Archived Struggling in Starbucks

[Shoomm]

I just finished my 3rd week, and I still feel like I'm flailing at least half the time with Starbucks. About all I think I can say I'm 100% confidant with (as far as drinks go) are standard coffees, cold teas/refreshers, and frappuccinos. I think I'm fairly alright with a standard latte, but everything else takes me a while to remember, if I do at all. I don't know if it's just because I'm not a huge coffee drinker myself, or that it throws me when the "all drinks of ___ type are like this, except for the one that isn't" come up, or a combination of issues. About 2/3 of my shifts so far have been Starbucks.

I feel like I should probably be much more up to speed on things, and my TL had a chat with me this afternoon to say the same. I assured them that I thought the training had been fine (the last couple jobs I had, I had next to no training at all). I believe I could get better, but my problem is that I'll start to get panicky if I feel rushed when I haven't fully memorized the tasks yet. Obviously, behind the counter there really isn't too much opportunity to not get rushed if there's a line.

I've done many register jobs before, and I felt probably 75% confidant by the end of my first Target cashier training shift. By the end of my 2nd day cashiering, I could just about go on auto-pilot already. The only thing I really had to call for help with this past Sunday was over a tax-exempt form that I hadn't encountered before.

I'm scheduled for a couple closing shifts by myself in Starbucks after this week, so the TL says we'll see how they go and have another chat afterwards. I'm a bit bummed, because I really did want to do well back there, but perhaps my ADHD brain gets a bit too overwhelmed with so many drinks and procedures at once. At least my TL was really nice about it, and I didn't feel like I was in trouble or anything. I just hope that if I end up doing only cashiering, I'll still get a lot of hours.

 

[Xanatos]

Every single Starbucks team member has felt that way at some point. You are not alone. I felt like a failure at first. Then after about 2 months, people started asking me how many years I had been doing it because I had it all down. You'll get it.

How much time (during your last couple of shifts) have been working with someone else and how much time have you spent alone? I'd really recommend spending some time just studying the recipe cards and then making some of the drinks that you are unfamiliar with. If someone is there with you, have them take care of guests while you spend some time looking at the cards (unless it's too busy to do that). If you're by yourself, hopefully you will have a few minutes without guests where you can do it. It does take some time to get it all down.

Lattes (and cappuccinos, mochas, and flat whites) are generally just espresso, milk, and usually some type of syrup. Tea lattes (like chai tea lattes) are similar, but they use tea instead of espresso. Macchiatos are just upside down lattes - you put the milk (and syrup) in first and the espresso is last so it sits on top. Americanos are just watered down espresso.

 

[Shoomm]

So far, today was my first time flying solo during my coworker's breaks. I didn't burn the place down, but I was not confidant, and I wasn't anywhere near quick with anything (started at least a couple drinks wrong, but I caught myself and re-did them). I did alright with customer orders, but I couldn't keep on track with the other duties at the same time, and I started to run out of a few things.

I've made several drinks just to learn them during slow periods on other shifts, but for some reason, the majority of the hot drinks are just not clicking with me well. I did spend the majority of one shift reading through all the training pages, and in trying to help myself remember them, I wrote down how to make most of the commonly-ordered drinks at my store.

I've worked concession at a theater before, and there's a lot of similarities as far as getting routines down, and ways you can multitask without screwing anything up. But of course in a theater, there's not nearly as many different products to memorize, and most of them don't have quite as many steps to make.

 

[Xanatos]

How many total shifts have you had in Starbucks so far?

 

[redeye58]

As Xanatos said, study the cards & keep them near the espresso machine for a quick glance.
If you're panicking because you feel 'rushed' you might need to mentally slow yourself to a speed you can manage until you've repeated drinks enough that you get more comfortable with the process.
Think accuracy before speed; once you get the order down you build confidence, with confidence comes speed.
During a slow period, try some of the less-common drinks: espresso macchiatos, con pannas, etc so you're at least acquainted with them.

