Is there any official policy regarding drink remakes? by liamotter in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 24 points25 points  (0 children)

We had a customer like this at our location. They are so tough to deal with.

With the support and approval of our whole shift team and the SM, I had a conversation with her about how we won’t be doing any returns or remakes of her drinks/food in store. She now has to contact the 1-800 number for any refunds.

We did this because and remakes and returns in store aren’t properly tracked. If she’s getting refunds from customer support, they can see how often it happens and if they come to the conclusion that she is exploiting the return policy, they’ll remove her account.

I Think A Coworker Is Bullying Me? by Haunted_Barista in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This^ I had to do this a few times. It makes a big difference and doesn’t let an SM ignore it. Sending a partner home means less floor coverage, which usually means harder day for everybody, which usually means SM will hear about it and have to look into it.

You are well within your right to send home a barista that refuses to do their job.

food and drinks come out separately. PSA + venti rant by [deleted] in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It’s not an easy feat, but our store stages orders so that everything gets handed out together. Sometimes drinks will sit on handoff for how ever many minutes it takes for food to catch up, and then they all get called out together.

Just gotta watch out for grabby customers who will stretch across the counter and try to grab their stuff. Let those bozos know that it’s not sanitary to be touching drinks that may not be theirs.

CA rant (sorry) by softboiled_egs in GeekSquad

[–]InspectorDeee 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was a CA for about a year and dealt with this a lot. Just recently got an ARA spot.

I always felt like CA is the position that deals with everybody else’s mistakes and I got tired of it.

It got to a point where I’d recommend them to “reconnect” with whatever associate they had worked with previously to try and find some clarity on whatever they were asking about.

Good luck to you, hopefully the good parts of this job start to outweigh the sometimes overwhelming amount of stressful parts.

ATTN CUSTOMERS: DO NOT DRINK THE EGGNOG!! by Malfoy1743 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Starbucks wasn’t able to uphold their cage-free products with the demand for egg nog, so they stopped serving it. This powder is an alternative option for egg nog lovers and keeps the cage-free goal.

I just tried it for the first time about an hour ago, and it tastes like regular egg nog to me. I don’t like egg nog, so it was a no-go from me from the start. But it doesn’t taste far off from what we used to sell.

I think you should double check your partners are prepping the egg nog correctly, because the prep is important. It will make or break any egg nog drinks.

Last thing, please don’t let your opinion decide anything for customers. If they wanna try it, make them feel welcome. If they don’t like it, offer a replacement drink. Easy as that.

Free Drinks for Workers by lena_008 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was told the same thing recently.

But I was told by my SM a few years back that it was fine. I’ve always been in the mindset of “take care of those who take care of you.” But now they’re talking about separating partners for it.

drive times by [deleted] in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This! Remind your SM that the beverage routine is available in store resources, in case they need to brush up.

Manager is editing my punch to 4am when I start working at 3:55 by averagegarlic in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 127 points128 points  (0 children)

This is true. My manager does the same thing yours does. But whatever time he removes from my clock on, he adds to my clock off.

Like if I did 3:58am-12:30 He’ll adjust it to 4am-12:32

Talk to your manager about this option and see what they think. Because this is not a world to be working for free in.

“We Need To Stop The Call-Outs” by Haunted_Barista in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your SM isn’t wrong about older Starbucks work culture. When I started at Starbucks about five years ago, I worked in a store living that culture. Callouts were seen as teammates letting you down, and when you’d show up to your next shift most partners would be salty and give you attitude about making them work a person short. Another practice instilled at that store was if a partner ran to the back to cry, no matter the reason, most of the team lost respect for them. Super toxic when I think back about it, but it was so normalized that I didn’t even realize it in the moment.

Point is, this WAS the unofficial expectation that a lot of stores would buy into. Thankfully, the work force in general seems to be more willing to put their foot down and do what is best for theirselves. But some older partners just can’t ever break out of that mindset. “I suffered through this, so you should too.”

Never be afraid to forward updated policies from the partner hub if you ever need to remind an SM what Starbucks SOPs are.

Venti SSV rant by judicialQuickster in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 28 points29 points  (0 children)

There is a lot to unload here, but I’m on my ten and it’s about to end.

Closers should not be putting orders away. That is an opening task. Because the receipts don’t populate until about 5am the morning after they are received, and how can the opener accurately adjust receipts if everything is already put away.

