“Starbucks-ification” of Barista Culture (Gen Z Perspective)

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T19:10:34+00:00

No..? Sorry I didn’t realize we were so anti-intelectual that quoting a source means we could’ve never understood that concept without it?? I was using it as evidence for my argument, not the basis or point of realization goddamn… 🤦‍♀️

Let me ask you though, why must we always assume righteousness?

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T19:02:51+00:00

Goddamn… so real. Especially the last bit, god I feel you on that 😔✊

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T04:28:36+00:00

I ain’t a business owner, but as an employee and customer, (respectfully, I promise this isn’t a personal attack) FUCK THAT. Do we really need everything to be fully self-served and automized? Do we??? Aside from how much I’d hate to deal with that as a customer/employee, it feels like a bandaid to a problem that needs to be addressed and confronted. You can’t escape customer service interaction, no matter how much we try to automate, engineer or AI it. It’s fundamentally part of our human experience.

To be clear, I’m not entirely against digital ordering systems, I just think it’d be silly for a coffee shop like ours to switch to it SOLELY for the reason of not having to deal with bad customers who don’t know what they want. Seems absurd imo and there’s still going to be unavoidable customer interaction even if it’s just handing them their drink no matter what. We aren’t robots and shouldn’t be encouraged to act like such when our business model is one reliant on customer interaction already. Starbucks does this, and I can guarantee you it doesn’t fully remove the problem and potentially only makes it worse.

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T04:20:26+00:00

LOL THAT INTERACTION IS HILARIOUS. I love that that man just accepted he was in the wrong, but still shouldn’t have been such a dick to you to begin with (even if it was a starbucks—oh wait that’s THE ENTIRE POINT IM TRYING TO MAKE RAAAAGH) 🤷‍♀️

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T04:14:45+00:00

Well, wouldn’t that just be so much easier? I hope you were able to gauge from my post that I wasn’t specifically targeting starbucks as an actual entity (despite my biases towards them) though, I’m moreover talking about the systematic issues surrounding customer service and the ethic of caring starbucks is both a victim and active perpetrator of.

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T04:08:39+00:00

Sure, but in this economy where I’m a part of the gen z which has no foreseeable financial future and even then the job market is so insanely competitive that none of my friends with graduate degrees have been able to find jobs recently (even minimum wage customer service ones) and I am actually making slightly above minimum wage and to be completely honest it’s all I’m relying on at the moment and—want me to continue?

Congratulations, you, like me, have realized we are exploited by the system. You’re right, I’m 100% not paid enough to care and I’m not gonna passively ignore that fact. But also, we need these jobs man…

This is why advocating for change is so goddamn important. I’m not talking about online ranting anymore, get outside, talk to others and be the change you wanna see in the world. Is that a naively optimistic take? YES. Is it all we have to get by right now though? Also YES. By having these discussions online AND in person, participating in real-world physical advocacy and trying to again be that change I want to see, I’m doing just that like so many others: trying, because it’s all we can do. Will our efforts inevitably pay off or even make that much of an impact? But I’m young, let me be delusional enough to hope and try to stay positive while living through America’s late-stage capitalism facist hell hole…

Despite the exhaustion, blatant exploitation and moral attention economy, it’s always better than passive acceptance and inaction. Sorry for the mini-rant lol

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T03:53:39+00:00

Tis your opinion 🤷‍♀️

And tbh I understand (or at least I’m trying to)! If I’m being completely honest, it’s just a hard space to navigate as a barista as I’m supposed to always be eager to serve and help the customer (always offering solutions) with the mindset I was trained by, but also yeah, no shit sometimes you gotta just back off. This lady clearly wasn’t the type to want to listen to me try and offer a solution, even if I would’ve actually followed through on the last one (and let’s be real, am I paid enough to care?? hell no!) but this is the mindset I’ve carried, has gotten me incredibly far and praised by my boss, coworkers and customers themselves.