 

[Coqui]

Like Xanatos said, ALL of us have felt like we would never get it when we started in Starbucks. I was almost let go because the TL I had kept having TMs return from the store they sent us to train uncertified. I told her where I was struggling and the way I was able to get it down was by practicing the drinks over and over again. When in doubt, pull out the recipe cards. It breaks everything down for you. I think what overwhelms us in the beginning is the thought that everything in Starbucks is customizable and we start to panic about that, but in reality, everything starts off as a basic latte with just different syrup or toppings, frappuccinos start off as just a coffee frappuccino with a specific syrup, or just milk if it's creme based. Take a breather and relax, have the recipe cards with you whenever you work and if you need more training, let your TL know. You'll do great, I didn't feel confident in Starbucks until three months later haha

 

[Yetive]

Yes, as Coqui says, it was about 3 months before I didn't have to think about how to make the drinks. Ask your TL to schedule you for more mid shifts if possible. I usually schedule my newer baristas exclusively mids for several weeks until I feel that they can work independently. How many closing shifts will you have had training before you are alone?

 

[Shoomm]

Including today, I've done 9 Starbucks shifts of varying lengths (3 each of opening, mid, and closing). I've got 1 more before I'm closing by myself for a few hours. I do feel I could probably get pretty good, I just don't know if I can get confidant enough quickly enough to make it work. Everyone's saying it takes a while to get comfortable with all the drinks and routines, but my TL and I both feel I should still be above where I'm at by now. I was preoccupied about it my entire shift today, until my TM sat down with me. I've got 5 shifts in a row there next week (all closing or mid). I hope I'll be able to cement a few more things in my head by then.

 

[redeye58]

Focus on one drink at a time if you have to until you feel comfortable; don't try to multitask either at the bar OR in your head.
One drink at a time.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Practice, sample, practice, sample.
From another thread:

1. For frappuccino, there are stickers that should be by the frapp station. They have the order and basic recipes for frapps. Ours is on the top of the milk fridge under the frapp area, so pull that out a little bit, and it should be there. Pretty easy, like the shakers.
   
   The hot drinks all start by steaming the milk. Pull down the pitcher until you hear the tearing paper sound, count to 2/3 for lattes/macchiatoes and 5 for cappuccinoes then put the pitcher on the tray to finish steaming.
   
   Next, cue shots. Push the button for the appropriate number/type of shots. For macchiato use shot glasses.
   
   While the machine is grinding the beans for the shots, pump syrup, if needed, into the cup. For lattes and cappuccinoes put the cup on the tray for the espresso. For macchiato, set cup to the side.
   
   Once milk and espresso are done, assemble the drink and hand off.
   Thanks
   @Yetive
   
   
2. Also going off of Yetive's guidance, the espresso machine should have a sticker on it detailing each step that Yetive just said just like the Frappuccino steps on the cold bar station. You follow that order every time either skipping a certain step when applicable. For example for a vanilla latte, you steam milk, cue shots, as the beans grind pump your syrup into the cup, place cup on the drip tray and pour the steamed milk into the cup once espresso and milk are done. If it was iced you would just skip the "Steam milk" step and move on to "cue shot".
   Thanks
   @CoquiAzul

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Good stuff:

↑
Decaf box
X = Decaf
1/2 = Half Decaf

Shots box
R = Ristretto
1 = Single
2 = Double
3 = Triple
4 = Quad
FR = Frappuccino Roast

Syrup/Sauce box
C = Caramel Syrup
CH = Chai Concentrate
CD = Cinnamon Dolce
CL = Classic
CR = Caramel Sauce
H = Hazelnut Syrup
HZ = Hazelnut Sauce
M = Mocha Sauce
P = Peppermint
R = Raspberry
SFC = Sugar-Free Caramel
SFCD = Sugar-Free Cinnamon Dolce
SFH = Sugar-Free Hazelnut
SFM = Sugar-Free Mocha
SFV = Sugar-Free Vanilla
TN = Toffee Nut
V = Vanilla
WM = White Chocolate Mocha Sauce

Milk box
B = Breve (half-and-half)
HC = Heavy Cream
N = Nonfat/Skim Milk
S = Soy Milk
WH = Whole Milk

