Kiosk Notes
Carrs Safeway, Anchorage, Alaska
Carrs Safeway Starbucks Barista
Starbucks Barista
Barista!!
----
hello everyone!!
theSam!! is happy that it's snowing once again here in theCity!!,
theBarista work is slowing down a bit, at least for me,
it seems now, after almost 2 months of Barista work, that when I get comfortable with my schedule moving up from 20-something hours a week, to almost 40hrs a week,
that something negative happens and I find myself being moved back to a part time schedule. And it all has to do with some problems that I seem to be having with Customer Service, as it all relates to representing Starbucks and theCarrs Safeway stores.
When I had someone call me on the phone in Sep, and sent me to an Group interview for Carrs Safeway, I had no idea that later on in this new line of work, Barista!!, that problems would pop up, I was only glad to be back to working and still staying within theFood & Beverage Industry that I have come to love.
when my "class" started at a nearby Carrs Safeway store, theNorthWayMall, in the early morning hours, just me and a couple girls were there.
Eventually we all made it through training and were certified Barista's by our LearningCoach / Kiosk Supervisor withing 2 weeks, However, I took about 3 weeks.
I'm not a fast learner like theOther girls, however, when learning things dear to me I digest them, disect them, ponder them, Even dream about them and the work I do and I do everAfter retain them!!
Most people will be handed a Hand-out of notes or information in class or from an Instructor, and then they'll toss it in the trash later on or just leave it, cos, to them this Handout means nothing, because theJOB means nothing to them. It's just something to do until they get their big break doing something else!!
But I don't think that way about things I like and take an interest in. As for the Barista work, I have dozens and dozens of Inet sites book marked and have cut & pasted text of theBarista subject from across theNet.
I bought a few PDF files from a couple of Barista / Coffee companies and do read up on theHistory, theProcess etc of Coffee. And I read up on the basic recipes of the basic drinks that can be made with Steamed Milk, Espresso, Syrup etc.
I guess you could say, that it's my dream someday to work in a "real" espresso shop where Each customers drink involved scooping & grinding their beans for theEspresso, For me to actually Tamp theGrounds and emplace theBasket up under theEspresso machine and pour!! It's my "dream" to be able to pour the SteamedMilk into demitasse and to "draw" patterns into theEspresso. In fact, I did that haphazardly one work day in Kiosk, I steamed up some Half-n-Half milk for a woman and had theEspressoMachine pull her shots, then I poured her milk from theMetalSteamPitcher and I didn't stir up the contents. You should've seen theEspresso & Milk mix just perfectly and blend together. I carefully swung thePour back and forth and then trailed down the middle and stood back, Admiring my one-sided Leaf!!-then I had to cover it up with a Spice garnish and put a Lid on the cup. d:o( -sad-
I understand that working for Starbucks, is like an assembly line process in many ways, each Espresso and each Brewed Coffee and each Frappacino etc, is inherently the same but can be slightly different, I know.
And due to this assembly line-like process you'd think that it's theSAME drinks for everyone that orders them, probably. But not everyone I've made Latte's for likes or even Wants a 1/4" topping of milkFoam as theRecipeBooks and CheatSheets suggest.
And not everyone wants Whipped Cream on their chocolateMocha's or their whiteChocolate Mocha's either. And since it's a Holiday Season for us Barista's, when we make theHoliday drinks for people, not everyone wants their drink toppings of Whipped Cream, Chocolate Swirls (shavings), their Nutmeg spice powder, their PumpkinSpice, etc.
In fact, I feel like I'm cheating people when they just order a Latte. Cos, to me a Latte is a set amount of Espresso and steamed milk & nothing else. Especially when a couple of Regulars come to theKiosk and order an Espresso Dopio or else, a Quad!!
I quietly, sullenly (LOL) punch up their espresso amounts from theEspressoMachine into the cups they want their caffiene in.
We Barista's are taught to be nice and to say "Yes" to theCustomers, our guests.
Sure I've had a few bad customers in my brief (intense) 2 months of working as a Barista. Trust me, I've worked in many Career fields in my 41yrs on earth and every Trade & Craft has it's shitty customers.
