19 Things You Didn’t Know About Being A Starbucks Barista

18. Everybody Assumes You’re A Failure

Two of my sources for this article have college degrees, yet everybody assumes they’re high school dropouts working at Starbucks as a last resort. As a barista, people feel they can mistreat you, offer unwarranted career advice or just plain insult you. I’d like to see somebody try that on a barista with a black apron.

17. One Day, You Just Kind Of Know How To Make Everything

Learning the drink menu at Starbucks is an instant occurrence. First, you’re struggling to remember ingredients and directions. Then, you’re an expert. It just sort of happens.

16. There Really Is No Secret Menu (But You’re Expected To Know It Anyway)

There is no official Captain Crunch or Cotton Candy or S’mores frappuccino, but god help you if you don’t know it. Here’s a tip for the non-baristas out there who want a fancy nonexistent drink: have the Pinterest ingredients list ready.

15. Your Power Is Fickle

Is there a nice customer with an adorable, friendly dog? Sure, dogs are allowed in the store! Is there a rude person demanding extra shots? They’ll have to pay for it when polite regulars get them free.

14. Getting Robbed Isn’t The Worst Thing That Can Happen

Robberies do happen, but your responsibility is to just hand over the money, get them out of there, then call the cops. No heroics and no stalling. Whatever is in the till is negligible to the billion-dollar corporation that is Starbucks. Your life and the lives of your customers aren’t.

13. The Harassment and Discrimination Is

Starbucks baristas get mistreated by customers. A lot. If you’re not a straight, white male, chances are you’ve been called slurs, been hit on and been insulted. Some of the cases I’ve seen include an Asian woman getting bowed to by customers who thought it was funny, a long-haired man being called a homophobic slur, and Hispanic baristas having racial epithets thrown at them.

12. You Learn To Love and Hate Customers Based On Their Drinks

As a barista, you will have regulars. You will love them and hate them based on not only how they treat you, but on what they order. No foam latte John? Easy to make, love him. No-ice, no-water iced tea, shaken with ice and 20 packets of agave honey? What a horrible person, I’m pretty sure nobody loves her.

11. You Learn How to Speak Starbucks

You’ll realize that a lot of people don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to what they want. People will say caramel cappuccino, but you know they’re after a frappuccino. People will order drinks from the McDonald’s menu or Coffee Bean, but you know what they mean. People will also try to use fancy coffee terms, but you know their dry latte is really just a cappuccino. You learn how to translate what people say into what they want.

10. Drawing On The Chalkboard Is The Best Part Of Your Day

Apart from quitting time, the moments you’re allowed to be creative on the chalkboard can make your day. Under the guise of completing complicated drawings, you can avoid the rude customers and have a moment to yourself; that is, until your boss yells at you to come help with the rush.

9. You Will Always Smell Like Coffee

You better love the smell of fresh roasted coffee, because you will smell like it. People will compliment you on your perfume or lotion, and when they ask you what it is, you get to say “Eau de Starbucks.”

8. You Have To Deal With Some Hardcore Fanatics

That is an image of a jewelry-grade, sterling silver Starbucks card that costs $200. You’ll probably never see one in real life as a barista, but they exist for a reason: people can be insanely fanatical about their Starbucks. You will see the same customer three times a day, ordering the same thing. Baristas have even seen customers get physically violent over their drinks (“what do you mean I can’t have a pumpkin spice latte in Spring?!”).

7. And Hardcore Idiots

It is a common occurrence at Starbucks for people to order their drinks, then walk out and forget them. People will order a Venti whole milk caramel frappuccino with extra caramel, but ask for no whipped cream because it’s fattening. This image is from an actual return made by a Starbucks partner. People can really be dumb sometimes.

6. If You Run Out Of Supplies, You Have To Go Get More

Did your store somehow run out of milk? You’ll have to run to the closest grocery store and stock up. Run out of lids? You’ll be sent to the closest Starbucks to steal some of theirs. It rarely happens, but when it does, you better hope you have a car.

5. The Different-Colored Aprons Have Significance

The green apron means you work at Starbucks. The red apron means you work at Starbucks and it’s the holidays. The black apron? That means you’ve dedicated years of your life to studying coffee, attending special seminars and training. Only the Coffee Masters get to wear the black apron.

4. You Get Free Stuff. A Lot.

You get bags of leftover pastries and protein plates, cakes and so much more as they reach the end of their shelf life. Your home is a collection of delicacies — and you eat all of it.

3. You Have To Make The Weirdest, Most Disgusting Drinks

Then you have to watch people drink them. Happily. This image? That many pumps would be saccharine. Customers would pick a drink because it has a low calorie count, then overload it with pumps of sweetener and flavor. You made it, and that means you know just how gross it is.

2. Your Friends and Family Try To Use You For Free Drinks

Friends will drop in to your store, pretending just to say hi, but they’re really after a free latte. Your mum expects you to bring home a frappuccino for her at the end of the day. People get used to there being an assortment of Starbucks pastries at your house and come over for the pecan tarts. That said, they’re your friends and family; you don’t mind as long as they don’t abuse the privilege.

1. You Make Incredible Friends

You may hate the job, but you’re hating it with a couple other people you see almost daily. This job forges strong friendships as you face creeps, crazies, fanatics and idiots — together! These are people who understand your pain and your struggles, and chances are that’s a strong foundation for a beautiful friendship.

 

Sourced from rantlifestyle.com