Starbucks Barista

Starbucks Barista

Green Siren

Central, TX

Female, 26

After working all day in a cubicle, I'd spend my nights as your friendly, neighborhood Starbucks barista! I remembered your name, made each drink exactly to your specifications and did it all with a bright smile. I've served celebrities, worked both drive thru & cafe stores, worked every holiday and have kept the customers from knowing about all the craziness that goes on behind the scenes... until now. Ask me anything.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

164 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on June 12, 2016

Best Rated

Did Starbucks train you to use the tall/grande/venti labels, despite the fact that people find them more annoying than anything else?

Asked by dan79 about 12 years ago

Yes, they are just labels that Starbucks uses for their sizes. It makes sense when you know that in Italian, grande means large and venti means twenty (a large hot cup is 20 oz). However, most of us don't care if you say small/medium/large instead!

Did you ever play tricks on rude customers like switching their orders?

Asked by trynsave about 12 years ago

No, that would just create more work for me since I'd have to remake multiple drinks. For me personally, the best way to get back at a rude customer is to be extremely friendly and nice, while serving a perfectly made drink. Then what would the rude customers complain about?

So what's the craziest behind-the-scenes Starbucks story you have?

Asked by sara.schott about 12 years ago

I've been sitting on this one for awhile because I realized most of the crazy behind-the-scenes stuff is really only funny to other partners... But there were a couple things that happened to me or while working that were really nuts. 1) A woman (probably mentally unstable) threw a ceramic mug at the co-worker on register when we caught her trying to steal our tips 2) A woman slipped and fell right in front of me when I was on register, hitting her head. We had to call 911 and while paramedics were tending to her, people were stepping OVER her to get to the register to order their drinks. 3) One time a customer brought an entire desktop computer in and set it up at one of the tables. Other customers were not pleased!

Why does Starbucks attract so many homeless people? Do you kick them out the moment they walk in?

Asked by elonmarquez1 about 12 years ago

I think a lot of it has to do with Starbucks being a fairly safe place for a person to get a hot cup of coffee/water, use the restroom and just get out of the hot/cold weather for a few minutes. It's mostly up to the individual store managers on policy, but generally, as long as the homeless person isn't asking customers for money or being disruptive, we never kicked them out (in any coffee shop I've worked at, not just Starbucks).

There's a Starbucks on every corner, but do they actually have a policy on where someone can open a franchise? Is there anything preventing me from opening a location right next door to an existing one?

Asked by BobLoblaw about 12 years ago

In the US, Starbucks doesn't franchise, all locations are corporate stores.

I’m in high school and don’t really have any experience, but will they train me to be a barista from scratch? Do I have to have any specific skills?

Asked by luongosucks about 12 years ago

Yes, everyone hired by Starbucks is trained under the same barista training program, whether you have prior experience (like me) or absolutely none (like a co-worker hired at the same time as me). Aside from general skills that are useful in any workplace, like a strong work ethic, good customer service and time management, Starbucks does value a positive attitude. Smile!

When your store raises its prices, do customers take notice and complain? Or are people who are already paying $3-4 for a cup of coffee unfazed by price increases?

Asked by bandito about 12 years ago

Customers notice and complain A LOT. Usually it's only a 5-10 cent difference, but you'd think corporate doubled prices by the amount of complaining. I get it, the raised prices are annoying, but your barista had no input on that decision and quite frankly, doesn't care. If you want your concerns to be heard, write a complaint to corporate. They read every letter/email.