But I've been nice to the grumpy Customers, I've remade drinks for a few when 6 to 10 Other customers were standing in line at theHandOff counter and about 7 more customers were at theCashRegister waiting their turns to order, in fact, when these bad Customer experiences happened, I was alone in theKiosk.
I was happy to have my Kiosk Supervisor or other "Partners" / my coWorker Barista's whom were on shift with me close by to help me and to keep theLine moving!! And thusly, to keep our Starbucks customers happy.
And therein lies the reason of why I am now cut from a fullTime work status back to less than 20hrs a week. It's because my Kiosk Supervisor along with theCarrs Safeway store managers have heard a few negative complaints against me and decided that apparently I'm not good enough for their Starbucks team.
Granted, I don't rush through OrderTaking from 3 to 6 people while LiningUp their drinkCups on theCounter and after taking their $ / Money, Rush through the process of making their drinks and HandingOff to them one by one and sending them (hopefully Happy) on their way. Cos. Our recommended time per Customer is 3mins!!
I don't often meet that, but I'm just a beginner in this business, sheeesh.
Give me a break please.
When I used to open up theKiosk early in the morning, I did have a few grumpy Store employees in a huff at me because I didn't have the Brewed Coffee up and running before 6a.m., but I got more organized every day and got better.
Other factors in the Negatives ratings with me, is that since theTraining period for me is now over, there are some drinks that I have never had to make again!! And, when working theCashRegister, I'd have difficulty working my way through the pages and pages of HotCoffees, IcedDrinks, NonCoffees, Blended Mixed Drinks, Specialty Drinks and theSeasonal!!
On top of all that I have to look up Pastry's and go into theStore Bakery section or else look up what we Starbucks sell from our Pastry's on Display.
And coupons and price reductions for StoreEmployees and other discounts!? I was never taught all of those things at first and sometimes would lock up theRegister after hitting a "clear" key or "void sale" one too many times,
Anyway, I'm defending myself here.
I don't need to do that. What I just need to do is say that Other than these myriad of Glitches and Problems and set backs, many of which are normal and expected!! from any NEWB employee I'd imagine, theBaristaLife!! is great.
I really like my Starbucks Kiosk Supervisor and I like my "Partners", the gaggle of other girls I work with. They're all sweethearts!! d:oD
And I like what Starbucks is doing for this Beverage industry.
Some of my otherGirl-Friends!! whom work for Other Coffee company stores might "act" upset and "berate" me d:oP for being a Starbucks barista, but I feel a closeness EVEN with them!! Cos we, are Barista!!'s
And I swear, I can almost feel theMilk expanding and pressing Outward on theSteamPitcher, cos When I steam milk, I add theThermometer and then lightly feel and handle theSides of thePitcher until it gets tooHOT to touch.
Each day I do this a few times and then, I might Not add a thermometer to thePitcher a few times after that and mentally count Seconds and I still feel thePitchers and compare that to earlier milkSteamings.
If you do something long enough, you can tell when theProcess is different.
2% milk steams different than Whole milk, and Soy & NonFat steam the same just b-a-r-e-l-y.
I try to follow ALL the preparation rules that my Kiosk LearningCoach & Supervisors tell me, I use NEW milk for each Customer and I clean up after myself after every drink is made per customer, and I have to clean up a sink full of used milk pitchers and used BlendingPitchers if I follow up a Female by taking her place in MAKING drinks while someone else mans theRegister.
It's those little things I do and follow and those rules I keep that are helping kill me and my rep it seems, AND my success too.
And just 7 days ago, a NEW chick!! comes working for us from WA state. She transferred up here and now took my place it seems, and she KEEPS used (heated) milk out on theCounter (with a Thermometer in it) and will justADD cold milk to that mix and REsteam it for the next customer.
During times when I was allowed to MAKE drinks this last week, I did that too, theMilk holding and ReCycling and ADDing of cold and steaming that. And so far, have had no Customer complaints. Funny how theBarista 100 lessonManuals that I was given-because my Other female classmates / coWorkers / Partners eventually stopped working altogether and quit-state that we shouldn't reHeat milk, among other things!!