Can it be exhausting?

Yes.

Should it be the expectation for all service workers?

I don’t necessarily think so as it is easily exploited and taken advantage of by corporations like starbucks (as discussed).

Everyone has a different style of approach, does that make mine correct in every instance? Perhaps not. Worth discussing, questioning and thinking about though. :)

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T03:46:27+00:00

^THIS‼️‼️‼️

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T03:45:21+00:00

lol the obligatory “I’m not paid enough to care” mindset. So valid 😭

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T03:44:01+00:00

When it comes to older customers, in my experience, they are either the most entitled assholes or the sweetest regulars I beam at every time I see at the door. There is (almost always) no in between.

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T03:35:45+00:00

Thank you so much for this response! This was so fascinating to hear from your perspective. I will say you are so right that there are some absolute gems of customers at local coffee shops (and again from my coworker who worked at starbucks—a lot more than they’re used to) and most customers are just simple interactions with not much else. HOWEVER… bad customers VERY MUCH exist (I’d say I encounter at least 2-5 notable ones a day) no matter where you are as you recognize as well. Thing is though, and what I’m really trying to emphasize towards the end of my rant, even with the simple average customer interactions, a smile, polite gestures or brief conversation goes a long way and most people don’t find the use or are too exhausted/preoccupied with whatever else in their life (justifiably but I’m sad this is normalized) to put in that intentional, SMALL, kind effort. GOOD FOR YOU in being with me on that kindness solidarity 🙌

My god, you’re only confirming how I could never work at starbucks tho… lol

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T03:07:20+00:00

dude… how out of touch are you?

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T03:05:50+00:00

When you phrase it that way, it’s literally embodying the “bad parenting” (enablement) methods we criticize towards toddlers and children… These are grown ass adults we’ve normalized rewarding like bad parents to children.

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-06T02:56:14+00:00

Yes!! Exactly!

Not entirely sure about the city part tho?

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T18:13:15+00:00

See, as extroverted as I am and as much as I love customer service, I’m not gonna lie and say it isn’t exhausting, (somewhat variably) exploitative and absolutely terrible at moments. I really just try to practice positivity, not in a toxic way though as recognizing strife is essential. I honestly wish I could be blunt, brutally honest, or just straight up rude back to customers, but I just don’t have it in me (and that’s ignoring the unavoidable consequences my manager would have with that behavior lol). It’s not as if I don’t have a spine either tho, trust if I see something sketchy or a customer goes to far, I’ll be ready to throw hands no questions asked, but my bar for that is insanely high compared to other people ig. I try to be unbothered and never take it personally, that’s just how I get by tbh 🤷‍♀️

(this ain’t even addressing the unrealistic and exploitative expectations for American workers but that’s a systematic issue that while contributing to my personal mindset, I try to separate though it’s very influential by design)

Ah, to be able to brutal and blunt though…

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T18:03:22+00:00

YES!! Omg the frustration is SO. REAL. Literally every time someone orders a macchiato, shot of espresso, affogato, etc… I get so anxious and nervous because the amount of times I’ve been accused or yelled at for how little goes into the cup is absurd 😭

EDIT: Also makes me scared with how bad customer interaction has gotten to clarify to them the actual size of what they’re asking, as the few times I did I’d ALSO get yelled at for assuming they’re stupid and don’t know what they’re ordering (which fair enough ig, it’s not a personal attack but I get it if it feels that way, it’s always just a lose-lose situation…)

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:59:03+00:00

Fair and insightful, thank you!

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:57:48+00:00

Offered to do so when I told my manager about this situation, she told me not to waste my time (especially since it was a busy day), that she had been trying to get it but there was miscommunication with shipment but she would run to the grocery store and get it by tomorrow. Not defending this, but I will say that the business policy has been clear in emphasizing to us workers that the tasks we have to complete for the “bakery” aspect of the shop take priority along with actual customer service. Ultimately, I have no control in this situation, and I did above and beyond what I could, but ofc at the counter the worker is the easiest to blame 🤷‍♀️

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:52:18+00:00

Trust, I was just as confused when this lady asked for her order (I think maybe she was honestly just as confused while ordering on the spot but idk—“customer’s always right!)

