Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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Not sure what the difference is. (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by extrashotextrahot
If you went to a restaurant, saw nothing you liked on the menu, and asked the chef to change literally every component of one of their meals, the kitchen would be annoyed. People recognize this as a faux pas.
We have dozens of drinks on our menu. When people are doing 5+ modifications on a drink, it's annoying. I would be very interested to know what percentage of our drinks are actually ordered as is. I feel like it's maybe 30%.
It's kind of demoralizing to get on Instagram or tiktok and see people constantly trash talking Starbucks workers.
I don't have an issue doing my job, I don't have an issue making menu drinks. But when every ticket that comes through looks like a Charles Dickens novel, I get tired.
I get that you are paying $11 for a drink and if you're happy to pay for it, I'm happy to make it. Once. I've never gone into a bar or restaurant and made people remake my food or been nasty about it. I really don't understand where the entitlement comes from.. especially when these drinks don't even exist on our menu.
We have dozens of drinks on our menu. When people are doing 5+ modifications on a drink, it's annoying. I would be very interested to know what percentage of our drinks are actually ordered as is. I feel like it's maybe 30%.
It's kind of demoralizing to get on Instagram or tiktok and see people constantly trash talking Starbucks workers.
I don't have an issue doing my job, I don't have an issue making menu drinks. But when every ticket that comes through looks like a Charles Dickens novel, I get tired.
I get that you are paying $11 for a drink and if you're happy to pay for it, I'm happy to make it. Once. I've never gone into a bar or restaurant and made people remake my food or been nasty about it. I really don't understand where the entitlement comes from.. especially when these drinks don't even exist on our menu.
Hot-Independence8670 124 points 7m ago
for me the problem is that some of the modifications are so outrageous that it’s impossible to keep the drink up to standards or make it the normal way and therefore it won’t be consistent everytime they order it. and this is what leads to people being angry and rude
Chromosomes23 24 points 7m ago
I had a barista ask me “so coffee is suppose to go to that line but the syrups already there what do you suggest I do?” I said splash to add color and follow standard 😅
extrashotextrahot [OP] 14 points 7m ago
One of my regulars gets 20 pumps of classic in a grande pike
Chromosomes23 4 points 7m ago
I’d like that over our 12 honey packet regular and will yell at you if you use honey blend or it isn’t stirred.
hitherforthkerms 2 points 7m ago
We had a customer who’s 12 pumps of chai in a venti pike steadily increased to 20/24ish pumps of chai. But she’s sweet and it’s she all she ever gets so I’m happy to oblige.
extrashotextrahot [OP] 1 points 7m ago
Yes my gal is sweet too. Maybe her secret is all the sugar 😇🥹
rebeccamaay 13 points 7m ago
THIS. someone mobile ordered an iced london fog made with sugar free vanilla and heavy cream and her name was “please blend”
so after it steeped for 5 mins and i prepared and blended it, and went to put it in the cup, the chunky concoction just dumped all over my hand and the counter. had to start all over
how am i supposed to serve this to you when i can’t even get it out of the blender?
so after it steeped for 5 mins and i prepared and blended it, and went to put it in the cup, the chunky concoction just dumped all over my hand and the counter. had to start all over
how am i supposed to serve this to you when i can’t even get it out of the blender?
Assiqtaq 8 points 7m ago
Use the big spoon, if you have one, to scoop it out. The consistency is not your problem, you did not create or suggest this as a drink. Also wiggle the blender a bit to direct it. Stupid chunky coffee.
