If you work at Starbucks and have something to say about it, vent(i).
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I work at Starbucks
(87 posts) (42 voices)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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I have worked at Starbucks for over 1 year now and I have to say I like it there. The company is very flexible and the tips are awesome and the benefits are great, not to mention the stock program, thats awesome too. Ive got one complaint only. And it isnt against starbucks, its against those dam cusomters on drive through who wont get off the DAM PHONE!!!!. Show some respect when placing your order. Thank you all!!!
Posted 5 years ago # -
I worked there for a year and it was really bad craic. Pay was decent to be far but my hours got cut with out warning at all, and there where people who got like 3 final warnings getting a lot more than me. A lot more to say when I have time
Posted 5 years ago # -
I've been working there for over 2 years. I feel so burnt out! Once I was promoted to shift and got my pay raise, surprise surprise - my hours got cut nearly in half! I have to deal with my coworkers garbage because my boss doesnt want to, including the guys who come to work stoned every day and he can't say anything because he "cant prove anything." GOD im so sick of it, every day I dread going in... soon as I can find a job with benefits, Im OUT of there.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I have worked for Starbucks for over 2 years in a management position, I averaged 75 hours a week; then I was injured on the job and no longer able to perform my job. I was just kicked to the curb, my boss wouldn't return my phone calls or emails. Partner Resources (HR) also wouldn't return my communications when asked if the compnay has a assistance program to help disabled employees find positions that meet their physical needs. Nothing except long-term disability insurance, which the company does provide at no cost. They want you to believe that they are the greatest company on the planet, but in fact they are just another bottom-line corporate monster who wants to use up its workers.
Posted 5 years ago # -
hey usedup...sorry to hear about your situation. not in the least surprised but no less sorry. actually you have several things going for you assuming you work in the u.s. first if you can prove that you worked over 40 hours per week and never got payed for it then they owe you. remember, time worked equals time payed. (one of hr's favourite mantras to store managers) they cannot require you to work over 40 hours per week without overtime pay. you can be on the schedule for more than 40 hours if it includes lunch breaks. i.e. 1/2 hour per day not on the clock or 1 hour depending on the lunch break. so you could be on the schedule for 45 hours and not work more than 40 hours...get it? if you where injured on the job then you have a right to workers comp. and yes you will probably need to get an attorney who specializes in such cases. as for disabled employees, the laws are fairly straight forward and on your side, especially if you were made disabled due to an injury on the job or worse due to starbucks negligence, they must assist you in repositioning within the company as long as the accommodation's are reasonable. i.e. move you to a position that does not require you to stand, say in the regional office. (of course they will then attempt to fire you from that job to get rid of you so be prepared for a ongoing battle.) ALSO they have NO LEGAL RIGHT to even question what your disability IS. they can ONLY ask you if you are able to perform the duties required. remember your interviewing training. if hr or anyone else asks you how or in what manner you are disabled they have immediately broken a federal law. if they do ask you about your disability remember to mention that to the labour board if you speak to them. research the americans with disabilities act to get more information. but again you may need an attorney to assist you with this but also remember the labour board is MORE than happy to assist you as well. most companies tend to back down once the department of labour get involved. although starbucks will still fight it tooth and nail and attempt to malign you and even fabricate "evidence" of your poor performance and destroy any record of your positive performance up to the date of the incident if they think it will help them. also if they have not changed it (it is possible they have) they DO have a program to assist employees who need it. you may have been donating a dollar or more per pay period to the employee assistance fund, many employees do. again don't expect hr do assist you, and as i stated in another post they will probably do the opposite and attack you and your credibility in order to get your fired from the company so be prepared and make sure you inform your attorney what they are in for. remember, starbucks is and will be ruthless so don't let them win.
take care of yourself, good luck and get the forum aware of what is happening.Posted 5 years ago # -
I just wanted to take a moment and, ready for this, actually agree with toronto! Although I may disagree (or just have a hard time believing) with the extent Starbucks will go to protect themselves, toronto did offer up some very good, helpful info. The ADA is there to protect people who go to work with disabilities, or get disable on the job. It’s very helpful. Although the details of law's governing length of shift, time off rights etc. my vary slightly from state to state, most of those law's are all pretty much the same (unless you work in a right to work state like I do, then they can vary a little more, but they are still there) Take a look your states OCC, OSHA or labor board website, and take a look at the particular laws in your area. Good luck with every!