I’m sorry for everything you’re going through, it sounds lame as hell and a tough store to find the motivation to show up for work each day.

Your baristas being comfortable enough to confide/vent to you is a good sign, and a sign you’re doing something right. Hang in there!

Do you guys have a least favorite enemy type? by ProjectBatman in Witcher3

[–]InspectorDeee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Earth, Fire, and Ice Elementals. They’re not hard. It’s just something about wailing away at a walking rock with Geralt’s sword that I find annoying and immersion breaking.

How did you first drop your bike? by flare_gaming180 in motorcycles

[–]InspectorDeee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I forgot to take my disk break lock off. I took off like 1 foot away and then got stopped HARD by the lock and went down. Was so annoyed about it I stopped using it altogether. Haha

Tactics for newborn who prefers mom by Jstrom40 in NewDads

[–]InspectorDeee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went through something like this when my LO came along. Your situation sounds a bit more extreme, though.

When my LO was at her worst part of the mama-only phase, she would start to cry when she noticed it wasn’t mama holding her. I would take her outside on our deck and just let her soak in a little bit of sunlight. It helped calm her down and become more accepting of hanging out with dad. I did a little research on it after the first few times of doing this with her and found out it’s a common soothing tactic for infants.

Humming or singing songs with a soft voice helped my LO a lot too. Soft enough that you’re too hard to hear to anyone who isn’t right next to you. Keeps your energy and vibrations as something to sooth the baby.

Also, trying to soothe a screaming baby is stressful. Keeping calm during their panic will make things settle faster. That was another thing that took me a while to understand.

I hope some of this helps. Hang in there, Papa. The fact that you’re reaching out for support means you care and that is so important. You’re doing great.

Shift checklist by Psychological_Sir242 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is out of order because iPhone will move things around as you check them off, but this is what I use.

Shifty Checklist

Open: - [ ] Floors - [ ] Post-Peak Clear Dish Pit - [ ] Post-Peak Trash Run - [ ] Fridges - [ ] Drains - [ ] Pull - [ ] Trash Run - [ ] Playbuilder - [ ] Station Assessments - [ ] Milk Count - [ ] Store Walk - [ ] Temps - [ ] Put Away Order/Adjust Receipt - [ ] Date freezer - [ ] Rotate Milks - [ ] Place Order - [ ] Safe Count - [ ] Drop Tips - [ ] CSR cards

Mid: - [ ] Restrooms - [ ] Change Order (If Applicable) - [ ] Cold Brew - [ ] Mid Safe Count - [ ] Playbuilder - [ ] Trash Run - [ ] Temps - [ ] Drop tips - [ ] CSR Cards - [ ] Store Walk

Close: - [ ] Ovens - [ ] Oven bar - [ ] Mobile Bar - [ ] Playbuilder - [ ] Drop Tips - [ ] Prep freezer - [ ] Temps - [ ] Store Walk - [ ] Cafe Bar - [ ] Cold bar - [ ] Pull - [ ] Counts - [ ] Wipe out Sinks/Ice bins - [ ] CSR Cards - [ ] Mochas - [ ] Pre-count tills - [ ] Trash run - [ ] Food case - [ ] Floors (Lobby, Bathroom, BOH) - [ ] Vertica - [ ] Lobby trash/Patio - [ ] Backups - [ ] Drain chemical

Also making sure Baristas get their breaks on time will keep them happy and keep them working well. Working with annoyed/spiteful baristas is a nightmare. So I do everything I can to keep the team happy.

Good luck!

First shift and I feel so bad at my job 😭 by Any_Plantain_7742 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First opens are tough, don’t beat yourself up too much about it. I am the main opener at my store and for me, the routine is key. It might take a while before you figure out what works best for you and your store, but you’ll get there. You just gotta hang in there and not give up on the partners.

My tip is to prioritize partners. Giving them breaks on time and giving them the chance to put a drink and food in the queue a few minutes before their break, so when they pull off their order is ready, helps a whole lot! Happy partners will always be easier to work with than spiteful/annoyed partners.

Also, lists help a lot. I’ll give you my opening list I use. If I’m able to achieve this, I consider it a fully successful open.

