Archived Poor TL

[CoffeeBrah]

After months of reading posts and such on this site, i've finally decided to join thebreakroom and receive some insite.
I transfered from a high volume target 5 months ago to obtain the starbucks team member position at a low volume store closer to my home. During my transfer, they were without a team lead for a few months(or maybe a year or so). They pushed someone from instocks with no familiarity or passion/drive for starbucks to become a team lead. Fast forward to the present date and time.

The team lead of my starbucks has been over ordering product, cashing her self out, making drinks and ringing up guests off of the clock, staying way after her shift to read the Starbucks Operations Manual. Not to mention, if we print out a speed id she'll ring up guests under our numbers rather than her own numbers. Another thing we tell them is that, she refuses to communicate issues with her own team (writes up coachings and complains to other ETLs about us rather than to us) but repeats the same information everyday about stuff we already now and have researched on our own (i.e new promos, new drinks, and sales)
We've repeatedly told ETLS and HR refuses to do anything about it, despite multiple complaints from guests and other team members. Is it worth trying to reach out to the integrity hotline or should we just let it go? It's been rumored that my store was desperate for a team lead and didn't want it shut down and just threw someone over there.

 

[mrknownothing]

It's possible your HR could already have a case against her; if that's so, they don't want you to know about it.

 

[usojelly]

Half of what you complained about is stuff you don't really care about, you just want to use it to get them. How about you grow up and realize that your actions have a fucking impact on people's lives.

 

[commiecorvus]

Looking at your list of issues, while I might not agree with his phrasing I have to kinda agree with @usojelly .
What in particular is your issue with your TL?
Working past past their hours, studying the manual, over ordering, etc. are things the bosses worry about not a TM (unless the TM is angling for the TLs job).
As to the coachings there is a procedure for those and she can't come to you first.
She should be trying to make sure you are trained properly which is probably why she is repeating some of the things over and over because there have been mistakes and she's trying to make sure they don't get made again.

Look, I'm the first to sympathies with folks about bad bosses but I also understand how hard it is to be a boss.
Try seeing things from her side, it sounds like she's under an incredible amount of stress and trying to make up for it.
Go to her, ask how you can help, be supportive and try to help her be a better boss.
You might be surprised how much better your life gets.

And welcome to The Break Room.

 

[tgtguy]

Honestly, from the first part of the last paragraph of your post...it sounds like the team lead in question is showing some effort ( ie studying the manual etc) I always try to give someone the benefit of the doubt..ask if there is anything you can help with etc. As far as talking to other etls about her team etc...almost all team leads do that...you kinda have to take it for what it is . Pick your battles.

 

[CoffeeBrah]

Honestly, from the first part of the last paragraph of your post...it sounds like the team lead in question is showing some effort ( ie studying the manual etc) I always try to give someone the benefit of the doubt..ask if there is anything you can help with etc. As far as talking to other etls about her team etc...almost all team leads do that...you kinda have to take it for what it is . Pick your battles.

I do agree that she's at least trying to make an effort. We try to make an effort and ask what to do and it's never enough for her.
as over ordering, it's more than our store makes in a month for a every weeks order.
We've tried reaching out multiple times and trying to solve, work through issues and such but it always goes back to square one with her.

 

[tgtguy]

If she is over ordering and thus over spending..by that much...at some point it will raise a red flag with someone...be it within your store or further up the management chain. I wouldn't worry about that...if she is over ordering that will come back on her.

 

[CoffeeBrah]

Looking at your list of issues, while I might not agree with his phrasing I have to kinda agree with @usojelly .
What in particular is your issue with your TL.
Working past past their hours, studying the manual, over ordering, etc. are things the bosses worry about not a TM (unless the TM is angling for the TLs job).
As to the coachings there is a procedure for those and she can't come to you first.
She should be trying to make sure you are trained properly which is probably why she is repeating some of the things over and over because there have been mistakes and she's trying to make sure they don't get made again.

Look, I'm the first to sympathies with folks about bad bosses but I also understand how hard it is to be a boss.
Try seeing things from her side, it sounds like she's under an incredible amount of stress and trying to make up for it.
Go to her, ask how you can help, be supportive and try to help her be a better boss.
You might be surprised how much better your life gets.

And welcome to The Break Room.