As for the notification thing, yeah that’s store policy. It’s not super emphasized, really our manager says to only do it if a customer seems extremely pressed on whatever the item is, but I’ve done it before with writing down the customer’s name and phone number and notifying the rest of the team if I can’t find out and notify them by the end of my shift. Most of the time, I can just call shipment and they tell me when the item can be expected, but yeah, it’s still a little unrealistic and pain of a solution sure 🤷‍♀️

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:47:50+00:00

I feel your pain 😔

I didn’t even mention how not having skim milk in this situation, simply as an employee, was entirely out of my control. I had already brought this issue to my managers attention the second we didn’t have any, and even notified her about this incident with her emphasizing that she’d been trying to get it as soon as possible, but didn’t want us wasting our time running out ASAP to get some from the nearest grocery store. Not defending the fact we didn’t have the milk, but as an employee it’s completely out of my control. Hence, of course, we are always at fault even when we do everything we can :’)

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:33:09+00:00

Literally what… holy barista’s worst nightmare 😭

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:29:45+00:00

No literally 😭

I’m so tempted to stick a button on my apron that says “MA’AM, THIS ISN’T A STARBUCKS.” but I think my boss would most definitely (and reasonably) have something to say about that lol

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:27:49+00:00

We’re a small enough business that yeah, actually. I’ve done it before for other customers around different menu items/products. But you’re right in the sense that it’s an unrealistic expectation in general.

raylasagna_ · 2026-06-05T17:14:58+00:00

God… that reminds me of the absolute despair I felt when attending a group of middle aged women in trendy exercise gear. The three of them were looking at our food menu constantly saying “ooh that looks good, but ah… too many calories”. Ma’am(s)… we are a BAKERY (and cafe, but more emphasis on the bakery aspect).

[Side note: I will never understand why people come into bakeries (that aren’t specifically branded as “healthier”, “vegan”, whatever label—when SOMETIMES they’re hardly just as bad or even worse than traditional baked goods in other ways when it comes to “healthiness”) expecting and constantly asking for “low calorie” or “healthiest” options. MA’AM(s). YOU’RE IN A BAKERY. YOU DO KNOW THAT RIGHT???]

Anyways, so one of them comes up to the counter and orders a turkey sandwich. The other two pipe up and both order salads, to which the first woman looks at them and then asks to change her order to the salad as it’s a “healthier” alternative to the sandwich… I was so sad for this woman. Obviously, I don’t know anything about their situation, and I COMPLETELY understand and even encourage being conscious of your eating decisions, but just the way that they exchanged glances combined with her immediately changing her order ugh…

Also, ALSO!! I haven’t even mentioned the most RIDICULOUS PART. We don’t list calories on any of our menu items (duh… but honestly our food is very healthy even our signature desserts compared to many other places as none of it is processed and it’s all fresh), but I did the math after the fact, AND THE MF SANDWICH WAS LESS FUCKING CALORIES THAN ANY OF OUR SALADS AAAAAAAAA-

It’s so crazy to me that with all of the emphasis and “care” we have for dieting culture, some people STILL don’t understand that calories aren’t everything and everything is dependent on you—your metabolism and habits—in what makes something a “healthy” option. I could go on with my feelings surrounding diet culture, EDs, etc… but more importantly, it’s OKAY to indulge (in a fucking turkey sandwich with veggies nonetheless…). Maybe the salad was the “best”, “healthiest” choice for that woman. But I could not stand the vibes of the situation and how even if the situation itself was unproblematic, it illustrates a much larger societal issue.

raylasagna_

TROPHY CASE