10 and 10

OK, so awhile back I posted a blog on MySpace about my job at Starbucks. I figured I would post it on here for kicks and giggles. Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Well, I think I've officially worked at Starbucks long enough to post the following blog:
I've decided to post up a list of the top 10 reasons why I love to work there. And then for fun...my top 10 Starbucks "pet peeves" which I am sure MANY of my co-workers on here can probably relate to. Muahahaha. So, here goes!

Top 10 Reasons I love my job

1. The people I work with ROCK.
I can honestly say that there is not a single person in that store that I find difficult or unpleasant to work with. And after coming from my last job, it feels almost surreal...but in a good way:-) And it's crazy, because there are about twenty something (I think) partners at that store, so whenever you start a shift, you never really know what combination of people you'll be working with. If you're in a job where you don't really get along with people, that could be a weekly nightmare. But I have NEVER walked away from a shift thinking, "I hope I NEVER have to work with them again." It's usually the opposite feeling!:-)

2. NO dorky uniforms!
Yeah, we have aprons and can only wear black and white and khaki, but really, you leave smelling like coffee and usually covered with some sort of mocha sauce, chai, whip cream, or dish soap, so who would want to wear your regular clothes anyway???

3. FREE STUFF
The list would make anyone's mouth water..free drinks before, during and after your shift, free pound of beans a week, 30 % off any merchadise and drinks when you're not even working, pastry samples...yeah, we're lucky we're not all 500 lbs:-)

4. Flexibility up the waZOO
Last year at this time, I was living through the nightmare of trying to get the hospital to be flexible with my school schedule. I got some sort of system worked out, but I'm lucky I didn't drop dead, AND I lost my benefits with them. Here, it's simple. You fill out a form, they schedule you when you are available, NO problem. I feel like kissing the schedule every week when I see it...but I don't.

5. Speaking of benefits...
Yeah, you get them. And you only have to work 20 hours a week, on average. And from what I have experienced so far, they are good benefits as well. Starbucks actually spends more money on taking care of their employees than they do on advertising...if you think about it, they've never done a TV commercial. Pretty neat stuff.

6. It's OK to make mistakes
Obviously, it's not ideal to make boo-boo's, but people won't give you the lecture of the century and go squealing to the manager if they catch you in a mistake (can you TELL I'm bitter about my last job?:-). They'll give you a gentle reminder and assure you that probably everyone has made that or a similar mistake at some point. And then we move on. Drama-free. Gotta love it.

7. It's ok to have fun!
Yeah, we get super-busy and have to focus, but more than one customer has told me that it's the happiest store he's been in. We actually LAUGH. And yeah, we have to wash dishes, scrub out fridges, and mop the floors, but being able to talk, joke, and be silly while doing it makes all the difference.

8. You get to know some awesome people
Aside from my fabulous co-workers, I have met some pretty great customers. We have our regulars that come in at about the same time every day, order the exact same thing, and if you didn't see them come in for awhile, you'd start be become concerned (even about the not-so-pleasant ones:-) But some of them are just so darn sweet and loving, they are always able to brighten my day.

9. Fast clock
OK, we ALL have days, no matter what job we do, that seem to drag agonizingly. But since our store is so fast-paced, I feel like I have way fewer of these. Wanna kill an hour or two quickly? Hop into the drive-thru during the morning rush:-)

10. You learn a lot!
Sounds geeky, but it's true! Since we have to do coffee tastings, as well as learn many beverage recipes and methods, you learn a whole heck of a lot about coffee, how it's made, what goes with what, flavor characteristics to look for, etc. They don't call us "baristas" for nothin:-)


AND NOW FOR THE SILLY PART! No job is perfect...here are my top 10 Starbucks Pet Peeves. Enjoy!

1. People who come through the drive thru and ask me to name off all the pastries. People. We have a case full of about 30 different pastries. Do you really want me to list all of them when there is a line of 8 cars behind you? COME INSIDE. (No, I don't say any of that. Most of what you will read in this section is stuff that I would LIKE to say).

2. People who come through the drive-thru on their cell phone. All of you who are reading this...please don't ever do that. First of all, when you are taking their order, you can't tell if they are talking to you or their buddy. Second of all, they are usually distracted and often order wrong, thus creating havoc at the window when they pick up their drinks. Thirdly, if i'm at the window with a customer, sometimes I think they are talking to me, so i answer back. Turns out, they are on their phone talking into one of those dumb earpieces, and I feel like an idiot. It sounds like a random scenario, but trust me, it's happened numerous time.
OK, I realize that most of my peeves are going to be drive-thru related, but really, it's 80% of our business, so it makes sense, I guess. Moving on...