I guess it's just those Industry "shortcuts" that make work go faster and I don't condemn such things, but I feel that I shouldn't have to be doing these shortcuts so early in my New career.
Well.
As a Starbucks Barista, working for CARRS SAFEWAY, up here in AK.
I got concerned about this recent drop in my work hours and a few days ago I called theUnionRep, I found out that since I'm still within my 90 day Probations period with CARRS SAFEWAY stores, that I am not covered at all by theUnion. Basically they can't help me.
Funny how, they're taking my UnionDues NOW but they won't help me!!
What theFuck!! is wrong with that?
So I gave permission to theUnion Rep to call theNorthwayMall store and speak to MsTina, theStoreMgr, and he got back with me and suggested that perhaps I could gain back or at least Cover more hours by working at something else IN the CARRS SAFEWAY store where I work as a Starbucks Barista.
ok...
So a day later I was assigned to be "Courtesy Clerk" by a couple of lower Store Managers and I worked my first few hours as CourtesyClerk yesterday BEFORE my 5hr Starbucks Barista Kiosk shift.
Bottom line is, that I still get $7/hr NO TIPS, cos we're ALL CARRS SAFEWAY employees and NOT fullStarbucks companyEmployees / Partners,
and so far, with the New ThanksgivingWeek work schedule now out, my work hours are tentatively up to 33hrs,
but they might change, considering how I am quietly mistreated, I expect to get fired any day. In fact I don't feel safe anymore in that work place.
I used to love waking up early and going to work, cos it wasn't work, but all this last week. I am quietly, subtlely, blocked from proximity of theEspressoMachine, and everyone insists that I keyIn my Employee & codes into theRegister-meaning that only I am supposed to take Orders and Handle Money-and do nothing else!!
oh..
But I can still clean up, and still fetch items in back to Stock up front, and I can still Remake beverage drink bases and brew Coffee, good thing that I have learned to readBody language very well.
What follows now is from a visit that some bigwig Starbucks beverage merchandiser made to our store.
She showed up and went off to the back of the store with my Kiosk Supervisor, they were gone awhile, then theMerchandiser and her Male coWorker showed up again by theKiosk, theMale never introduced himself or ordered from us either, he stood off and even sat out at theTabled area between theKiosk & theDeli.
theMerchandiserLady did speak to me a few minutes, I remember her being introduced to us Partners working in Kiosk, and I stood and listened to everyone talking,
about a minute later I walked over to theBeverageMerchandiserLady (our Kiosk's small Swing-Doors between us) and I listened to her and made small talk with her.
I don't recall her ordering a drink from me, maybe she did watch me, Us Partners work for a bit, but she did nothing truly substantial in being on the receiving end of Service from Me!! Then a few days later, she sends a full page letter to theKiosk and I now share just theSubject matter as it relates to me & her.
(As typed from thePhotos I took via CellPhone Camera, her grammar, spelling, paragraphs are left intact, for THIS time, I left out her Phone & Contact info and Last name.)
----
Hit to all,
I am glad I had the chance to meet both the Store Manager Tina and the Starbucks Supervisor Cindy.
I want to recap you on my visit and communicate highlights and any concerns. The Fall Phase 2 Launch looked real good. All merchandise was out and set to Sirens eye. Floor stands and baskets looked good. My biggest concern would be staffing. As we discussed we are struggling to stay ahead of the battle of staffing. I understand that you do have a plan in place for three new baristas. Please, have Starbucks send your learning packets ASAP. We discussed getting one from another store or even a company operated store if possible. I am very concerned about Samuel. He doesn't seem to have the knowledge or drive to be a successful barista and I worry about the quality of Service he is providing and the quality of drinks. With all the hard work and time that Cindy puts into her Kiosk, I hate to see her struggle and loose business with this employee. We try to keep staff so we have enough employees to open and close everyday but sometimes it's at a bigger cost when they don't provide the experience we are looking for to our customers. A few things that I ask that you follow-up on also are listed. Most of these are everyday Standards and Policies.