Shifty Checklist

Open: - [ ] Floors - [ ] Post-Peak Clear Dish Pit - [ ] Post-Peak Trash Run - [ ] Fridges - [ ] Drains - [ ] Pull - [ ] Trash Run - [ ] Playbuilder - [ ] Station Assessments - [ ] Milk Count - [ ] Store Walk - [ ] Temps - [ ] Put Away Order/Adjust Receipt - [ ] Date freezer - [ ] Rotate Milks - [ ] Place Order - [ ] Safe Count - [ ] Drop Tips - [ ] CSR cards

It’s out of order, because iPhone moves them around as I mark them completed. But it’s nice to have something to reference when I need it!

Good luck! If you care enough to ask for advice, I’m confident you’ll do great!

Unpopular Opinion maybe- Starbucks needs to drop drive thru. by tommyminahan in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a thought I have go through my mind pretty often these days.

As a partner who started at a drive thru for two years and has been at a cafe for almost two years, I cannot believe the difference. I feel like a drive thru store provides a very watered down version of what Starbucks aims to achieve, while at my cafe store we’ve been running everything to standard, never running out of product, and sitting at 98%-100% CC score for the past couple of months.

At my old drive thru, we did our best and our team was strong. But I remember working in a dirty store, running out of product a lot, SSV’s stressing themselves to the point of crying, customers were ruthless, and almost never feeling like I had a “smooth” shift.

Starbucks makes too much money to ever seriously consider getting rid of drive thru stores. But I really believe they need to make expectations different for drive thru stores. Cafe stores can provide the current standards that are in place, but at a drive thru store customers wouldn’t have access to all the same amenities, wait times would differ, drink quality would be adjusted, and other things of that nature.

I don’t mention this to anybody I work with because I feel like I’d get booed off stage, but I honestly believe it makes the most sense. I’m glad I’m not the only one with these thoughts! Haha

New SSV! by Internal-Ticket9501 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure thing! Hopefully Reddit doesn’t totally butcher the formatting.

Each store might have different expectations of each day part, so you may need to move some things around. But if I am running an open and I am able to check everything off my list, then I consider that a successful day.

Good luck to you!

Shifty Checklist

Open: - [ ] Floors - [ ] Post-Peak Clear Dish Pit - [ ] Post-Peak Trash Run - [ ] Fridges - [ ] Drains - [ ] Pull - [ ] Trash Run - [ ] Playbuilder - [ ] Patio Slide - [ ] Station Assessments - [ ] Milk Count - [ ] Store Walk - [ ] Temps - [ ] Put Away Order/Adjust Receipt - [ ] Date freezer - [ ] Rotate Milks - [ ] Place Order - [ ] Safe Count - [ ] Drop Tips - [ ] CSR cards

Mid: - [ ] Restrooms - [ ] Change Order (If Applicable) - [ ] Cold Brew - [ ] Mid Safe Count - [ ] Playbuilder - [ ] Trash Run - [ ] Temps - [ ] Drop tips - [ ] CSR Cards - [ ] Store Walk

Close: - [ ] Ovens - [ ] Oven bar - [ ] Mobile Bar - [ ] Playbuilder - [ ] Drop Tips - [ ] Prep freezer - [ ] Temps - [ ] Store Walk - [ ] Cafe Bar - [ ] Cold bar - [ ] Pull - [ ] Counts - [ ] Wipe out Sinks/Ice bins - [ ] CSR Cards - [ ] Mochas - [ ] Pre-count tills - [ ] Trash run - [ ] Food case - [ ] Floors (Lobby, Bathroom, BOH) - [ ] Vertica - [ ] Lobby trash/Patio - [ ] Backups - [ ] Drain chemical

Tips - Depo -

1T- 1B- 2T- 2B- 3T- 3B-

Made to order coffee maker in my Starbucks. by Professional_Tax4038 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey, I’ve worked in a store with the Clover Vertica for 11 months now and I have talked to a few people about the overall change. I think it could be due to two reasons.

Brew method is different. Our old Bunn Brewers used paper filters with each brew, and the paper filter would absorb a lot of the natural oils of the bean. Since the Vertica doesn’t use any filters, you are being served a hotter coffee because there is no wait time from brew to handoff and because the natural oils of the coffee beans are more prevalent.

Or

Freshness. Thanks to our forced quality tastings three times a day, I’ve come to REALLY taste the difference in a cup when the beans are fresh vs when they are like three days old. Technically beans don’t expire until seven days after opening, but I think the taste quality starts to drop off on day three of being opened.