Posted 5 years ago # -
thank you parrotheadkrm for your comments. i must also tell you two things. although you disagree (or just have a hard time believing) the extent starbucks will go to protect themselves, firstly, i speak from direct experience, and secondly, i do not wish to infer or imply that starbucks is the only corporation that does this. sadly the practice is far more common than most people would believe. it has become standard operating practice at most corporations today. (if not in the united states culture as a whole) today. but as i am sure you have noticed, the forum is not called "i hate corportions" but "i hate starbucks" again thank you for your positive comments.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Thanks to both parrothead and toronto! My challenge is that I live in coal state where the labor laws were designed to protect employers, a surviving spouse can't even sue if one is killed on the job due to the employer's neglect. Starbucks would rather just pay me workers comp and then long term disability rather than assist me in finding another position that fits within my physical limitations. I am in my fifties and the company is a hard place for older workers, when at the SSC in Seattle you don't see many older faces. As to overtime, my position was classified as exempt which means I was an indentured slave.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Toronto, there are good corporate citizens in the US and Starbucks does some amazing things. It does pay 100% to 200% above market price for its coffee to support the farmers. It does provide medical benefits to part-time workers at a resaonable price. At the same time as it has grown, Howard has lost control of the company to the stock market. Most of Starbucks stock is held by major funds who pressure the company into short term, quarter to quarter thinking. We the US heading into a recession, people are cutting spending, which effects Starbucks sales, just like Target and other retailers. What is left is cutting expenses to offset shrinking sales and employees are suffering for it. What is worse is that Starbucks is vulnerable to a hostile purchase with it under valued stock price. If taken over many things, like benefits for part-timers, would go.
Posted 5 years ago # -
hello again usedup, your welcome for the assistance. by "coal state" do you mean west virginia? or another state. if you let me know i may be able to steer you to the correct laws/regulations for both the state and federal. let me know and i will see what i can do. as for "exempt" classifications of jobs, many states actually have very strict governances over what is actually "exempt" versus what companies say they are. of course don't expect the federal government to do anything less than tighten the controls in favour of the corporations. so let me know your state and maybe i can assist you further. i will say that starbucks (actually the insurance) paying you workers comp and then long term disability versus repositioning you may be better for you than them giving you a new position that they will then just fire you from.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Usedup, the figures you quote about the price paid for coffee are absolute bollocks. Have you actually read your quarterly reports or just the press releases? As a matter of fact, have you actually read your press releases? What about fair trade and shadegrown, they are offered, yes, but only as a marketing ploy. Read the 10Qs before you post this crap.
Posted 5 years ago # -
also, isn't only like 1 or 2% of the coffee they purchase done so above market price? I heard they do that just so they can advertise they purchase coffee above the market price to aid the farmers. Is there any truth to this as well? Anyone know more about this?
Posted 5 years ago # -
ok usedup. now that i have read your last posting i have realized that one of three things is true. you are unbearably naive, you are unbearably stupid, or you are unbearably bad at lying. which ever is true then i have no further help for you than to say, enjoy all the "amazing things" that starbucks is doing to you.
Posted 5 years ago # -
well I was a partner for 10 months... It was the worst experience ever. At first, things were great... Great pay, great benefits, free coffee... but I just couldn't stand the idiot.. my manager. He is such a ****. The store was a newly opened store and everyone started out together, including the partners and the manager. We all started out at 12, a very small number but I thought we would grow. But my manager does not do crap and doesn't even hire anybody so the numbers slowly went down. All he does is sit on his fat **** in the back and works on the schedule the WHOLE day or either **** on the restroom the WHOLE day. One time I caught him playing games with his cell phone in the back room and I asked him, "If you could play games on the phone, would you help me out at front?" He does not even help in the floor... well, he couldn't anyway because he doesn't even know how to make a LATTE...... We got a snap shot and my manager was the barista.... the latte was a cappuccino... he's so stupid.. but i managed to get over that and still worked... But we were so understaffed all that time... we had so little coverage... there was 4 partners for the whole day... 2 to open and 2 to close... it was so hard for all of us because we were working 40 hours a week but with just 2 people so it was hard for us to even take breaks properly. Because I am a student and I have school while working a full time job, it's not so easy if I am working my **** off so harder than i need to... so i've been getting sick and stressed and my manager asks me why are you so sick all the time and i'm like well i work 42 hours a week and i have school... and there's not enough coverage and it's hard... and he's like oh but didn't do a damn thing about it..... what the hell... and he didn't even give any of our partners the review because um.. well let's see.... he just .. didn't care??? i had to force him to give me mine so that i can transfer out of that hell hole.... but my raise was not in effect for 4 months... i was **** off and i told my district manager and that's when he finally did it.... and so one day i walked in and i asked him to transfer to me to a starbucks closer to my house.. and he yelled at me for being selfish when there's no partners to work at the store... dude... it's not my fault you are just being stubborn and not hiring.. i got fed up with his bs so i walked out and i never wanna see his face again... the original partners that opened the store is now down to 2.... he's going to have fun....