Custom box
AJ = Apple Juice
ASK = Ask Me
BT = Black Tea
CHIP = Frappuccino Chips
CHP = Chocolate Powder
CNP = Cinnamon Powder
CR = Caramel Sauce (topping)
CRM = Cream
BLx2 = Double blended
D = Dry
XT = Extra Tea
F = Foamy
GT = Green Tea
HANDOFF = Alternate handoff
HN = Honey
ICE - Ice
K = Kid's beverage
Lt = Light (in front of other code)
LM = Lemonade
M = Mocha Sauce (as topping)
MT = Matcha Green Tea Powder
TOP = No topping
PT = Passion Tea
ROOM = Room
SL = Sweet'n Low
SP = Splenda
SR = Sugar in the Raw
STIR = Stirred
ST = Strawberry Juice
SUG = Sugar
U = Upside down
VP = Vanilla Powder
VB = Vanilla Bean Powder
H20 = Water
W = Wet
WC = Whipped Cream
X = Extra (in front of other code)
XH = Extra Hot
= = Equal
/ = No (placed over other code)

Drink box - Blended and Shaken Beverages
Frappuccino Blended Coffee
CF = Coffee
CRF = Caramel
CVF = Caffe Vanilla
EF = Espresso
JCF = Java Chip
MF = Mocha
WMF = White Chocolate Mocha

Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee
CFL = Coffee Light
CRFL = Caramel Light
CVFL = Caffe Vanilla Light
EFL = Espresso Light
JCFL = Java Chip Light
MFL = Mocha Light
WMFL = White Chocolate Mocha Light

Frappuccino Blended Creme
CHCF = Tazo Chai Creme
DCCF = Double Chocolatey Chip
GTF = Green Tea
SF = Syrup Creme
STCF = Strawberries & Creme
VBF = Vanilla Bean

Other Blended Beverages
BSL = Blended Strawberry Lemonade
CS = Chocolate Smoothie
SS = Strawberry Smoothie
OMS = Orange Mango Smoothie

Tazo Shaken Ice Teas
PT = Shaken Passion Iced Tea
PTL = Shaken Passion Tea Lemonade
PGTL = Shaken Peach Green Tea Lemonade
GTL = Shaken Green Tea Lemonade
GT = Shaken Green Iced Tea
BT = Shaken Black Iced Tea
BTL = Shaken Black Tea Lemonade

Drink box - Starbucks Refreshers beverages
BHR = Verry Berry Hibiscus
CLR = Cool Lime
VOR = Valencia Orange

Drink box - Hot and Cold Beverages
A = Cafe Americano
BC = Brewed Coffee
C = Cappuccino
CAS = Caramel Apple Spice
CDL = Cinnamon Dolce Latte
CH = Tazo Chai Tea Latte
CIT = Tazo Custom Iced Tea
CM = Caramel Macchiato
E = Espresso
ECP = Espresso con Panna
EM = Espresso Macchiato
GRTL = Green Tea Latte
HC = Hot Chocolate
HM = Hazelnut Macchiato
IC = Iced Coffee
L = Caffe Latte
M = Caffe Mocha
MILK = Cold Milk
MIS = Caffe Misto
SCR = Syrup Creme
SKCDL = Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte
SKHM = Skinny Hazelnut Macchiato
SKSL = Skinny Syrup Latte
SM = Steamed Milk
T = Tazo Tea
BLTL = Tazo Black Tea Latte
EGTL = Tazo Earl Grey Tea Latte
VRTL = Tazo Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte
TMIS = Tea Misto
VCR = Vanilla Creme
WHC = White Hot Chocolate
WM = White Chocolate Mocha

Holiday/Seasonal Drinks
CBL = Caramel Brulee Late
CRCF = Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino
ENL = Eggnog Latte
GBL = Gingerbread Latte
MCCF = Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino
CCCF = Chocolate Cookie Crumble Frappuccino
PM = Peppermint Mocha
PSL = Pumpkin Spice Latte
SCM = Salted Caramel Mocha
SCHC = Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
I know I'm missing some..just can't remember any more!
From another member

 

[Shoomm]

Had a bit of an... odd shift today.

I checked my schedule earlier in the day, and it hadn't changed--closing at Starbucks. So I go in, went to put my stuff away, said hi to another 'bux TM, and said I'd see them soon.
"What?"
"Well I clock in at 5, but I'm early."
"I thought you were cashiering today."

Uuuhh....

Turns out I had been switched to cashiering. Only two people scheduled while I was even seemed to know it had happened, but didn't have any information beyond that fact. Someone helped find me a red shirt to change into, and I hopped on a register. I even checked my schedule again on my 15 minute break, and it still said Starbucks.