Low_Committee_1312 1 points 7m ago
We had someone get a blended sugar free vanilla iced coffee with cream instead of a normal Frappuccino to make it more sugar free and I just had to scoop it into the cup it was awful
Hot-Independence8670 3 points 7m ago
YES!!! it’s the blending shit that i don’t get. a while ago some lady ordered basically the same thing either an iced coffee or latte blended, and of course the color of it was a lot lighter than the drink would be by itself since the ice diluted it, and i was on window handing it to her and she said it looked way too light and there was definitely no shots in it and i assured her it has the 4 she ordered and she didn’t believe me so she wanted more and i made her pay for them, she got the drink back and it still looked the exact same…. if you’re gonna order shit like this at least know what it is 😩😩😩
Necessary_Low939 64 points 7m ago
Yeah I get so happy when I get a latte order now
extrashotextrahot [OP] 39 points 7m ago
I had someone place a 4 flat white order last week and I had so much fun practicing my dots and foam 🥹
Necessary_Low939 4 points 7m ago
I like to practice my latte art when it comes to that.
Necessary_Low939 2 points 7m ago
Nice
dontgiveah00t 24 points 7m ago
Or an iced chai 🤣
geekgurl81 20 points 7m ago
God bless the iced chai.
Necessary_Low939 2 points 7m ago
😂😂
Necessary_Low939 7 points 7m ago
Yeah those are great. However the iced matcha😐
dazedinreverse 62 points 7m ago
Its nearly impossible to sequence 2 or three drinks when all of them are 5+ mods with half of the mods being something from a different part of the bar, refreshers with cold foam or even HOT drinks with cold foam WHY
hauxbi 26 points 7m ago
I will never understand paying $1 extra for cold foam on a hot drink when you can get the same thing by adding whipped cream that is FREE. same ingredients and taste. not to mention i feel like nobody understands the purpose of the foam is to sit on top of a cold drink and be drank that way, not mixed in. it ruins the reason for the foam existing in the first place, its so annoying.
geekgurl81 16 points 7m ago
It wears on one so hard this time of year. I can do menu drinks so fast, it’s practically muscle memory. But when there’s more than 1 or two modifications it just takes so much longer because it interrupts my thought process. You know how when you cook something with instructions and you have to constantly recheck the package or recipe so it takes half an hour more than cooking something you’re used to cooking and do by memory? It’s like that. And when there is one hot bar up with a constant flow of drive thru, cafe and mobile orders for hours on end it really messes with the flow to accommodate 4 modifications for every other drink. I was just thinking about this while I was on bar yesterday. All our drinks fit a formula, when I have to deviate from the formula my brain stutters. Ugh.
besoinducafe 15 points 7m ago
Yes!! This culture of unlimited modifications is just simply not healthy and clearly it’s too much for humans to handle. Then to see some partners defending that shit too 😞 so sad
extrashotextrahot [OP] 12 points 7m ago
I have no problem with extra whip or throwing some sprinkles on a drink, let's make it fun! But when you get 8 customizations on a drink, it's difficult to sequence. We're understaffed and people are interrupting asking for more splenda and you're supposed to be making customer connections and management is asking you to go faster.. it's overwhelming. I think the partners defending must be new and don't know how starbucks used to be.. either that or they have never worked in a different coffee shop.
besoinducafe 6 points 7m ago
Yeah I think modifications need to be capped at 4
[deleted] 11 points 7m ago
[deleted]
LaurdAlmighty 10 points 7m ago
They encourage mods because they just keep charging more and more for it lmao since I've been here 4 years now the price on almost all of the popular drinks have gone up at least 3 bucks then the mods have been up-charged by a 40 cents to a dollar. Lmao if they want to get raked over the coals by that then smh lol
as other said the crafting quality goes down and it'll continue to decline too as people add the most insane shit to their drinks.
as other said the crafting quality goes down and it'll continue to decline too as people add the most insane shit to their drinks.
Ok-Mycologist9011 9 points 7m ago
my fave is when customers get mad at us for making exactly what they ordered! Example: a shaken espresso with light lice and light milk “The cup isn’t full!!!!!”
