Archived No TL??

[CoffeeChic]

So how long can an area go with no TL? I work in SBux and there hasn't been one since I was hired months ago. It is a mess. We are always out of stuff, no one has any clue what we do/do not have and nothing is being done about it. Our machines are breaking down from lack of cleaning, but when we ask for training on them we are told that we have everything we need to figure it out. I have personally asked for training and asked for the machines to be serviced and got the same answer. Several TMs have quit and more are about to. We even ran out of espresso and mocha! Over Christmas/New Years! And we are told it is our fault for not telling the ELT that does some of our ordering or the STL who also orders stuff. Often 3 TM will tell them and they still say they didn't know. We currently have no one certified to train new SBux TMs and un-certified people are mostly running SBux now. I am at my wits end with this!

 

[redeye58]

First off, which espresso machine do you have; the Verissimo or the Maestrano? The Maestrano has a large bean bowl on top. If that's your machine, I can walk you thru a cleaning.
Second, find out what day they actually scan in the order: Monday? Wednesday? Friday?
Before that day, look around (& ask other SBTMs) what you are out of or low on & make a list. If you get leadership to print out the order sheets the day before, I can walk you thru an order. When making your list, be sure to order enough to carry you thru to the next order.
Also look to see what you use the most: mocha? order an extra box. Chai? extra as well. Vanilla syrup? Usually comes in a case of 12 liter-sized bottles, compared to others that come in a 6-ct case.
Start digging thru the binders to see what's up-to-date. You may have to partner with your SBDM to get what you need in terms of training materials.
Plenty of baristas on here so don't hesitate to ask. The more specific, the better.

 

[CoffeeChic]

We have the Maestrano machines. One is starting to pull water into the grounds drawer and can't hold the grind setting. Since I care about the coffee I am usually fiddling with it every 5-6 drinks. I know the basic tablet in the key cleaning but that's about it. The other day I cleaned the steam wands and oh lord they were bad! And after some research I was able to confirm that the bottom drip tray (sorry not sure of the correct name, the tray under the group head) does indeed come off. Ours were just glued on with mold.......

 

[redeye58]

So the grounds are soggy? Not a firm little puck? You're right to adjust the grind but it sounds like you're overdue for maintenance. The grinders are replaced & they calibrate the water pressure for the steam wands. Good that you're cleaning them (1-2x/week). The drip tray is removable; don't forget to clean in the corners.
Several stores in our district were reporting steam pressure problems which they traced to the water filtration system. Five stores in the area (including ours) had to have the filtration systems replaced.
Talk to your SFT....er....PMT about putting in a work order. I believe it's a PMR package.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

If we had no CTL market would last until whenever I clocked out for that day

 

[Bosch]

You want to get a fire under some leadership asses? Call your Sbux rep. If anything like ours they will flip over issues you are having.

 

[redeye58]

Depends on your SBDM.
Some can be your best ally, others your worst enemy.
Either way, some leadership has got to get in on this party.
At the very least, see if they'll let you do the ordering. That's a start.

 

[RetailWorld]

You want to get a fire under some leadership asses? Call your Sbux rep. If anything like ours they will flip over issues you are having.

This. A bad Target Starbucks is a reflection of Starbucks as a whole. They won't settle for a half-assed team.

 

[Bosch]

Depends on your SBDM.
Some can be your best ally, others your worst enemy.
Either way, some leadership has got to get in on this party.
At the very least, see if they'll let you do the ordering. That's a start.

As far as i know there has to be a certified Sbux TM in the store, so not having anyone to train is bad. But running out of basics is not acceptable to Sbux and having failing not properly cleaned and serviced equipment all things the rep while it maybe hell after they find out, they should help push lacking in actual leadership to actually getting on getting things fixed.

If you go this route I would make the phone call to rep and talk see if she could keep you out of it so you don't face backlash when the shit storm happens

 

[whippingboy]

Are you at a super target? Could be that they are trying to combine your area with Food Avenue's.. Who is the TL who walks/talks with Steritech or the Health Department? Someone needs to light a fire under the Food ETL. We had our Produce Team Leader missing for six months until they "reassigned" our department under the Bakery Team Lead. I believe technically it's supposed to fall under Deli, but that's just the way it worked out. It took awhile though, very stressful without leadership. Eventually our Store TL realized an issue and lit a fire under all of the leadership on the food side.

There was a point in time when the best team survey came out and there is a list of questions about the current TL... we had checked off "N/A" on all of those. That brought down the DTL, asking everyone in the department who the TL was to make sure we all knew. That was months down the road though, after someone was assigned.

 

[BullseyeBabe]

We haven't had a SLTL since before Halloween. I don't know when we will get one. The dept is a mess and we've lost a lot of our good TMs. I'm the new brand TM but I haven't had any training so I feel you. I'm learning stuff on my own. Thank goodness for the BR.

 

[masterofalltrades]

i loved not having a tl for like 3 months. my department was self sufficient, communication was great, morale was high, and aar was at a 2 year high. now that we have a tl everything went downhill. we have go through them for everything. it works for electronics, but starbucks eh thats a hot mess. ask for support help. they should send a sbtl to help sort stuff out.

