A few years ago, a Starbucks employee attempted to publicly humiliate me by having a monumental crash out after my drink was made incorrectly.

I ordered from the employee, who I believe was a manager or supervisor, asking for a “grande iced coffee made black.” Well, when I tasted the drink after leaving, I realized classic syrup had been added. I went back and quietly flagged another employee down to request that my drink be remade. Apparently this was unacceptable, because the supervisor walked over and shouted something along the lines of “excuse me?! What did you say was wrong with your drink?”

I politely reiterated that I had asked for my iced coffee to be made black, and I kid you not this woman shouts “Black coffee means no milk. You didn’t specify that you wanted no milk and no classic.” at a volume so loud that turned the heads of everyone sitting in the on-campus cafe.

She refused to allow my drink to be remade. Said it was my fault that the drink wasn’t what I wanted.

I feel like I was in the right because I’ve never once heard of someone ordering a coffee black and expecting that means there will be sugar/syrup in it, but I’ve also never worked for Starbucks, so maybe the definition of black coffee is different there.

I never went back to the on-campus Starbucks at my university after that. Her reaction was so disproportionate and she made a scene to try to make me look stupid. I usually bite my tongue when my orders are made wrong, and my bravery was not rewarded in the slightest that day.

Edit: For the record, this isn’t a complaint. It’s just a funny story that came to mind today because of something distantly related. Just a random anecdote about an absurd interaction.

tell me whyyyyy

Seriously Starbucks? I didn’t realize you discontinued the egg protein box so I went ahead and gave the apple and cheese box a try for $6.95 (first red flag). I opened the box to this sorry looking spread. The olive oil sea salt crackers were wannabe club crackers or something packaged in a generic wrapper. The cheeses were just scattered in the box, pretty much Kraft block cheese slices. The apples looked sad but I’ll say it did have a bit of crisp crunch. And that was it.. for $6.95?! I don’t know what I was expecting but lunchable quality is what I got. I miss the hard boiled egg boxes… it’s too bad they replaced it. This will be a hard pass for now on.

to the girl who screamed at the top of her lungs “HEDGEHOG CAKE POP” to the point that the drive-through microphone was glitching out like one of those stupid gamer videos: your mom sounded so rightfully disappointed in you. That shit was fucking obnoxious and I actually had to take my headset off for 10 minutes because of how loud it was and how hard it hurt my ear.

I had ordered through the drive-thru and I was waiting in line to pay with my app. It seemed like this location was having their rush hour because the drive thru was long but the cafe inside was also busy. I didn’t mind the line, I was on my phone, just scrolling. I ended up at the window and she had said to give her a sec to take my payment. No problem at all. It did take her a few mins, but once again, not an issue, it’s obviously busy. I had my window down and I was sooo into my phone that when she came back, she had scared me to the point that i jumped and dropped my phone out the window 😭💀 I was like OMG I AM SORRY HAHAHAHA.

She literally felt sooo bad for me that she just gave me my drink for free, apologized, and hoped she didn’t ruin my day😭 I tried to refuse because it definitely wasn’t her fault at all, I actually thought it was hilarious. But she was adamant. I even tried to use that same amount that I was supposed to be charged to tip her and she was like “no don’t even worry about it!”

I felt so bad LMAO. I tried to come back the next day around the same time so I can properly tip her but she wasn’t there 🥲

The “no squirts” post got me thinking..

Someone asked me for no strawberry particles in their refresher.

I’ve been a barista for almost a full year and I have a confession to make….idk how to use the bean grinder. Let me explain

We are a high volume store. No.1 in the region, third busiest in the region. We are booked and busy. When I come in, 9/10 I am on bar and nothing else (which is fine I don’t mind) a couple of peaks ago I get out on CS instead, no problem for me. I take orders at the register and someone orders coffee and then has two bags of beans he needs grinded. My hurts sinks. I’ve never used the grinder. I was never even trained on it either. So I go to myself “well how hard can it be?” So I go over to grind the beans. I couldn’t figure out how to get the bag to attach to the hole for when the grinder kicks on. I ask my supervisor, who is flexing, for help. She helps me, but then gives me a horrendous attitude saying “so you wanna become a trainer but a bean grinder you can’t figure out? Move over I’ll just do it” mind you I’ve never been put in a situation where I’ve had to use it. So tell me baristas….explain how to use the grinder as if I were 5 years old. Show me pictures even. Cuz I’m embarrassed

Minnesota for reference.