3. When people order at the drive-thru, get up to the window, and say, for example, "Could you add a mocha frappacino to that order?" Now, of course, we can't say no (although I'd love to have that option). But that leaves me with no other choice but to interrupt the people on bar, who are working on the drinks of the cars behind "Mocha Frappacino", and ask them to make the additional drink. So basically, the whole system gets screwed up and hinders us from getting the other cars through the line in a timely manner, which makes for irritable customers (especially if it's in the morning) and grouchy baristas:-)

4. When I spill. Yes, everyone spills and you probably aren't truly a barista unless you've spilled something (ideally on yourself), but I ALWAYS seem to do it during the worst rushes. One time when I was on front bar, I was calling someone's drink as I placed it up on the counter, and I ended up tipping it over, covering the ENTIRE pick-up counter and the lobby floor below it with the beverage. Don't worry, no one really saw except EVERYONE in the lobby. I then had to leave my spot on bar, grab a bunch of towels, and clean up the madness. Luckily, the shift on duty was good-natured and just laughed at me:-)

5. Now that I'm on front bar, how about when you're working it and a customer appears with the half & half carafe that's empty. Now, of course it's completely our job to replace it, and that I don't have a problem with. But when you're in the middle of a rush, you have 10 cups in front of you, milks steaming, shots pulling, other customers waiting impatiently for their drinks, and all of the chaos of drive-thru behind you, it's truly not ideal to have a customer with the metal carafe clearing their throat, tapping it on the counter, sighing, etc. Some evil part of my being wants to wap them over the head with it. But no, I smile and tell them it will be just a second.

6. We are COMPLETELY cool with remaking someone's drink if it's been made poorly, or even if it wasn't what they expected when they ordered it. But...when someone gives you a drink that's 3/4 of the way gone and tells you that it tastes badly and they want another one...come on. Who wouldn't want to roll your eyes at them? Or say something like, "I'm sorry you had to suffer through that many sips before you brought it back." But like I said before, I don't say it. Just smile and nod

7. OK, back to drive-thru. I seem to get a lot of people who I swear have never been to Starbucks before. They hem and haw (again, with a line of cars behind them) and ask me questions like, "What's a latte?" And really...perhaps I should admire these people. I say that because I would just never have the guts to go through a busy drive-thru line if I was unsure about what I was doing. It seems like the whole point of a drive-thru is getting what you want in a quick and timely manner. But if you don't know what you want...what's the point?

8. It's 10:57pm. You are working drive bar and are 3 minutes away from being done. The bar, the counters, everything around you is clean and shiny. You may get one more customer, but they'll just be nice and get one drink because they know you're almost closed and want to go home, right? WRONG. "I'll have 3 grande 6 pump chai, 2 pump pumpkin soy extra hot no water, extra foam tazo chais, please." No, I'm not kidding. Another night, it was FIVE venti mocha frappacinos. Evil, evil people.

9. Is it just me, or does the machine drawer ALWAYS only have to be emptied during a rush? Or how about the infamous "CHANGE BATTERY"??? Good ol' headsets:-)

10. Well, the only other pet peeve I can think of really isn't a pet peeve, just a sadness. I know I won't be at this job forever, but I do know that I will be truly sad to leave it. Yeah, it has it's quirks, like you saw, but in the end, they are really kind of funny and don't do permanent damage...I hope:-)

Well, there you have it. And as for my fellow Starbuckians...feel free to add your own ups and downs...trust me, it's fun:-) Loves!

The ring

Josh did quite well, I must say. We went shopping together once, and it was really just browsing. I gave him an idea of what I liked, and after that, he did it all on his own! I totally love it, and I think I am finally used to the presence of such beauty on my finger at all times; I must say, it feels pretty weird at first:-)

Here are a couple of other pictures of us for those of you who haven't met him.

Black Butte:-)

In Utah at 11,000 feet elevation!

In other news, I am doing well, but just really swamped and exhausted. At this point, June can't come soon enough for me. Doing the school AND work thing is really getting old, and I'm anxious for my life to get back to a somewhat steady and consistent schedule. BUT...I'm almost done, I love music therapy, and I'm definitely not turning back now! Plus, just today, I had a client who we had never heard say a word say my NAME. It's moments like that that remind me why I am doing this in the first place and makes the looney schedule worth it.

Hope life is well for all of you! Keep blogging...it's fun:-)