Thank you. I'm not angling for the TL position by any means. The problem is the lack of communication for the on going training for SBUX. The idea of literally working off the clock and using someone else's numbers to cash guests out when the shift ended hours ago is the main problem. It's almost like she doesn't want to try at all to work with us. She does have good qualities but not working with us as a team is what makes it stressful.

 

[antivibe]

My Starbucks TL works off the clock like crazy. She orders stuff off the clock, she makes drinks off the clock, and studies off the clock.
She doesn't get enough payroll to have double coverage to allow her to go offstage. It's rather sad.
If you complain about her working off the clock she could very well lose her job. I wouldn't recommend telling anyone.
It sounds like your TL is putting in the effort and is under a lot of stress, like others have said.

You should communicate with your TL. Let her know what she could improve on, but be specific and direct. Offer to help her if possible.
As for the over ordering it's an issue in a lot of other food departments. One week item A may be a hot item, so the TL orders more of item A only
to realize that it's popularity drops soon after the order. You could probably help your TL with this. Communicate what you have an abundance of and what
supplies you need. I'm not too sure how that works so don't take my answer too seriously.

 

[CoffeeBrah]

My Starbucks TL works off the clock like crazy. She orders stuff off the clock, she makes drinks off the clock, and studies off the clock.
She doesn't get enough payroll to have double coverage to allow her to go offstage. It's rather sad.
If you complain about her working off the clock she could very well lose her job. I wouldn't recommend telling anyone.
It sounds like your TL is putting in the effort and is under a lot of stress, like others have said.

You should communicate with your TL. Let her know what she could improve on, but be specific and direct. Offer to help her if possible.
As for the over ordering it's an issue in a lot of other food departments. One week item A may be a hot item, so the TL orders more of item A only
to realize that it's popularity drops soon after the order. You could probably help your TL with this. Communicate what you have an abundance of and what
you supplies you need. I'm not too sure how that works so don't take my answer too seriously.

Over ordering makes sense to an extent. I've worked multiple food service areas before landing here. We get palettes that roughly take a week and some days to work either alone or two people on and off. We have roughly 6 boxes of Pumpkin Spice syrup, 24 boxes of the frap syrups, multiple backups of every pump for syrups, and dead end stocks of the starbucks core products that haven't moved at all. We'll list off things we need before we officially run off but the items wont get ordered until weeks later. Resulting in guests becoming frustrated with us.

 

[commiecorvus]

The over ordering issue also comes from having a lot of prima donna self entitled customers who whine when loudly you run out of their pet ingredients.
There is only so much of that you can listen to before you go, screw this I'll just order a dozen cases of the stuff so I never have to hear that again.

As to the training, one of Spots ongoing issues is never giving enough hours to really train the TMs.
The policy of throwing whatever they can at the wall with the hope that it sticks, has long been an issue for this company.

 

[redeye58]

I feel your pain re: ordering except that our TL didn't order enough so we ran out of regular supplies frequently & had to call our nearby sister stores so much that they're ordering extra now. Good thing is they'll offer a trade so we can sometimes get rid of some items we're heavy on.
It takes a while for a SBTL (or FATL) to get their feet under them because they have to become the go-to person in short order. As others have said, focus on what YOU can do & lead with best practices. If she can't give you the info you need find a way to dig it up & share it with your other SBTMs if needed.
At this point, she's overwhelmed. Don't be part of her problem; be part of her solution.

 

[waterspout]

I wouldn't do anything except not let her ring out on your number anymore. That could come back on you. As far as the over ordering ... Who cares. Just let her be.

I will say one thing about working off the clock. It makes it harder on everyone else when people do that. It falsifies how much can actually be done. And creates the impression that that amount of work can actually be done. So corporate will just cut hours back more.

 

[whippingboy]

Your TL is setting the "culture" for your work center. She is providing the example. Definitely learn from her mistakes and offer her help, but do not imitate the bad points. She is breaking compliance by working off the clock, cashing herself out and using your numbers and is showing the rest of you that either she doesn't care or that it is ok. And the fact of the matter is: it is NOT okay. These are reasons people can get fired. Certainly I hope someone has made this clear to her or she will be out the door at some point. Cashing herself out could be a hotline issue. Also, be completely honest in the yearly Team Survey about her.