Lori H.
Specialty Beverage Merchandiser
----
My Kiosk Supervisor has these "Read & Initial" folders and this letter that I quoted from was amongst the papers, it's not embarrassing at all to be singled out like this in front of theOther girls, and especially to theNewOnes that work now whom don't even know me or haven't worked with me longer than a week or so,
But I left theLetter there and Initialed it.
I even left a side note upon it. Words to the effect of,
"Don't judge me, you don't even know me, I've done Cosmetology & Massage Therapy work in Seattle and have had my own thriving practices, I've built up my own clientelle so I should know CustomerService"
something like that.
But the Hits just keep on coming. And my hours suddenly get reduced and theUnionReps can't help me, and I get reassigned a few days a week to Bagging Groceries & running them out the store with theCustomers!!-which isn't a bad job, It's just that I never signed up to bag groceries in the first place.
This might not matter to some of you readers, but Race is an issue too in all this.
msTina and one other Mgr over me are Black, One Mgr is White, and a floor Courtesy Clerk sup over me is Black, the rest are White & a couple Asians.
When I first started working as Starbucks Barista, theBlacks!! whom shall for now remain nameless & descriptionless wanted me to "hook them up!!" with drinks and other foods from the Kiosk,
even a few of them, as well as a couple Other CARRS SAFEWAY store employees would barge into theKiosk while I worked "alone" and would grab Cups, or grab Oatmeal, or grab Pastries, would Pour themselves Cups of Brewed coffee, or would want me to make them Drinks NOW!!, in front of Paying customers who were standing before me at the register,
So I first complained to my Kiosk Supervisor (named above in theLetterQuote) and she took it to theCARRS SAFEWAY Store Mgr msTina, I heard nothing more of it other than the fact that my Kiosk Sup agreed with me, that ANYBODY and Everybody needed to PAY for their Starbucks products,
unless, unless we Partners were total screwUps and fucked things up totally and were shitty to Customers, THEN, we were supposed to GIVE free product to theCustomers etc. But, we HAD never BEEN shitty to anyone.
even, as of 3 days ago, a WhiteGirl store employee, Leaned over theStarbucks Kiosk counter and punched in her own Store product that she wanted to purchase, she was going to open theCashRegister and I stopped her, warned her not to do that and told on her to Management.
Yes I could speed up a bit in drink making, and be more organized when handling 6 or more people in line waiting to Order and not Panic!!
And I could stop what I'm doing I suppose, when Mixing up Cold drink base beverages that Have to be Refrigerated ASAP, to help a customer. But I finish what I'm doing first, cos I have had milk product sit out on the counter past 30mins once, I don't want to do that again,
And when I was working alone my first month of employment, it was hard to juggle Order taking, Drink making, Wiping FoodCourt tables, cleaning up AROUND kiosk, swapping out theCarafe's on the Condiment counter and with making brewed Coffee every 30mins,
Stuff that an Barista would probably be good at by a years time and here I am doing all of this my first month!! and in the process, losing a few InLine & Waiting customers and upperManagement seeing Customers walk away from me
deem me unfit and hastily judge me so.
Today, Saturday was a dayOff. I went by a few other Barista stores and filled out applications. One working Friend of mine said that they need help at the place she works,
Inspite of this Negative-ness heaped upon me, I'm still smiling. My attitude is positive and these unfruitful days will pass, and these mean people in my life will be left behind eventually,
it's great to be healthy, it's great to be 41 and STILL fit after all these years. I get to flirt with some of theGirls & Ladies that I make drinks for.
Life is GOOD.
I love being a Starbucks Barista.
So far, I have no gripes about the company personally like some other Barista's would, or have already.
it's great to be working in these economyDownturned times, it's great to make someone's day (morning) by having their Drink properly made and especially by being so damned nice to them!! really, being chatty and friendly really IS me.
it's why I like this Food & Beverage Industry, and for now, being a Barista.
Long live theGreenApron!!
d:oP
lovs,
theSam!!
