My job at Starbucks is gonna kill me lol

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(This is rant so bear with me )


Not literally gonna kill me of course, but....as I work this job and go back to school and try to get my life back on track, I realize how the job accentuates some of my AS issues and how my boss' style just makes it worse....

remembering numbers of shots/syrups in each drink, remember all the different dates that things are good for when we date all our parishables, pretty much remembering my responsibilities in general..... On the plus side, I'm pretty damn good at working the coffee bar, and I've learned over the years to be pretty darn good with customers......

The kicker, my boss..... She takes everything personally. Doesn't communicate directly, instead she huffs and puffs and gets upset when you make mistakes, and she references your mistakes to other employees or customers in front of you. I made a mistake when I charged a customer for too many add shots of espresso, and she explained the mistake I made to the customer as a way to teach me. Needless to say, the customer and I were very uncomfortable.....

She might even be AS, who knows.....

Basically, I foresee that I will continue to make little mistakes, and piss her off, and invite her scorn.....and have my job be emotionally awful......

Maybe ask if she could discuss any issues with you in private, nobody likes being named and shamed and it is more likely to create resentment than help improve staff. However if she is an authoritarian type then she may take this badly.

I have to say working at starbucks sounds like my idea of hell, with the heat, the noisy machinery and having to make small talk!

Aw man, I feel bad for you and the situation, maybe you should at least try to explain the AS how you experience it, and so she may make exceptions so as not to embarass you for something you can't control.

I couldn't do it, high stress for me. Plus I'd be drinking coffee all day and that makes me all high strung, lol. I hope things improve! The local cafe is notorious for being super high stress and as*hole conditions. I was told by the boss that only a select few special people got to work there, it was insulting to me knowing I've lived here for twelve years and he has to disrespect me for even asking about the job...screw that jerk, sorry.

I know what you're going through. I work a food service job and go to school (and am not always finding it easy to get my life in order).

It's awesome that you got good with the customers. The NTs can leave an awfully bad taste in my mouth for long periods. hang in there...

Thanks guys....yeah....I took the job 4 months ago, and was given an Aspergers diagnosis a month ago... I'll probably mention this a million times but I've been in therapy for ten years, for OCD and generalized anxiety disorder, but shrinks always gave me a general diagnosis apparently so certain things wouldn't go on record and affect my insurance. I'm medicated as well, seeing a doc, so I've got a bit of an advantage. And have learned to deal with the public, and the noise doesn't bother me. I just know that I'm always gonna make airheaded mistakes, and my boss is gonna break me down.

What I can't tolerate are high strung people, when they freak out, I freak out...so....yeah...I'm afraid I'll snap if my boss gets excited at me. I'm already psyching myself up that I'm just gonna walk out one day. Not good. I was having a good old time there working the night shift, but now I'm moving to days, times that my boss is there.

I won't tell her about my AS, unless I quit, in which I'll tell her I have certain "learning disabilities" that keep me from performing my job duties, and that I didn't realize it until now. I dont want her to know, and I guess I don't want to be treated differently.

I worked at a Starbucks for 3 months to get by and it was hell for my AS, too. They often scheduled me to work alone and it was just TOO MUCH at once. I really thought I would lose my mind. I stuck with it until I found something better, though.

I wish you all the best. Hang in there. I know what you are going through.

G.

How in hell are you working a job like that? That's like a germaphobe working for one of those services that cleans up hoarder houses.

You should feel very proud of yourself for being able to do it at all! But why WOULDN'T you mention that you have anxiety and AS? Then you can't legally be harassed. The only reason I can think of is that you don't intend to stay there long and don't want people to know your business. If that's the case, why not go out on a high note and mess with this lady as much as possible? It might make you feel better.

In any case, you might want to think about what's most important- job longevity or your stress level. If it's your stress level, I say take the lady down with small annoyances and revel in every tiny misery you cause her. If it's keeping your job, you seriously can protect yourself. It's unethical for her to act the way she's already acting, even if you were NT. If you disclosed that you had AS and generalized anxiety, it would be illegal for her to act that way toward you.

Thanks for the positive support, I appreciate that. I suppose I can be proud. Being on bar is kind of an excellent place to be if you like to just bang out drinks in a pure mechanical fashion. Perfecting your efficiency and drink presentation. It's a guilty pleasure.

Glorifel, I couldn't imagine working alone at a Starbucks.


VAGrad, that's some cold hearted shite lol It's tempting, and if she's breathing down my neck, it' easy to just play dumb and make her look like a demon in front of customer. Accentuate her meanness by acting hurt and confused. It is kinda malicious though. Beyond that, you have a good point about disclosing certain things. The upside is that it puts pressure on my boss to act appropriately. And I'm down to take a high road and I could tell her straight what she's doing and try to help her out.
I've got her and one other dude for tomorrow's shift, there will be no buffer. And the other dude is known for barking orders. This should be fun.

For an update.... I endured one of the hardest days of my working life lol. My boss was on my ass all day. Then the next day, the same thing, only toned down a bit. I shut down both days and start making mistakes, but I make it through...


My boss is bitter and angry, frustrated at her life and I'd make the assumption that she hates her job. She doesn't know how to ask for help, so she takes her frustrations out on other people as a way to say "I'm hurting, I'm angry..." All her bullsh*t isn't about me, I shouldn't take it personal, or I'm just as bad as she is. Shrug it off. Every time she's being a B.... it's not my problem...... angry bitter people aren't out to get anyone, they're just crying for help in a really destructive way.

In terms of the noise she creates that shorts out my brain, that's another story. Best I can do is try to tune it out, nod politely, etc....

In terms of her behavior being moral and appropriate, not my problem. Every time she yells and gets upset and berates and humiliates, she sinks deeper into her own quicksand.... I can probably lessen her rage if I ask her about her day and see if she vents, but she’s still just too much noise for me. Bitter angry people are simply too noisy.

I've never understood the whole Starbucks type coffee concept.

For me, coffee is coffee. I can get a cup of it for 30 cents if I bring my own cup from any convenience store. I like how coffee tastes, but I can't see me paying several bucks for a cup of it. I drink it for the wake up effect. Also because it goes great with the morning cigarettes.

I do hope you can get things worked out at work though.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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It sounds like you've got a good insight in the situation. You're right it's not your problem and she shouldn't be taking her frustrations out on you. Hopefully she'll back down when she realises you just shrug off her bad temper. Well done for sticking with it

Thanks Fiona G:) And yeah, the idea with Starbucks is to offer that "Italian coffee house" feel. A medium drip coffee with some hazelnut and steamed milk is pretty darn good but it goes for around 2 bucks. A chai tea latte with vanilla and a shot of espresso is also pretty darn good, but probably somewhere in the 3 dollar range. But it's all about what you like. There's nothing wrong with getting coffee for under a buck.

Fukkk that! I could never work there, everybody bolting around a million miles an hour, strung on out on caffeine. There's no way it would work with me. Kudo's for having the guts to do it! I worked a restaurant line once and it was the worst experience of my life. I imagine starbucks is similar in all the stuff you have to remember and everything.

Have you tried to have a discussion with your boss about her behavior? You don't even have to say anything provocative (well, maybe she's inclined interpret it as provocative no matter what you say), just calmly say that you want to share with her the most effective way to supervise you/your learning style so that you can be as productive as possible.

If you really want to make it clear that her yelling and nastiness are a problem, say that you worry about the effect that it may have on the customers. You can even lie and say that customers have complained about it if you get desperate enough for it to stop.