 

[Bosch]

i loved not having a tl for like 3 months. my department was self sufficient, communication was great, morale was high, and aar was at a 2 year high. now that we have a tl everything went downhill. we have go through them for everything. it works for electronics, but starbucks eh thats a hot mess. ask for support help. they should send a sbtl to help sort stuff out.

We have been doing it for In-Stocks but when you don't have a TL in something like 4th quarter and your normal timing on doing things is not what the leadership wants yeah it can be hell. And when your leadership doesn't bother to address issues that just makes it worse. And I am sorry but no I would not order product and if we run out so be it. Sometimes you have destroy something to fix it. Not having bases for your basic drinks is one way to get their attention.

 

[monkeyman90]

So how long can an area go with no TL? I work in SBux and there hasn't been one since I was hired months ago. It is a mess. We are always out of stuff, no one has any clue what we do/do not have and nothing is being done about it. Our machines are breaking down from lack of cleaning, but when we ask for training on them we are told that we have everything we need to figure it out. I have personally asked for training and asked for the machines to be serviced and got the same answer. Several TMs have quit and more are about to. We even ran out of espresso and mocha! Over Christmas/New Years! And we are told it is our fault for not telling the ELT that does some of our ordering or the STL who also orders stuff. Often 3 TM will tell them and they still say they didn't know. We currently have no one certified to train new SBux TMs and un-certified people are mostly running SBux now. I am at my wits end with this!

it doesn't always work like that, sometime your store doesn't warrant a starbucks tl. maybe there's a transition. gstl are your tl's and then etl ge are your ge. the contract requires people trained, not tl's.

 

[redeye58]

Lower volume stores have a TL over both Target cafe AND Starbux.
Even without a TL, there's supposed to be a designated Team Trainer.

 

[Jack of all Workcenters]

Unless I'm mistaken Sbux is required to have its own TL and that TL is not supposed to be over anything else. For all I know though they changed that agreement.

 

[Coqui]

If you have no TL, who is your work center ETL? It's usually the ETL-GE, you should bring up these issues to them and if they don't address them, contact your Starbucks District Manager because with the issues that you guys are experiencing, the Starbucks DM can issue the store a NNC( Notice of non-compliance) which would force Target to fix all of the issues and if they don't do it within the time period given, they will be put in another NNC and if not fixed again could be shut down. I doubt it will get to that but definitely contact your DM.

 

[ohmeohmy]

Per the contract Target has with Starbucks, there must be at all times 2 AST certified team members (Usually the TL and the team trainer). If a store cannot support a Starbucks devoted TL, typically the Target Cafe TL does both with the help of a Food Service Assistant.

This is a major violation, and as some have already said if the SBDM catches wind of it, it will light a fire under their ass. Also it's unacceptable for a STARBUCKS to run out of coffee. Coffee is in the name.

There should be a cleaning manual somewhere in your Starbucks area. It should be easily accessed. If not, have them order a new one. They are on the order guides. It should have step by step cleaning instructions (and pictures!) on how to clean all equipment that is used in Starbucks. A lot of those machines should be cleaned on a weekly/monthly basis. Who knows what they really look like. Yuck.

Some other things to look out for that are major Starbucks violations that could land a non-compliance: Who is covering the breaks over there? Are they wearing Starbucks uniform? Is there 100% coverage at all times, IE no one just steps away from Starbucks to take their 15 minute break. Is the brewed coffee routine being strictly followed. (I know when I moved to a different area of the store that was the first thing my team slacked off on.)

 

[Coqui]

You as a TM can also put in work orders. Take initiative to do that and maybe you can become their new TL. It seems like you care and would be able to address these issues. I can walk you on placing a work order if you need guidance.

 

[monkeyman90]

You as a TM can also put in work orders. Take initiative to do that and maybe you can become their new TL. It seems like you care and would be able to address these issues. I can walk you on placing a work order if you need guidance.

yep. anyone who doesn't have access (sap mainly) can mysupport access. as long as the etl approves it, it'll be granted.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

I am being looked at to be benched.....hard..... but I have come to realize that even though if I get promoted to TL (I am a Perishables Assistant getting 38+ hours a week, even during these slow times, which is more than probably most TLs are at my store at the moment). TL's are guaranteed 32 hours a week, so even though I would receive a pay increase, it might not actually end up being a raise, after figuring in the hours a week worked... could this be used in negotiations? (Lol?)

 

[POGguy]

TLs at my store are very rarely took down to 32 hours. Not all stores are the same, but I would imagine as a TL your gonna get your 40 hours 99% of the time. Most of the time it's the TL choosing to give their hours to other people that drops them down.

 

[APredux]

As we all know, every store/district is different... but in working in three different districts and three different stores, I have never heard of a TL not working 40 hours unless they didn't want to. Like POGguy said, they can give away shifts, and take time off (unpaid or not), etc. But I've never heard of a case where a TL wanted 40 hours but was only given 32. I remember a case of an APL working 32 hours a week. But that was because he was still in school and asked to work less hours, and they told him it was ok as long as he didn't go below an average of 32.

That doesn't mean it can't happen. But I imagine if it does, it's pretty rare.