Posted 5 years ago # -
I work at Starbucks and I HATE STARBUCKS, too.
While I have fun connecting with the regulars and actually making the drinks, I think Starbucks has gone down the crapper since I first started for them. Or at least I can see the crap now that I've worked there for a while.
From an insider's perspective, from a person who has at least a little perspective, I gotta say, you're right. (from what I've read about why you hate the 'Bucks)
They brainwash their "partners" telling us how "awesome" we are and how much they care about us, I've seen the company repeatedly dump on and dump off people who they don't want. It's click-ish instead of "treating each other with dignity and respect" like the manual says.
In my store this summer the f-ing air conditioner couldn't handle the heat because it is not big enough to handle the size of the store; they wanted to save a few bucks during construction. That's just a teeny example of how they're putting money above people (which is contrary to the supporting guide lines of the mission statement).
I don't like how they brainwash the employees or parnters. They try to get us all thinking Starbucks is the Coffee God and the best there is. While I enjoy a few beverages there, I also enjoy drinks from other coffee shops. They act like they're the only ones worthy of patronage.
You know what else pisses me off? The cafes. While Starbucks cafes used to be inviting and they felt more like coffee shops, now they're all going to drive-thrus. Every one they put in is a drive thru now. What the F? So much for that bull-**** "third place" idea. (Third place= home is first, work is second and Starbucks should be that third place you wanna be.)
And what about the tip jar?! I feel bad for the customers who have to pay 5 bucks for a friggin drink then feel obligated to tip us a buck. Why doesn't starbucks just jack up our pay and let the customer keep their money. Then I'm sure they'd wanna raise the drink prices on them again.
While there are a few things I still enjoy there, it's just not the company it used to be or the company they say they are. I've put in my notice, by the way.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I agree! Starbucks used to be about the partner. Now with the companies stock falling and more money going out than in, they are going ****! you mean we actually have to make more money than we are spending! SO now they claim to still be " for the partner" but that is a bunch of ****! The proof I had is I opened a new store and missed my budgeted sales by about $2000. But I was way under in store expences. Also I don't know who in the hell sits down and comes up with the store budgets! They either are retarded or have no clue about business. So rather than focus on everything else I was doing well, pardon the expression ladies, stupid **** of a district manager, rode my **** daily. Oh yeah for those of you who love to be micromanaged Starbucks is definately the career for you! Starbucks used to be a job that I loved to work at, I actually looked forward to going to work. Now I hate it! I dredded going each day and counted the hours till I would go home!
Posted 5 years ago # -
Toolman - you are right - when I started working at SB it was really fun! The focus is now on the #'s so much that the customer service which brings in the people who bring in the #'s falls by the way side. I wrote one of my MBA projects on SB and one of the biggest weakness SB has is its incredible growth plan - I believe the company will have a series of tough implosions - won't implode on itself - too big for that but it will go through a bummy patch before they realize what has happened. Lots of good people will leave before they figure it out. Haven't you noticed the internal marketing focus is back to the basics - when you first started - (that four steps of customer service - as pathetic as that is I can't quote it right) :) blood still boiling lol just kidding
Posted 5 years ago # -
bumpy patch not a bummy patch lol
Posted 5 years ago # -
toolman46, you must have been around for a very long time to remember when starbucks was about the partners. why that is ancient history in starbucks world. yes, they have still been telling everyone that, but the truth is that they have not cared about the "partners" for over ten years. they have even stopped caring about the customers. wait!, allow me to rephrase that statement. they have even stopped caring about any customers other than the large investors. they are fast becoming the mcdonalds of the coffee world. no one goes to mcdonalds for quality food. they go because it is easy and cheap. (not that there is anything wrong with easy and cheap. i just prefer it not be something i put into my body!) yes, starbucks will go through several bumpy patchs but just like mcdonalds they will continue. they will not get better only bigger. now everyone hold on tight and listen to this all the way through before you react. starbucks corporation is a victim as well. starbucks is no different than any other corporation today that is publicly traded. there was a time, not that long ago, when a company invested in its future. even if that investment meant taking a loss for one or more quarters. investors knew that they needed to "be in it for the long haul" in order to get a strong return on their investment. now, thanks to day trading/traders, the stock exchange speculation, and quarterly reports, the future is only three months long! so a company, like starbucks, will cut expenses (usually labour because it is the easiest and quickest) at the last minute in order to prop up the numbers for the quarter. they then believe that they have another three months to make up the lost impact. unfortunately, they begin to create a domino effect. they have began to loose customers because they experienced poor service due to labour cuts and lost employees who where great at their jobs. now they take in less money and have to cut expenses to make up for the