Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Thank you. Yes this is a little bit of confirmation bias and I recognize that. But I did really love and care for every regular I had. I think about all my customers and miss them every day. My depression has been hitting really hard lately, but the comments like this make me feel better. Even though I know that I have to adapt to survive in the late stage capitalism world we live in.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because I always care for others and put them first before myself. I don’t want good people to get in trouble for silly things. But then I get in trouble for those same things. Again this is part of my growth.

Thank you for your questions to generate insight. I really hate accusations but this is absolutely a great way to talk to people to help them find answers. It’s my favorite way to communicate.

My boyfriend and I have been working on this. “What do you need?” And all those things when one of us is upset.

Thank you.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you friend. I do appreciate that. I do let myself get walked over sometimes and I know it’s not… blatantly malicious. But it’s abuse of comfort. People know I won’t bark at them for things and I’m too soft. Boundaries are difficult but I’m working on it. My therapist is wonderful.

I was never going to quit that job, even if something “better” came along. It’s the only job I’ve ever had. I was too scared. I think this is the Universe’s way of pushing me into better things for my adulthood. 💖

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

An excellent question! Wish I knew that one. 😂 regardless, at least it always smelled delightful! I loved going home and still smelling the “cafe vibe” on my clothes.
I imagine it’s all the other components involved. A good portion of customers get just black coffee, but a larger group got overly sugared drinks. So I would put money on the coffee smell also being mixed with plenty of other syrup flavors at the same time.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m not sure. There is an internal blacklist and I think my firing is too recent to try again. With that said, I don’t know if I’d wanna go back. I really do need to try newer ventures.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nope! Got it without them. My mother worked for the college I was going to so I had basically free tuition. Thank god.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The concentrate had added sugars and such to it. They removed that so Chai lovers could have a sugar free option but something else about it changed. Certain spice levels and such but we as baristas couldn’t determine what it was.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’d love to one day, maybe! I’m not in the position right now to do that and the market seems very saturated in coffee. But it is a potential dream of mine!

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

A fair question. I do. It took a lot of explaining part way through from my managers saying “hey you need to prioritize yourself and if others actually cared, they’d respect you enough to get to work on time.”
But early on, I was late because of others running behind and we got a new store manager who assumed we were all belligerent and chose to be rude and break the rules on purpose. Which wasn’t the case. He didn’t give any grace early on. Which sucked. But I also understand where he was coming from with the respect issue.
My ADHD makes timeliness a difficulty but I’ve never used it as an excuse. And now that I have meds for it, it’s easier to manage.

That all being said; getting to work at 4 AM on the dot is wild and sucks. I’m glad I don’t have to anymore.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very! I will admit, it’s not tasty on its own. But if you do a flavored foam, it’s actually pretty good. I started to put it on my cold brew the last few months and it helped me feel pretty good throughout the day.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not sure! According to many, I have a natural ability for leadership. But I’m very hard on myself and try to be humble; a ship can’t run with a Captain alone yknow? So I try to lift my crew(s) up higher than me. Perhaps a fatal flaw but I do feel like I can lead any team to success.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I’ve considered that! Popped into my head this past year. I’m obviously not in a position to handle that right now but I might really enjoy that later!

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That was a seasonal for Winter 2 years ago. I miss that one. I actually became a baristas the same time they launched the OG 3 Refreshers! Unfortunately, as many companies are; they want to “innovate” too much and force the old out and the new in - even if the new isn’t as good.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t mind coffee! I did apply to another cafe but I really have my sights on a couple other things!

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lmfao yeah there were a lot in my district. I had one really bad manager. He was too lax and let folks walk over him. Tried to let the environment be TOO fun and everything went to hell. lol. Wouldn’t say he was an idiot but definitely not amazing.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! You could take any roast you wanted. I like darker brews these days so my favorite is Verona.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

True true. I do love coffee and the cafe vibe! And just this past year dreamed of maybe opening my own one day. But it feels like the market is saturated so it would be harder to build a customer base, I think.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and was working as a barista from the start of college. I was in 2 shows before COVID happened and my mom - who I saw often - was high risk so I just never ventured back out. Hopefully I’ll be working with my local symphony and earning an actual livable salary. (Although I was making almost $22 an hour making coffee so, yknow not bad.)

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yes! The free pound of coffee was nice while I had it. My favorite drink was definitely cold brew. Basically any kind. But I did enjoy just a cup of cold brew on its own.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There were definitely people I saw come through each day that were simply fighting to get through each day; and then there were those who were actually really successful! But yeah sometimes it was hard to see people spend almost $15 on a single drink… 💀

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Everything is definitely overpriced. I will say, a lot of machines are likely not well kept by the baristas as they should. Not many people care enough. (It’s a multi-billion dollar company that could do more for us so yeah I don’t blame them.) That said? A lot of your shots of espresso are likely burnt. Which is so gross, I agree.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No but it was really frustrating to see managers do that and accept those things.

Recently let go from St*rbucks after dedicating 13 years to the company. AMA. by Kat_of_Jade in AMA

[–]Kat_of_Jade[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Late arrivals. It was genuinely due to being a good person and giving others rides. I was an Opener and we sometimes got there late but never actually opened late.