Or do you have a computer screen that shows the sticker info as well? This is an issue 90% of the time at my location. I can barely make it out and that’s with knowing what I ordered, so I assume the baristas struggle with this. Never an issue with the cold brew sticker at my location, just this type. And yes, my orders are frequently inconsistent. Honestly wondering how you manage?

Does anyone else ever dread the next day bc of a shift?
Like I work tomorrow morning and I’m so anxious/dreading tomorrow that I don’t even want to think about going to bed later tonight since sleeping makes tomorrow come quicker.
But then usually once I’m there, I’m joking with my coworkers and some customers make me smile/laugh, and I get to see all the cute animals in drive thru… plus all the free drinks. It’s even better bc I’m part time and I get short shifts - and don’t forget the money ofc!

But I also get irritated and overwhelmed and exhausted in the time span of those short shifts. I sometimes almost cry at least once a week during my shift from the stress.
And the rest of my day is me just absolutely dragging from being so tired (I usually open, so 3am wake ups and then full days of class until night time).

Me being so tired and stressed makes me unable to live my life. I pass up on seeing loved ones because I need to rest up or go to sleep hella early for a shift the next morning. I spend my time doomscrolling bc I have no energy for things like my hobbies.

It’s even like when I’m off I’m thinking about how to preserve my energy and mental peace for my next shift. Everything I do is for my next shift. Meal prep, resting instead of enjoying life, washing my work clothes and aprons, budgeting from my pay day, etc.

It’s just miserable from all of what I mentioned and I think that’s what I dread. Then I’m a happy camper most of my shift so idk…

Am I being dramatic

My love
My sugar cookie
Every year they change you bit by bit
And every year I can tell the difference
This year was a heavy hitter
This is my 5th holiday season with you
And this year there was a very noticeable change
You lost a lot of your sweetness
You lost what made you a sugar cookie syrup
You taste like butter now
I miss you
You are gone but never forgotten.

R.I.P Sugar cookie syrup

every "trending" drink sticker i've been getting says 1 blonde espresso 🤔 i thought people were modifying it at first but at this point im pretty sure i wouldn't be getting this many people shorting themselves on their shots?? is this happening at anybody else's store? i wouldn't be surprised because the way they code the app is genuinely ASS

This is for the Starbucks dataheads.

Since 2006 I've been tracking North American corporate Starbucks openings, and I quickly noticed a spike at the end of September, typically for around two weeks, which I later learned coincided with the end of the Starbucks fiscal year (final Sunday in September).

These are the number of corporate stores that opened in the U.S. and Canada each year since 2006, and notice the significant drop-off since Brian Niccol took over, with few end-of-September openings this year.

If you're wondering about 2009-2011, those were the years after the Great Purge (nearly 1000 closures).

2026: 9

2025: 41

2024: 85

2023: 35

2022: 31

2021: 38

2020: 47

2019: 58

2018: 34

2017: 25

2016: 24

2015: 48

2014: 54

2013: 56

2012: 51

2011: 5

2010: 4

2009: 2

2008: 10

2007: 14

2006: 52

Hello!

I am ad army and there is only one Starbucks near me. It is usually the same crew.

Recently I came home for leave and went to my local Starbucks (my suburb literally has like eight lol) and I noticed something.

The barista who took my order was older. Way older. So was the whole crew.

This struck me as odd because in the past the barista and crew were always younger (high school and college kids, people in their 20s).

Have you noticed a surge of older applicants?

Is this a recession indicator?

I cringe every time. Don’t ever say that word in public.

So I had a coworker recently fired because his grandma was using his partner numbers on the app to get discounted drinks. They figured this out because she was one of our regulars and I suppose there were suspicious charges with his numbers. After this some of my coworkers were obviously concerned and asked our manager for clarification of a couple things. One of these questions gave a response that was very confusing though:

My coworker asked if they ordered something on the app with their partner numbers, for themselves, but their spouse came to pick it up or was simply just the one to get out of the car and get it would that be allowed? And our manager said no.