I don't mind doing register at all. In fact, at least since I've been at Target, it's actually been (mostly) pleasant compared to everywhere else I've done so. I just thought the Starbucks TL was going to chat with me again, as they said, before anything actually changed. I will say I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of communication about it. Hopefully I can get some answers when I'm on register again Monday. I've got a lot of upcoming days that still say Starbucks, and I'd really like to know how accurate that actually is.

 

[Xanatos]

If I were you, I'd call the store and politely ask what's going on. It sounds like they thought you weren't a good fit for Starbucks (I've had 3 team members lately who were in the same situation) and they took you out of Starbucks and made some or all of your shifts into cashier shifts. And that's perfectly fine. My 3 TMs just had too much stuff going on in their life that they couldn't retain all of the information at Starbucks; the stress of their personal lives kept them from succeeding.

Having said that, they went about it all wrong. It's very disrespectful that they couldn't at least tell you about the decision that they made. Even a phone call... at least try something.

 

[commiecorvus]

If I were you, I'd call the store and politely ask what's going on. It sounds like they thought you weren't a good fit for Starbucks (I've had 3 team members lately who were in the same situation) and they took you out of Starbucks and made some or all of your shifts into cashier shifts. And that's perfectly fine. My 3 TMs just had too much stuff going on in their life that they couldn't retain all of the information at Starbucks; the stress of their personal lives kept them from succeeding.

Having said that, they went about it all wrong. It's very disrespectful that they couldn't at least tell you about the decision that they made. Even a phone call... at least try something.

This.

The learning curve for being a barista is basically straight up with a plateau somewhere around the thirty hours where you stop burning yourself and then hard up again till at sixty hours when you can finally get down that stupid special drink the yoga mom wants.
At 120 hours you should be able to juggle six different drinks and grab the next two orders coming up but that seems like magic right now.
Of course, you will still burn yourself just for fun because that's how the job works.

The fact is though, some people never get it.
Some people aren't meant to be chefs or bartenders either.
Don't worry about it, if that's the case.

 

[Shoomm]

Yeah, like I said, I don't mind that it happened. I know I wasn't doing very well there, and I'm bummed about that, but I accept it. I've got my own strengths, and they apparently just aren't the right ones to mesh well with Starbucks. But yeah, the handling of it is going downhill extremely fast. I'm fairly busy tomorrow and Monday before my next shift. If I can't speak with someone during that Monday shift, I'll make it a point to call or even take a special trip in early on Tuesday.

I've dealt with this kind of thing before, and it always ended badly. I did some temp work several years ago for an overnight shift. Labor Day was coming up, so I called the company I'd been working at to see what their Sunday/Monday schedule for me was supposed to be, and couldn't get an answer. I don't recall the reason, but I couldn't get hold of anyone who knew at the temp agency either. My roommate at the time was working for the company, and recommended I just stay home. It's a good thing he was right. It turns out my temp assignment had finished, nobody had notified me about it, and my door key code wouldn't have worked to get into the building. If I'd tried to, the alarm would have gone off and the cops would have shown up in the middle of the night.

Communication--simple, and super important.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Don't give up. you got hours. It was better than spot sending you home. Keep on coming in.

 

[redeye58]

Accept that your SBTL is a douche & too chicken to talk to you directly.
At that point, pick up & move on - the best way to show him how a professional acts.

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

It could be that they were really short cashiers and moved you over there to cover and might still use you for breaks and lunches. A lot of stores use that trick to save payroll.

 

[Shoomm]

Apparently, Starbucks got double-scheduled, and nobody noticed it until the last minute, which is why I got switched. Still seems odd to me that nobody knew about it, but whatever. It wasn't like the schedule was late or anything. Still haven't crossed paths with the 'bux TL again yet.

I did my first solo closing shift last night. Considering I hadn't worked over there in 7 days, and I'm still not very comfortable doing so, I think I did alright. I do know I have 2 things specifically to thank for that. The mid-shift was amazing in helping to make sure everything that could possibly be done before she left was taken care of. Secondly... the espresso machine's been down for the past few days. Apparently it broke late last week, nobody could come work on it during the holiday weekend, and when someone finally did yesterday morning, they discovered the water line was completely severed and had to overnight the part.

I'm sure that's a huge setback as far as sales are going, but I can't say that I personally complained about it last night.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

You can read our Starbucks thread under guides for more info.
https://www.thebreakroom.org/threads/starbucks.96/