loss over and over. i can give you a perfect example. i worked years ago for a small restaurant group that was famous for many things. one of which was their croissants. they produced them by hand everyday and advertised them as, "made with a pound of butter per dozen" (i told you it was a long time ago!) they sold out of these croissants everyday without fail. the company was bought by a large corporation and they changed the recipe to half butter and half butter flavoured shortening in order to save about two cents per croissant. (1.9 cents to be exact. i know this because i worked in the high levels of the original company.) well, anyone who bakes (or eats for that matter) will tell you that there is a difference. sure enough the sales started to fall. the corporation decided that butter was too expensive for a product that was not selling as well as it once did. so they replaced all the butter with butter flavoured shortening. bet you know what happened next. in less than a year one of the best selling signature items on the menu was one of the worst sellers. sales of sandwich items make with the croissants fell as well. (our competitor across the street who still used all butter was selling out of theirs everday) believe it or not, corporate could not for the life of them understand why. (yes, we told them. they didn't believe us. go figure.) !!!??? my father worked as an international investment adviser and worked with hundreds of multi-million dollar investors. he had a name for this type of "expense adjustment". "cutting off your nose to spite your face." (he was a man of simple words and simple concepts) he said it was the "cowards" way of running a business. he didn't work with cowards. he did however make a great deal of money for his investors. now the ceo and the board members just wants to make it through the quarter. what corporations need is someone who will stand up and say "the next year (or three or five) is going to be very hard. we need to get back to what we are here for. to sell a fair product/service at a fair price. to take care of the persons who walk into our places of business everyday and spend their hard earned money on our products/services. we need to take care of and truly listen to the persons who are in our employment. the persons who handle those customers, face to face, everyday so they are not only content in their jobs but proud to represent our company and our products. thereby making sure that every person who walks through our doors will never go anywhere else to buy the product/service(s) we sell. the cost of doing that is going to be high. BUT, the long term rewards will be higher. come with me and all the others who are on the front line and lets make money the tide is turning though. keep an eye on chrysler corporation they have begun the change, lets see if they continue it. sorry this was so long but i hope you enjoyed it and i look forward to your comments.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I have no other comment than - RIGHT ON!!! I work in the tech world now (service world on the side) and it is funny how people are so excited to be bought out or excited to become publically traded....there is huge cost to that only a few really profit from it. Americans are lazy or maybe it is just short attention spans - they love idea of quality, love idea of going the extra mile but are unwilling to pay the price either with money or time. You are right about SB being a victim as are often many other companies that out grow their capacity to be about the people who help build the company. Sorry I know you were looking for someone to come back with some scathing rebutle. Also - years of working in the hospitality and service industry - you see labor cut first - ughhhh it is easiest and most dangerous. In the service industry - people are the MOST valuable assets to the company. Everyone in truth is replaceable but costs associated with replacement are soo out of this world - but no one monitors that as a benchmark - could you imagine if you could cut your new hire training budget in half - and because you didn't have to hire new people not just cut the training....what a novel idea.
Posted 5 years ago # -
novels are good. even if it is an idea. yes freakshow you are correct and you are welcome. americans (and sadly too many others today) love the "idea" of quality and the "idea" of going the extra mile. it is all about marketing. image. do they really want people to buy quality products that last years if they can sell them something that they will have to replace next season with the new "it" or "must have" product? besides, if they can keep everyone busy trying to "keep up with the jones's" then maybe they won't notice that they don't give a damn about them, only their money. the only thing i disagree with you on is the concept that "everyone in truth is replaceable" true, most persons are not only replaceable but should be replaced. BUT, not everyone is replaceable. people like, einstein, madame curry, washington carver, mozart, shakespeare, to name a few that come to mind. and yes, i know what you meant, but i am reminded of a story about henry ford. he had hired a new manager to oversee efficiency at one of his main plants. everyday this new manager would walk by an office and see a man with his feet up on the desk and his hands behind his head doing nothing. finally the new manager went to henry ford with his recommendations. he listed many ideas and insisted that henry ford fire the man doing nothing immediately. instead henry ford fired the new manager on the spot. the new manager asked why. he was told that the man "doing nothing" once had an idea that saved henry ford over 1 million dollars. an idea he came up with while in that same position of feet on the desk and hands behind his head. things are often NOT what they appear to be to the untalented eye.
Posted 5 years ago # -
as long as the guy with his feet on the desk isn't surfing the internet at work!!!!