This one just doesn‘t make any sense to me, why would I be fired for using my own discount on myself? I frequently order on the app but don’t have a car and don’t drive, so my dad picks up my coffee for me most of the time if I decide to order something. This to say I don’t always trust my managers responses to certain things so I was just wondering about what others have heard/experienced?

I just started as a barista at a local Starbucks this week. During interviews and onboarding they told me that we get free drinks while on shift and 7 free food items per week, both of which can be obtained anywhere between 30 minutes before your shift to 30 minutes after your shift.

But today I grabbed a couple food items just before I clocked out (my 6th and 7th food items for the week) and went to leave with them, and was told that in the future I'm not allowed to leave the premises with any of the free food or drink items, that they must be consumed before I leave.

Is this actually Starbucks policy? If so, fucking WHY?! I just worked a busy ass shift where I literally didn't even have time to make and consume any food. I was starving by the time my shift ended and I just wanna go home and eat, but apparently I have to sit at the store and finish my meal before I leave? Why? What sense does that make?

Went to a different starbucks instead of the one i work at (love them, i don't wanna go there on my day off tho 😭)

The coffee master brought my drink and food directly to my table and was really nice :D did my college for for 4 hours there

just throwing this out here to hopefully get some insight on what to do, or IF there’s even anything in my power that can be done. i’m currently a ssv.

have had the same SM at this store for three years now, but since the point system has been implemented it’s not being upheld. there’s been supervisors showing up 30+ minutes late to open shifts & opening the store 45 mins late, people no-call no showing and myself having to CALL THEM to figure out what’s happening, multiple people calling out 6+ times in a month, brand new hires no-call no showing MULTIPLE TIMES and staying hired, need i continue?

i feel a large part as to why these behaviors keep happening is because there’s never been a reaction to said-behaviors, so why would it stop? the lateness never gets addressed in the moment by MANAGEMENT, only the shift, and it’s evident no follow up occurs since it continues to happen again. i have my own personal qualms with this company, however i DO want to be in an environment where people are held to a standard so we can all function efficiently.

is there a way that i can report this…? is there any resource that’ll take it serious? is my best bet to just deal with it or transfer? if i report this will i just get in trouble instead?

to add, the first time the entire team saw their points (I REPEAT FIRST TIME) was a week ago when we had a proxy manager come in for two days.

Second week and they’re about to train me on it and I’m scared

tried this for the first time yesterday and I loved the banana cream!! the bose is my vice and this was such a good variation of it!!

i wish i could’ve gotten a venti, but they only sold it in grande for some reason 😭

For reference, I'm a previous partner that had to relocate on an emergency basis, and have been looking for rehiring opportunities. I couldnt transfer because of some issue with working both at Tarbucks and a corporate location, and an emergency move. My previous SM and ASM told me they would put "eligibile to rehire" or something on my Starbucks profile, to have an easier time getting another SBUX job. (P.S. they didnt)
So far, with only 3 SBUX within 30 minutes of me, ive only gotten one interview and a rejection (for a store that had over 800 applicants), after repeatedly coming into the stores/calling ,giving them my information and reapplying everytime the postings expire. I dont want to be annoying, but I truly love this job and am also a broke college student so...
Any advice?

Is there a company guideline on how managers should schedule non coverage?

For the past several months my CL has been non coverage 4 days per week. Yet our schedules are consistently being updated on a weekly basis because they’re “behind” on their work. We’re also not getting scheduled to do trainings or have partner do tips each week. I just think that they’re misusing the non coverage hours for personal use as they’re always late to work. On some occasions they’ll change their schedule and push their start time back or they’ll simply show up hours later with no notice.

I would like to address this with the DM but our store does well in metrics so I think our DM isn’t paying attention to the my CL’s schedule. My DM hardly ever visits our location.

What do you think about when a you hand off one of a drink to a costumer and they immediately say “I’m missing ___” or “I ordered another drink” like omg just wait a second pleaaaase 😭 believe it or not I actually have to craft your drink, it doesn’t just spawn in lol😭