SLFlyinghorse
Anchorage, Alaska
AlaskaVillageTales
Carrs Safeway Starbucks Barista
Starbucks Barista
Barista!!
----
hello everyone!!
theSam!! is happy that it's snowing once again here in theCity!!,
theBarista work is slowing down a bit, at least for me,
it seems now, after almost 2 months of Barista work, that when I get comfortable with my schedule moving up from 20-something hours a week, to almost 40hrs a week,
that something negative happens and I find myself being moved back to a part time schedule. And it all has to do with some problems that I seem to be having with Customer Service, as it all relates to representing Starbucks and theCarrs Safeway stores.
When I had someone call me on the phone in Sep, and sent me to an Group interview for Carrs Safeway, I had no idea that later on in this new line of work, Barista!!, that problems would pop up, I was only glad to be back to working and still staying within theFood & Beverage Industry that I have come to love.
when my "class" started at a nearby Carrs Safeway store, theNorthWayMall, in the early morning hours, just me and a couple girls were there.
Eventually we all made it through training and were certified Barista's by our LearningCoach / Kiosk Supervisor withing 2 weeks, However, I took about 3 weeks.
I'm not a fast learner like theOther girls, however, when learning things dear to me I digest them, disect them, ponder them, Even dream about them and the work I do and I do everAfter retain them!!
Most people will be handed a Hand-out of notes or information in class or from an Instructor, and then they'll toss it in the trash later on or just leave it, cos, to them this Handout means nothing, because theJOB means nothing to them. It's just something to do until they get their big break doing something else!!
But I don't think that way about things I like and take an interest in. As for the Barista work, I have dozens and dozens of Inet sites book marked and have cut & pasted text of theBarista subject from across theNet.
I bought a few PDF files from a couple of Barista / Coffee companies and do read up on theHistory, theProcess etc of Coffee. And I read up on the basic recipes of the basic drinks that can be made with Steamed Milk, Espresso, Syrup etc.
I guess you could say, that it's my dream someday to work in a "real" espresso shop where Each customers drink involved scooping & grinding their beans for theEspresso, For me to actually Tamp theGrounds and emplace theBasket up under theEspresso machine and pour!! It's my "dream" to be able to pour the SteamedMilk into demitasse and to "draw" patterns into theEspresso. In fact, I did that haphazardly one work day in Kiosk, I steamed up some Half-n-Half milk for a woman and had theEspressoMachine pull her shots, then I poured her milk from theMetalSteamPitcher and I didn't stir up the contents. You should've seen theEspresso & Milk mix just perfectly and blend together. I carefully swung thePour back and forth and then trailed down the middle and stood back, Admiring my one-sided Leaf!!-then I had to cover it up with a Spice garnish and put a Lid on the cup. d:o( -sad-
I understand that working for Starbucks, is like an assembly line process in many ways, each Espresso and each Brewed Coffee and each Frappacino etc, is inherently the same but can be slightly different, I know.
And due to this assembly line-like process you'd think that it's theSAME drinks for everyone that orders them, probably. But not everyone I've made Latte's for likes or even Wants a 1/4" topping of milkFoam as theRecipeBooks and CheatSheets suggest.
And not everyone wants Whipped Cream on their chocolateMocha's or their whiteChocolate Mocha's either. And since it's a Holiday Season for us Barista's, when we make theHoliday drinks for people, not everyone wants their drink toppings of Whipped Cream, Chocolate Swirls (shavings), their Nutmeg spice powder, their PumpkinSpice, etc.
In fact, I feel like I'm cheating people when they just order a Latte. Cos, to me a Latte is a set amount of Espresso and steamed milk & nothing else. Especially when a couple of Regulars come to theKiosk and order an Espresso Dopio or else, a Quad!!
I quietly, sullenly (LOL) punch up their espresso amounts from theEspressoMachine into the cups they want their caffiene in.
We Barista's are taught to be nice and to say "Yes" to theCustomers, our guests.
Sure I've had a few bad customers in my brief (intense) 2 months of working as a Barista. Trust me, I've worked in many Career fields in my 41yrs on earth and every Trade & Craft has it's shitty customers.
