15 Things I Learned From Working At Starbucks

Starbucks is a big company. It can afford you to remake drinks and give away free drinks all the time. So if the customer has any complaint, just give them a free drink or offer to remake their drink.

By Betty Chin

Updated 10 years ago, July 7, 2014

The customer is always right

You might think this is quite obvious and broad since its the rule of thumb in customer service, but the extent of customers being wrong and totally off target is probably 1 in 3. Most people who come in don’t know what exactly is it they want, so double checking their orders is a must. Thing is, even if they say their drink wrong, asking for impossible drinks, and making up random drinks that we have no idea how to make and or is not on the menu, one must always say yes. Most importantly is to not make the customer sound like he/she doesn’t know what the hell they’re trying to buy.

Make the customer happy

Similar to number 1, Starbucks is a big company. It can afford you to remake drinks and give away free drinks all the time. So if the customer has any complaint, just give them a free drink or offer to remake their drink. Don’t be stingy, Starbucks can afford it.

There’s a lot of crazy people in the world

It’s not just people who haven’t had their caffeine in the morning and being rude and grumpy. I mean those that are actually crazy. There is a surprising amount of people that behave out of social norms in this world. Examples include people that try to come into the store before it’s open or after it’s closed. People actually bang on the door and get really upset when the door is locked and the lights off. Well obviously we’re not open. Why are you getting all upset and trying to talk to us through the glass? And when you make a big fuss trying to open the door, we come and tell you that the store is closed, you still refuse to believe that it’s already 10pm. I honestly feel sorry for you because you have some issues and you need help.

Working with people that just doesn’t give a shit is very frustrating

The majority of Starbucks employees are young adults or early twenty somethings. Although it’s fun to have a variety of people on the team, it makes it quite difficult to work together since there’s such a huge generation gap. I’m not saying all young people don’t give a shit about their jobs, but most young people who apply, are only there for the perks and free drinks. They don’t care about quality, they’re just there to get paid and to drink unlimited starbucks like the little white bitches they are.

I’m not here to make friends

Related to number 4, if you’re doing something wrong or not up to standard, I will tell you. If you hate me for it, I couldn’t care less. As long as you’re doing things the right way, I don’t care if you talk behind my back, hate me secretly or publicly, act like a high school girl, whatever.

Use two pitchers when you have to make an extra dry cappuccino

First off, I have no idea why people even order extra dry cappuccinos, especially if they ask for all foam no milk. I mean, you’re paying 5 dollars to drink air bubbles pretty much, not to mention it’s a pain in the butt to make.

Korean people that order an Americano (iced or hot) don’t need room for cream

Pretty self explanatory. How to recognize a Korean, that’ll be another topic…

There will be times when customers reach into or walk behind your counter/bar area to grab things

When this happens, just keep calm and take a deep breath. Try to block them from entering your space if possible, and smile, ask them what they need and say you can get it for them. Even if you hide your stoppers or sleeves, they’ll find a way to reach across all the barriers you set up and grab things themselves. And, yes, I’ve had customers walk all the way around and into our bar space to grab a stopper. I don’t even know how… honestly.

Ask for the things you want

If you want to get promoted, talk to your manager. Don’t expect people to just read your mind. Even if you might not be qualified, ask anyway. Because the more opportunities you ask for, the better chance you’ll get them.

Some things are more important than others

When you’ve got three timers peeping and the oven going off at the same time, and a huge line up all the way to the doors, there is an order of priorities. It’s not really something that can be taught.

No one’s going to pick up after you

If you leave your crap behind after work, someone will clean it up, but it’ll soon be known to everyone that you act like a baby and there’ll be angry notes in your locker with something along the lines of “your mother’s not here to pick up after your shit”

Sweep before Mopping

I don’t care what you do at home to your own floors, but at Starbucks, we sweep before mopping.

4 dollars out of the 5 dollars you pay is presentation

Presentation is everything when it comes to making a drink. For example, the contents of a frappuccino is nothing but, milk, coffee, and syrups. But making the whip cream and toppings look nice is what most people who come in wants to buy. People buy Starbucks not for the coffee itself, but for the brand, the image of Starbucks. Thus the infinite pictures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Do you see people post pictures of Tim Hortons coffee online? Point proven.