you know them better but when you ask a task of them they hear you and respect you more as a person and not just as an authority figure. I'm not saying you arent nice or anything or you havent done that but just kinda bringing up what I've observed in my experience and what my strategy is. Idk, hard to describe what I'm trying to say.

i had a particularly difficult teen barista who behaved similarly. I pulled her aside one day after she had been more problematic than usual and just got real with her. I explained that i am her direct supervisor and while i don’t have the power to give out write ups or warning, it was my responsibility to communicate my experiences with the manager. i reminded her that this is a job and that she applied for the position, she asked to be given these tasks for a wage. If she found that it wasn’t something she wanted to do, that’s okay, but she needed to reconsider if this job was the right fit for her. There’s no shame in realizing it’s not the right job for you, but while they are there, it IS their responsibility to do their job. i made it clear that i support her and her choosing what was best for her and then gave her 20 minutes to recenter and collect herself and rejoin the floor with a better attitude and work ethic. it seems harsh reading it, but i think it comes down to tone and intention. she thanked me for giving her that perspective, and her work ethic changed immediately.

Maybe you could really explain how important it is to keep everything stocked and cleaned for the next rush and for the next shift of people coming in. How much more smoothly things go when things are where they need to be, cleaned, and fully stocked first in first out. Also, don’t be afraid to gross them out! Show them how dirty things can get, and then how clean they can be when you put in some elbow grease. Explain how germs get spread from one thing to the next, and how people can get sick including them. Explain how QUICKLY bugs will come if there’s any still water, sticky counters, or crumbs. You see one bug, there is more somewhere.
if they have any respect for themselves and health standards they’d learn quickly to keep everything squeaky clean.
it only took seeing a bunch of ants ONCE for me to become a complete clean freak in starbucks. I also quickly realized that if i don’t clean certain things, no one will. Sometimes that’s just what u have to do 😔 wish u the best

I’ve had managers tell me to send them home if they aren’t doing their job. I sent one person home who wouldn’t do much and after that he never slacked off again. Other times it’s “hey can you do this for me?” to make them feel like they are helping you out. Honestly though, learning their strengths and weaknesses is the best tip out there. Get to know what they are willing to do and what they just never seem to get to and go from there.

It’s just coffee man go put that vibe into a real job that pays you well