But I've been nice to the grumpy Customers, I've remade drinks for a few when 6 to 10 Other customers were standing in line at theHandOff counter and about 7 more customers were at theCashRegister waiting their turns to order, in fact, when these bad Customer experiences happened, I was alone in theKiosk.
I was happy to have my Kiosk Supervisor or other "Partners" / my coWorker Barista's whom were on shift with me close by to help me and to keep theLine moving!! And thusly, to keep our Starbucks customers happy.
And therein lies the reason of why I am now cut from a fullTime work status back to less than 20hrs a week. It's because my Kiosk Supervisor along with theCarrs Safeway store managers have heard a few negative complaints against me and decided that apparently I'm not good enough for their Starbucks team.
Granted, I don't rush through OrderTaking from 3 to 6 people while LiningUp their drinkCups on theCounter and after taking their $ / Money, Rush through the process of making their drinks and HandingOff to them one by one and sending them (hopefully Happy) on their way. Cos. Our recommended time per Customer is 3mins!!
I don't often meet that, but I'm just a beginner in this business, sheeesh.
Give me a break please.
When I used to open up theKiosk early in the morning, I did have a few grumpy Store employees in a huff at me because I didn't have the Brewed Coffee up and running before 6a.m., but I got more organized every day and got better.
Other factors in the Negatives ratings with me, is that since theTraining period for me is now over, there are some drinks that I have never had to make again!! And, when working theCashRegister, I'd have difficulty working my way through the pages and pages of HotCoffees, IcedDrinks, NonCoffees, Blended Mixed Drinks, Specialty Drinks and theSeasonal!!
On top of all that I have to look up Pastry's and go into theStore Bakery section or else look up what we Starbucks sell from our Pastry's on Display.
And coupons and price reductions for StoreEmployees and other discounts!? I was never taught all of those things at first and sometimes would lock up theRegister after hitting a "clear" key or "void sale" one too many times,
Anyway, I'm defending myself here.
I don't need to do that. What I just need to do is say that Other than these myriad of Glitches and Problems and set backs, many of which are normal and expected!! from any NEWB employee I'd imagine, theBaristaLife!! is great.
I really like my Starbucks Kiosk Supervisor and I like my "Partners", the gaggle of other girls I work with. They're all sweethearts!! d:oD
And I like what Starbucks is doing for this Beverage industry.
Some of my otherGirl-Friends!! whom work for Other Coffee company stores might "act" upset and "berate" me d:oP for being a Starbucks barista, but I feel a closeness EVEN with them!! Cos we, are Barista!!'s
And I swear, I can almost feel theMilk expanding and pressing Outward on theSteamPitcher, cos When I steam milk, I add theThermometer and then lightly feel and handle theSides of thePitcher until it gets tooHOT to touch.
Each day I do this a few times and then, I might Not add a thermometer to thePitcher a few times after that and mentally count Seconds and I still feel thePitchers and compare that to earlier milkSteamings.
If you do something long enough, you can tell when theProcess is different.
2% milk steams different than Whole milk, and Soy & NonFat steam the same just b-a-r-e-l-y.
I try to follow ALL the preparation rules that my Kiosk LearningCoach & Supervisors tell me, I use NEW milk for each Customer and I clean up after myself after every drink is made per customer, and I have to clean up a sink full of used milk pitchers and used BlendingPitchers if I follow up a Female by taking her place in MAKING drinks while someone else mans theRegister.
It's those little things I do and follow and those rules I keep that are helping kill me and my rep it seems, AND my success too.
And just 7 days ago, a NEW chick!! comes working for us from WA state. She transferred up here and now took my place it seems, and she KEEPS used (heated) milk out on theCounter (with a Thermometer in it) and will justADD cold milk to that mix and REsteam it for the next customer.
During times when I was allowed to MAKE drinks this last week, I did that too, theMilk holding and ReCycling and ADDing of cold and steaming that. And so far, have had no Customer complaints. Funny how theBarista 100 lessonManuals that I was given-because my Other female classmates / coWorkers / Partners eventually stopped working altogether and quit-state that we shouldn't reHeat milk, among other things!!
