So Im sitting here at Starbucks having a drink and surfing the net when two people sit down at the table right next to me. Im not really paying attention to them too much but notice they are doing some sort of interview or something. Then, one person pulls out 4 dice and rolls them on the table. They say things like "double" and "decaf" and whatnot. Then the second person has to tell the first one how to make that specific drink. She hasnt been doing too well. Out of 4 rolls she hasnt gotten one right yet and the dice roller isnt being too understanding. I didnt know Starbucks was so hardcore with their training. Anyone here work at Starbucks or ever have similar training?
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Starbucks Training. Talk about Ball Busters!
- Thread starter Mr. Durden
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Never worked at Starbucks, but I have observed some of their employees studying their huge tome of training materials. From the looks of it, that training binder is at least 1,000 pages. 
i haven't worked there, but i know plenty of people who have...
and yes they are hard on the baristas, they need people who can make the drinks, fast, without error. they don't want people messing up the drink, because then its a wasted drink. they don't want people searching for the ingredients because then a line forms pretty fast usually.
its really not that hard since so many of the drinks use the same things, just different combinations.
and yes they are hard on the baristas, they need people who can make the drinks, fast, without error. they don't want people messing up the drink, because then its a wasted drink. they don't want people searching for the ingredients because then a line forms pretty fast usually.
its really not that hard since so many of the drinks use the same things, just different combinations.
I worked for Barnes and Noble in the cafe, and we served and our training wasn't nearly as extensive as Starbucks. At starbucks they wanted you to know all the details about each type of coffee and history and all this stuff. Which I think is pretty cool, You have to live up the Barista Title.
You have to really know what you're doing...I work at a small café. Last summer the people decided to just sort of let the training go and post little recipes by the machine for people to look at while they make the drinks.
That was a disaster. I had done it the year before and was properly trained, but nobody else was. The people I was working with would either be too scared of the machine or absolute idiots and make stuff terribly wrong.
The training is very important if you expect to actually make good coffee.
I'm not sure how tips and stuff work at Starbucks, but I make $8.50 an hour plus tips, and usually I'll average $3-7/hour in tips alone (cash). Not too bad. I also get really good tips if I put latte art into peoples' coffee...sometimes like 5 bucks per cup.
![latte-art.jpg]()
That was a disaster. I had done it the year before and was properly trained, but nobody else was. The people I was working with would either be too scared of the machine or absolute idiots and make stuff terribly wrong.
The training is very important if you expect to actually make good coffee.
I'm not sure how tips and stuff work at Starbucks, but I make $8.50 an hour plus tips, and usually I'll average $3-7/hour in tips alone (cash). Not too bad. I also get really good tips if I put latte art into peoples' coffee...sometimes like 5 bucks per cup.
Never worked at Starbucks, but I have observed some of their employees studying their huge tome of training materials. From the looks of it, that training binder is at least 1,000 pages.
The girl had that huge binder with her, too. Anyone else ever seen the dice thing though?
I have a friend who works for Starbucks. He had to make and drink everything on the menu during his training. He said he tallied it up later, and he drank enough for about 3 days worth of nourishment. I still want to work for them though....college has turned me into an espresso junkie.
Spending about 40 weeks a year living in hotels and the vile crap that passes for coffee in them, I seriously jones for Starbucks for a plain, strong coffee. Verona works wonders for my attitude. But, what I hate is waiting in line after a half-dozen folks ordering "mocha half-caf double-shot vanilla with a strawberry spurt and a no-fat whip" or some such nonsense, then I finally get up there and order just a medium coffee (emphasis on the medium. They can take the tall/grande/venti idiocy and pack it). You can hear a pin drop. It's like I stepped on a kitten or dropped a turd right there.
They need separate lines for coffee and foo-foo.
They need separate lines for coffee and foo-foo.
i get a grande, extra hot, double shot, half-caf, non fat soy latte. or i get a tall verona, or my favorite, kimono dragon (less acidity).
You have to really know what you're doing...I work at a small café. Last summer the people decided to just sort of let the training go and post little recipes by the machine for people to look at while they make the drinks.
That was a disaster. I had done it the year before and was properly trained, but nobody else was. The people I was working with would either be too scared of the machine or absolute idiots and make stuff terribly wrong.
The training is very important if you expect to actually make good coffee.
I'm not sure how tips and stuff work at Starbucks, but I make $8.50 an hour plus tips, and usually I'll average $3-7/hour in tips alone (cash). Not too bad. I also get really good tips if I put latte art into peoples' coffee...sometimes like 5 bucks per cup.
![latte-art.jpg]()
If you gave me a Coffee like that I wouldn't drink it.
It's too perfect.
Wow, were we separated at birth? I could have written your post verbatim.
We won't get into the arsehole in front of me at Dunkin Donuts (on the express coffee line) who ordered 6 dozen donuts and wanted to pick every last one. What's inside that one? How does the pink frosted one taste?
I don't think it's their official reply to this request, but I did overhear a server once tell a gentleman that regular coffee people such as himself "who don't enjoy the third place atmosphere and value the importance of sharing an experience with other members of their community are more than free to buy one of their coffee brewers and pick up some Starbucks coffee from their local grocer."
Can I get in line in front of you, pretty please? I'll only take a second...
lol yeah as long as you stick to the already brewed coffees.
but there is something to having a 'coffee lingo'. most things people really adore, like heroin, pot and cocaine to name a few, have their own lingo. for instance,there exists about 420 different names for marijuana (herb, chronz, trees, weed, buddha, killa, izzy, nugs, etc.). bartending school teaches one to speak the vernacular of alcohol. so i understand what starbucks is tryin to do... create hordes of caffeine addicts by creating a culture that emotes a sense of belonging.
Can I get in line in front of you, pretty please? I'll only take a second...
sure, as long as its pre-brewed.
i always get a triple venti soy white mocha. and actually i'm not much in the way at my usual place. they know my drink and usually have it going before i've been rung up.
Now that's someone way too full of themselves. The barista, not the customer. It's just a coffee shop, geez. Granted, terrific coffee, but they're not saving the world (not even one cup at a time), and it would be nice if they'd recognize that they're just another "evil American capitalistic corporation" like the rest of them...
sure, as long as its pre-brewed.
i always get a triple venti soy white mocha. and actually i'm not much in the way at my usual place. they know my drink and usually have it going before i've been rung up.
Absolutely! I'm in & out in thirty seconds or less, unless they hafta brew a fresh pot.
As far as the atmosphere & lingo, I take it with a grain of salt. It's a cute fad, as they go, and more than a tad pretentious, but harmless. I do appreciate the rare opportunity to actually sit down and have a few sips of my (boring) cup of coffee and read the paper, soak in a little of the place. I refuse to buy a CD though! (Ozomatli: $16.99 at Starbucks, $9.99 at iTunes!)
that's exactly right, marketers are not trying to sell a product anymore, they are trying to make associations with the brand. Those associations include an atmosphere of belonging, camaraderie, inclusion, style, social status, etc.
I love starbucks coffee, but I would rather buy my coffee directly from the farmer
Mine aren't quite that perfect, but it's not particularly hard to do. Just requires practice and steady hands. You steam and pour the milk a special way, and then you can make the pattern with the back end of a spoon.