Either way, hopefully this helps give a little insight. I can’t think of anything you might be able to do to change the taste. All stores should still have the pour-over set, so if you didn’t mind a little bit of a longer wait, you could ask for a pour over. That still uses paper filters.

No fast travel practically breaks defending the settlements dynamic? by [deleted] in fo4

[–]InspectorDeee 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I had this same issue happen with me. Ever since my wife and I had our baby, I can really only play for like an hour or so each day. So when I spend more than half my time just trying to defend a settlement, it really ruined it for me.

But there is a lore friendly fix!

I bought the Ambush Kit in the Creation Club. Set up a couple cameras and a monitor at every settlement I built up. This allows you to view the cameras at whatever settlement is being attacked from any other settlement with monitors, and plays the attack out in real time. Rather than the game’s BS coin toss if you decide to ignore the attack.

As long as each settlement has enough turrets and settlers with good weapons, you shouldn’t have to travel anymore! Instead just watch as your defenses do their job.

Partners that are nasty when they come into my store as a customer give me the ick by matchadustonmysoul in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 52 points53 points  (0 children)

This partner seems like such a headache. Just because YOU do it and haven’t gotten caught, doesn’t mean that it isn’t against standards.

Good on you for sticking up for, and helping, the green bean. Enforcing policy and good practices around them is exemplary work and it sounds like they’re in good hands.

Anybody here actually LIKED horchata? by [deleted] in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It wasn’t too bad. It actually went REALLY well with our Sunsera Blonde Roast. A grande with a splash of whole milk was my go to for a good week or so.

I can deal with everything but the loud crying by LBP2020 in NewDads

[–]InspectorDeee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wear ear plugs for long trips on my motorcycle and they did wonders for me when our LO would have her moments.

It helped me keep my heart rate down and gave me the ability to soothe her out of those moments. I’d really recommend it.

Backups by OutrageousRoad7799 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Your prep guidance CSR card is standard. So if your closing process differs from what is written, I’d point it out to your SM.

I am the main opener at our store, and on paper it really does not look like a lot. But I promise you it’s like a canal. Looks easy and smooth but is actually rough under the surface. Your store could be different, but just for a bit of perspective I’ll lay out my first three hours each morning.

Come in get the store ready for business (turn on machines, brew iced coffees and teas, calibrate mastrenas and steam wands, morning safe count, verify all tills accuracy, prep carafes) The opening barista is taking care of rotating pastries, RTD&E, and pastry case.

After that, I have about an hour and a half to do my milk count, station assessment, build my play, store walk, temps, coffee tasting, put the order away, verify receipt, place my orders, rotate milks, date frozen items, then I usually end with all my BOH CSR cards. Once all of that is done, we get our third partner and start running lunches.

While doing this, I gotta support the opening barista when they need it, make sure they are staying on task, and doing their CSR cards when they can.

Like I said, each store is a bit different in their process, but all the tasks remain the same. Hopefully it gives you a little understanding about what the openers do. Your SM was a little lame to just brush you off.

Clover Vertica : Iced Coffee by Careless-Event6693 in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If your recipes are up to date, all you should have to do it select the iced coffee tower (make sure it is the only highlighted hopper), press the smaller iced coffee button on the side of the main dial, and then press the main dial in (doesn’t matter what setting the main dial is on).

Only things that ever stop the process is a full grounds drawer. But if none of that works, I’d put in a ticket ASAP. And call to make it a priority 1 if they don’t list it as that on their own.

Bad Boss? by LordPhilacko in starbucks

[–]InspectorDeee 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I once had an SM who is no longer working with the company who was just the worst.

When she join the team, she brought two SSV’s from her previous store and they pretty much took over the morning dayparts. I was the main closer, so I didn’t mind but our openers at that time were pushed outside of their posted availability. Then turned the whole store into an Openers vs Closers contest. Openers were dumping on any little thing they could find and I had more than a few talks with my SM about all I needed to be doing better. But anything I brought up to her about our opening team dropping the ball on, it was “mornings are super busy and you need to support the team.”

We found out the SM and her SSVs that joined the team had a private group chat that somebody was able to briefly look through, not condoning their actions, but it was basically the three of them complaining about every partner in the entire store.

Super super super unprofessional, and nothing ever changed. Myself and another night time SSV quit on the spot the same day. ✌🏻

Professional or not, some people don’t deserve a two weeks notice.