I guess it's just those Industry "shortcuts" that make work go faster and I don't condemn such things, but I feel that I shouldn't have to be doing these shortcuts so early in my New career.
Well.
As a Starbucks Barista, working for CARRS SAFEWAY, up here in AK.
I got concerned about this recent drop in my work hours and a few days ago I called theUnionRep, I found out that since I'm still within my 90 day Probations period with CARRS SAFEWAY stores, that I am not covered at all by theUnion. Basically they can't help me.
Funny how, they're taking my UnionDues NOW but they won't help me!!
What theFuck!! is wrong with that?
So I gave permission to theUnion Rep to call theNorthwayMall store and speak to MsTina, theStoreMgr, and he got back with me and suggested that perhaps I could gain back or at least Cover more hours by working at something else IN the CARRS SAFEWAY store where I work as a Starbucks Barista.
ok...
So a day later I was assigned to be "Courtesy Clerk" by a couple of lower Store Managers and I worked my first few hours as CourtesyClerk yesterday BEFORE my 5hr Starbucks Barista Kiosk shift.
Bottom line is, that I still get $7/hr NO TIPS, cos we're ALL CARRS SAFEWAY employees and NOT fullStarbucks companyEmployees / Partners,
and so far, with the New ThanksgivingWeek work schedule now out, my work hours are tentatively up to 33hrs,
but they might change, considering how I am quietly mistreated, I expect to get fired any day. In fact I don't feel safe anymore in that work place.
I used to love waking up early and going to work, cos it wasn't work, but all this last week. I am quietly, subtlely, blocked from proximity of theEspressoMachine, and everyone insists that I keyIn my Employee & codes into theRegister-meaning that only I am supposed to take Orders and Handle Money-and do nothing else!!
oh..
But I can still clean up, and still fetch items in back to Stock up front, and I can still Remake beverage drink bases and brew Coffee, good thing that I have learned to readBody language very well.
What follows now is from a visit that some bigwig Starbucks beverage merchandiser made to our store.
She showed up and went off to the back of the store with my Kiosk Supervisor, they were gone awhile, then theMerchandiser and her Male coWorker showed up again by theKiosk, theMale never introduced himself or ordered from us either, he stood off and even sat out at theTabled area between theKiosk & theDeli.
theMerchandiserLady did speak to me a few minutes, I remember her being introduced to us Partners working in Kiosk, and I stood and listened to everyone talking,
about a minute later I walked over to theBeverageMerchandiserLady (our Kiosk's small Swing-Doors between us) and I listened to her and made small talk with her.
I don't recall her ordering a drink from me, maybe she did watch me, Us Partners work for a bit, but she did nothing truly substantial in being on the receiving end of Service from Me!! Then a few days later, she sends a full page letter to theKiosk and I now share just theSubject matter as it relates to me & her.
(As typed from thePhotos I took via CellPhone Camera, her grammar, spelling, paragraphs are left intact, for THIS time, I left out her Phone & Contact info and Last name.)
----
Hit to all,
I am glad I had the chance to meet both the Store Manager Tina and the Starbucks Supervisor Cindy.
I want to recap you on my visit and communicate highlights and any concerns. The Fall Phase 2 Launch looked real good. All merchandise was out and set to Sirens eye. Floor stands and baskets looked good. My biggest concern would be staffing. As we discussed we are struggling to stay ahead of the battle of staffing. I understand that you do have a plan in place for three new baristas. Please, have Starbucks send your learning packets ASAP. We discussed getting one from another store or even a company operated store if possible. I am very concerned about Samuel. He doesn't seem to have the knowledge or drive to be a successful barista and I worry about the quality of Service he is providing and the quality of drinks. With all the hard work and time that Cindy puts into her Kiosk, I hate to see her struggle and loose business with this employee. We try to keep staff so we have enough employees to open and close everyday but sometimes it's at a bigger cost when they don't provide the experience we are looking for to our customers. A few things that I ask that you follow-up on also are listed. Most of these are everyday Standards and Policies.