LOL!!!! Just giving you a hard time Toronto, your point is well made.Posted 5 years ago # -
Concur completely - I really don't believe people are easily replaceable....it makes me sad that we are so quick to replace people because they are not in the image of "us" (using that term boardly)- If you don't look like you are doing something the same way - we are quick to remove it rather than look at the end result which is the same. Hell might even be a better way to do it....I remind my young collegues at SB just because a person doesn't look like you - move like you - doesn't mean they are not valueable. An example: we have an "older" shift supervisor on our team - she is truthfully a bit slower than the 20 year olds....and she asks for lots of time off...and frankly a bit high maintenance BUT she is also awesome when it comes to customer service - attention to details - knows all the rules - she is reliable - she shows up on time and oh yeah she takes pride in her work and DOESNT whine when things are hard. This younger supervisor came to be complaining about the older supervisor (see above weaknesses) and her final comment was "I wish she would step down".....My response was "really?" So you want her to step down, why? "I want more hours" Ok so....my response again - "what happens when you want time off?" "Who will cover your shifts?" Silence befell my young friend. I said "yes - you want hours when you want them - time off when you want it and the truth is our older friend is considered an "overhire" so when she leaves no one else will be hired to replace her." Still silence from my young friend. I said,"why don't you focus on what she is good at - help her become better at the things that make you crazy and just maybe - maybe you will learn what real value she brings to the team." "This will be your greatest lesson my young friend - to learn to manage diversity"- this young supervisor wants to be a manager. Thankfully, I think I might have gotten through....at least a little bit. And this is why I continue to work for the big bad green monster - I hope in some way the that I will help bring a sense of responsiblity and teamwork to the next generation - if nothing else - the hope that one day they will have an AHA moment - I remember when Freakshow told me about that....I know I am a bit naive....but I am hopeful and refuse to give up.....on what is right
Posted 5 years ago # -
and the crowd goes wild.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Freakshow
Well said. We should all be so lucky as to work for someone like you. I think that attitude is severely lacking in the work place today. Especially at a place as "hip" as Starbucks, that tends to look down on "older" employees. It’s sad, but true. We tend to look at older employee’s just a slower dead weight, and don’t look at what they truly can and do offer the workplace. Very well said.Posted 5 years ago # -
what is funny is they don't work for me....I am just a front line customer service barista - but most mistake me for the manager :)
Posted 5 years ago # -
i got a worker in my shop who thinks hes god or something - always trying to boss people around and lacking manners - saying "move move move" and i reply "no... its excuse me please... rushing and panicking is no excuse for being rude... =D"
that said, the customer found it funny. customers are in general - pretty dumb... "to have in or to go?" and you get the reply "yes"
p.s barista is the italian for barman i believe - the espresso machine is not a bar!
Posted 5 years ago # -
Some good posts.
bothers me alot: everyone has something to contribute. Why or why (and not just starbucks) do companies have special people (hiding) setting sales goals when they have never worked in an actual retail location but punch numbers. They hire managers who know of what they speak. Ask them for their opinion on how sales numbers should be set. I am assuming they were hired for their intelligence and experience? I could be wrong but an easy way to actually empower people to do better, reach the goals they have had a hand in setting, and feeling actually appreciated? What a concept. Ask Donald Trump if he asks people low on the ladder for their ideas, the answer would be yes and they are rewarded for it. Trump is no dummy, duh rich off other peoples ideas with his own management? Think of all the people who make decisions who you never talk to? You get their emails stating the way it is gonna be with no chance for input or conversation. Did you know that Donald Trump has never sent an email to anyone? He will talk to them directly or not at all. A lot of people don't like the man but I am telling you..............guys smart
Posted 5 years ago # -
Some good posts.
bothers me alot: everyone has something to contribute. Why or why (and not just starbucks) do companies have special people (hiding) setting sales goals when they have never worked in an actual retail location but punch numbers. They hire managers who know of what they speak. Ask them for their opinion on how sales numbers should be set. I am assuming they were hired for their intelligence and experience? I could be wrong but an easy way to actually empower people to do better, reach the goals they have had a hand in setting, and feeling actually appreciated? What a concept. Ask Donald Trump if he asks people low on the ladder for their ideas, the answer would be yes and they are rewarded for it. Trump is no dummy, duh rich off other peoples ideas with his own management? Think of all the people who make decisions who you never talk to? You get their emails stating the way it is gonna be with no chance for input or conversation. Did you know that Donald Trump has never sent an email to anyone? He will talk to them directly or not at all. A lot of people don't like the man but I am telling you..............guys smart
Posted 5 years ago #
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