Lonelygirl15

Mirage wrote:I didn't have any problems with the people I worked with--we were all friends. It was more the snotty customers that could spend 8-10 bucks a day on coffee that annoyed the crap out of me. Plus this was executives at Pfizer, so they were mega snot bags.

Is starbucks a good place to work in your experience...
and about the coffee
I find all the prices unreasonable but if someone chooses to go there, they obviously should already know that. Don't go if your not willing to pay.

Beckers wrote:

Mirage wrote:I didn't have any problems with the people I worked with--we were all friends. It was more the snotty customers that could spend 8-10 bucks a day on coffee that annoyed the crap out of me. Plus this was executives at Pfizer, so they were mega snot bags.

Is starbucks a good place to work in your experience...
and about the coffee
I find all the prices unreasonable but if someone chooses to go there, they obviously should already know that. Don't go if your not willing to pay.

Honestly, I enjoyed it, but I don't think you can really call it a "traditional" Starbucks...it was inside the Pfizer building, so only employees, their guests and contractors (like me) could go there. The biggest pain for me was learning all the drink combinations and the quiz. Honestly, I don't see how knowing who was the inventor of Starbucks and what coffee bean he used prevents me from making a latte. As I said before, the whole "calling" thing was annoying too. When I first started, I couldn't call the drinks at all--and nobody would make them until I called them in the right order, which was embarassing when the customer was standing in front of you, looking impatient.

I used to work at one of the busiest Starbucks in the country, at O'
Hare International Airport. If I remember correctly, though, the company that had franchised the stores didn't want us to affiliate ourselves with the actual Starbucks... "empire"...

I can kinda see why, though. We were all trained a bit differently, and we never really got 'certification' even though we still learned to make drinks the same way.

About having to order your drink in a specific manner... That was still somewhat true. It can be somewhat confusing for people, who have never been to a Starbucks (or any kind of coffee shop, before) though. I kinda disagree with the treatment some Starbucks employees may exhibit.

I don't know, but to my observation, more than a few Starbucks employees (mainly those who are baristas) seem to look down on people who don't order their drink(s) "in the right order". As employees of a business establishment, I've always believed that even though the customer may not always be correct, the employees of the establishment should "teach" their customers in a non-degrading way.

I worked as a barista at the Starbucks establishment I worked at, and even though many people may order their drinks wrong, a decent barista would be able to... "decode" the order, and make the drink...

Somehow that last part kinda made me feel like I was on-topic in the Plot Discussion forums...

Mirage wrote:When I first started, I couldn't call the drinks at all--and nobody would make them until I called them in the right order, which was embarassing when the customer was standing in front of you, looking impatient.

See... now this is what I'm talking about... Why couldn't they even give you a little slack since you'd just started? Not making the drinks just because they were called wrong just sounds pretty stupid, to me.

I can understand that we would all want to get things done right, but if it gets busy, there isn't time to be so picky about the call sequence. Besides, aren't the cups marked?

I know a few people who got burnt by the milk steamer. One have them had to get fake skin.

I've narrowly avoided getting "steamed" myself... many times. Even that didn't feel too good.

Beckers wrote:I know a few people who got burnt by the milk steamer. One have them had to get fake skin.

They call him "Darkman" now.

kageyuki wrote: See... now this is what I'm talking about... Why couldn't they even give you a little slack since you'd just started? Not making the drinks just because they were called wrong just sounds pretty stupid, to me.

I can understand that we would all want to get things done right, but if it gets busy, there isn't time to be so picky about the call sequence. Besides, aren't the cups marked?

They should have been, but they weren't. Luckily it didn't take me long to get the hang of it (when you're making coffee for 7-8 hours a day it gets easy quick ). I believe the not making the drinks thing was an attempt to "learn me"...though things got considerably less formal once our manager (who was a litteral female Kramer--I don't mean racist Kramer, but the "run into a room and look around all crazed" Kramer. ) would leave for the day.

All in all it was a fun job, and I really do miss it, and the copious amounts of free drinks/food I'd have during the day.

I'd like to work at a Starbucks. I think it'd be fun.

I LOVE coffee, so that's kinda my dream first job. I don't wanna work there my entire, though.

I can see it now. Me walking to the register with my walker.

I remember a year after I quit I was watching Survivor. When they have the people doing their little "confessionals" to a camera during the show they have their name, age, occupation, and "tribe" at the bottom of the screen. There was this one chick who had "barrista" for her job title. Bitch, who you kiddin? You sling coffee for a living.

I Love Green Tea Lattes, b/c Grass turns me on *RAWR!*

mhhhmmm their refresh tea is yummy.

(i tried to order pepermint tea and got them all confused.... "uh we have a refresh that is kinda minty"... "i'll take it".... it was just peppermint tea)

I also get the white mocha with soy. usually iced. no whip yuck.

but now that I don't know anyone who works there and gives me free drinks.... I don't go to often.

I like just regular Tea. I'm not a fan of coffee..the last thing I ordered at Starbucks was water and a lil cookie.

o and we have an eskimo hut here. A drive thru for adult sno cones!

yup.

I either drink hot tea or dunkin coffee or cappucino or iced latte.

I will also get the 7/11 french vanilla "coffee" from the machines. Hah, i don't really need quality, just something to keep me up.