Lori H.
Specialty Beverage Merchandiser
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My Kiosk Supervisor has these "Read & Initial" folders and this letter that I quoted from was amongst the papers, it's not embarrassing at all to be singled out like this in front of theOther girls, and especially to theNewOnes that work now whom don't even know me or haven't worked with me longer than a week or so,
But I left theLetter there and Initialed it.
I even left a side note upon it. Words to the effect of,
"Don't judge me, you don't even know me, I've done Cosmetology & Massage Therapy work in Seattle and have had my own thriving practices, I've built up my own clientelle so I should know CustomerService"
something like that.
But the Hits just keep on coming. And my hours suddenly get reduced and theUnionReps can't help me, and I get reassigned a few days a week to Bagging Groceries & running them out the store with theCustomers!!-which isn't a bad job, It's just that I never signed up to bag groceries in the first place.
This might not matter to some of you readers, but Race is an issue too in all this.
msTina and one other Mgr over me are Black, One Mgr is White, and a floor Courtesy Clerk sup over me is Black, the rest are White & a couple Asians.
When I first started working as Starbucks Barista, theBlacks!! whom shall for now remain nameless & descriptionless wanted me to "hook them up!!" with drinks and other foods from the Kiosk,
even a few of them, as well as a couple Other CARRS SAFEWAY store employees would barge into theKiosk while I worked "alone" and would grab Cups, or grab Oatmeal, or grab Pastries, would Pour themselves Cups of Brewed coffee, or would want me to make them Drinks NOW!!, in front of Paying customers who were standing before me at the register,
So I first complained to my Kiosk Supervisor (named above in theLetterQuote) and she took it to theCARRS SAFEWAY Store Mgr msTina, I heard nothing more of it other than the fact that my Kiosk Sup agreed with me, that ANYBODY and Everybody needed to PAY for their Starbucks products,
unless, unless we Partners were total screwUps and fucked things up totally and were shitty to Customers, THEN, we were supposed to GIVE free product to theCustomers etc. But, we HAD never BEEN shitty to anyone.
even, as of 3 days ago, a WhiteGirl store employee, Leaned over theStarbucks Kiosk counter and punched in her own Store product that she wanted to purchase, she was going to open theCashRegister and I stopped her, warned her not to do that and told on her to Management.
Yes I could speed up a bit in drink making, and be more organized when handling 6 or more people in line waiting to Order and not Panic!!
And I could stop what I'm doing I suppose, when Mixing up Cold drink base beverages that Have to be Refrigerated ASAP, to help a customer. But I finish what I'm doing first, cos I have had milk product sit out on the counter past 30mins once, I don't want to do that again,
And when I was working alone my first month of employment, it was hard to juggle Order taking, Drink making, Wiping FoodCourt tables, cleaning up AROUND kiosk, swapping out theCarafe's on the Condiment counter and with making brewed Coffee every 30mins,
Stuff that an Barista would probably be good at by a years time and here I am doing all of this my first month!! and in the process, losing a few InLine & Waiting customers and upperManagement seeing Customers walk away from me
deem me unfit and hastily judge me so.
Today, Saturday was a dayOff. I went by a few other Barista stores and filled out applications. One working Friend of mine said that they need help at the place she works,
Inspite of this Negative-ness heaped upon me, I'm still smiling. My attitude is positive and these unfruitful days will pass, and these mean people in my life will be left behind eventually,
it's great to be healthy, it's great to be 41 and STILL fit after all these years. I get to flirt with some of theGirls & Ladies that I make drinks for.
Life is GOOD.
I love being a Starbucks Barista.
So far, I have no gripes about the company personally like some other Barista's would, or have already.
it's great to be working in these economyDownturned times, it's great to make someone's day (morning) by having their Drink properly made and especially by being so damned nice to them!! really, being chatty and friendly really IS me.
it's why I like this Food & Beverage Industry, and for now, being a Barista.
Long live theGreenApron!!
d:oP
lovs,
theSam!!
SLFlyinghorse
Anchorage, Alaska
AlaskaVillageTales
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