DepressedToenail 4 points 7m ago
A lot of things just don’t apply to Starbucks for some reason. Like when people want a no ice shaken espresso and expect the cup to be filled with oak milk using “I paid for a ___ sized drink so I should get a fill ___ sized cup” as justification. But if I got chicken pad Thai or smt and said “hold everything but the chicken” I can’t expect a plate full of just chicken
Traditional-Emu-1403 3 points 7m ago
A lot of the modifications are downright disgusting, so much extra sugar and crap that’s just gag worthy. I’m quitting next week, I can’t keep this up.
jams1015 2 points 7m ago
SBux is dumb. They need to start with core build models and quit making specialty drinks, or specific recipes. It would be much less annoying to have every sticker print with base drink+ a la carte mods, than specific recipe of a certain drink build, remove everything you hate and add everything you love, thereby creating sticker novels no one wants to read and requiring us to do the opposite of our muscle memory.
kingmyguy 1 points 7m ago
Lol 30%?? That’s generous
Terrymacdud 1 points 7m ago
To be fair, Blonde is the only roast that isnt burnt, Ristretto is just better, 2% is probably the worst milk, and I have too little self control to not burn myself if it isnt warm
somewheredaydreaming -2 points 7m ago
Those modded drinks get you labor. . .
extrashotextrahot [OP] 5 points 7m ago
We had labor regardless and our hours are being drastically slashed. These mods have priced out some of my favorite regulars who just want a cup of coffee and a personal experience. Some of them have been coming for 7 or 8 years and the price of say, a red eye has gone up and up. The waits are longer because of these silly drinks and mobile orders.
somewheredaydreaming 2 points 7m ago
Totally agree. But it's all a system. The only answer would be to stop coming. I feel for them
Veloci-Tractor -31 points 7m ago
why is it annoying though
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it's like the whole point of starbucks
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it's like the whole point of starbucks
dreaminajj 15 points 7m ago
if ur asking this do u even work at starbucks lmfao
Veloci-Tractor -24 points 7m ago
it's literally the point. customized drinks.
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there's another thread rn, that's like why do so many partners hate customers/customer service
this falls under that. oh noooooooooooo, you had to pump a different syrup or press a different button on pos ? get over it lmao, this is an easy job
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there's another thread rn, that's like why do so many partners hate customers/customer service
this falls under that. oh noooooooooooo, you had to pump a different syrup or press a different button on pos ? get over it lmao, this is an easy job
dreaminajj 19 points 7m ago
nah u have to be a customer on the wrong subreddit if u truly have that attitude
Veloci-Tractor -20 points 7m ago
lol ok enjoy being miserable every shift over things you can easily not care about
dreaminajj 7 points 7m ago
when was i even the one complaining about it u actual psycho. i never once said that i hate my job or that i find it to be difficult. u are projecting soooo hard right now and i’m scared for your mental state at this moment
Veloci-Tractor -8 points 7m ago
yes i am the psycho and your reactions are totally reasonable
jeonzelink -24 points 7m ago
Starbucks drinks are meant to be customized. It’s fun to mix things up a bit. Sure some drinks are over customized but if it makes that person happy then I don’t know why it affects you this much. At the end of the day, it’s just a job. If they’re not rude about it, then I don’t see the issue.
extrashotextrahot [OP] 30 points 7m ago
They are being rude, that's my point. I enjoy the job and when I see a video on my feed about a drink being made I typically watch it. Almost all the comments are so negative and degrading to starbucks workers. I just don't understand the disconnect between this and other food service I guess.
Bhaisaab86 20 points 7m ago
It’s not just that some people are rude. It’s that corporate holds us to high standards regarding speed of service. More modifications = more time added to each order = we get scolded by both management AND customers for “taking too long”.
When we have to stop everything we’re doing to try and decipher the shopping list that is their order, it puts us behind. Even more so when more than half of our drink orders are literal short stories.
When we have to stop everything we’re doing to try and decipher the shopping list that is their order, it puts us behind. Even more so when more than half of our drink orders are literal short stories.
majik_rose 8 points 7m ago
Literally the entire post was about customers being rude read it again silly
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