Anyone here ever worked at Starbucks? What was that like? - Beyond Tiki

MT Mai Tai Tiki Socialite Exotic Isle of Alameda Joined: Mar 21, 2004 Posts: 1438	MT Mai Tai Posted posted on Wed, Feb 16, 2005 3:00 AM Anyone here ever worked at Starbucks? What was that like? How about any other coffee houses such as Peets, etc? I'm especially interested in hearing about anyone that was a manager or assistant manager at one of those places. The reason I'm asking is that it career changing time. I'm tired of riding out this low job market wave here in the S.F. Bay Area. Finances are starting to get a little tight, and I've been assessing what the hell I'm gonna do with the rest of my life, or at least the near future. Opening up my own coffee shop has an appeal, but of course I have no experience in that arena so far. So I'm thinking about selling my soul to the Devil (or at least leasing it out for a while) and going to work in a Starbucks or similar venue to learn the trade. I'm thinking manager or assistant manager position. I do have a college degree in Business with an emphasis in finance and accounting, and have prior work experience in public accounting, and some retail experience (but not in management, just sales associate) to boot. I'm definitely smart enough to realize that I can't just go out and do it and be successful long term with absolutely no experience in this field whatsoever, especially with such high overhead in the Bay Area such as commercial rent, etc. I need to learn the intracacies, such as how large of a staff I would need, how many man hours a week it takes, equipment needs and costs, product costs, how to manage inventory, and much much more. I was thinking that working as a manager or assistant manager for a Starbucks or similar venue might be a good place for me to start out. So would anyone care to share their experiences in working in one of these places, whether it be in management or a barista? What was the experience like? What were the hours like? What was the pay like? I've always had a yearning to run my own independent type of business, whether it be a coffee shop, independent record store, boutique type retail store, etc. I'm tired of working for the man and just getting by - tired enough that I'm getting ready to strike out on my own to try to make my own fortune. Any feedback would be much appreciated!!! Mahaloz in advance!

Anyone here ever worked at Starbucks? What was that like? How about any other coffee houses such as Peets, etc? I'm especially interested in hearing about anyone that was a manager or assistant manager at one of those places.

The reason I'm asking is that it career changing time. I'm tired of riding out this low job market wave here in the S.F. Bay Area. Finances are starting to get a little tight, and I've been assessing what the hell I'm gonna do with the rest of my life, or at least the near future. Opening up my own coffee shop has an appeal, but of course I have no experience in that arena so far. So I'm thinking about selling my soul to the Devil (or at least leasing it out for a while) and going to work in a Starbucks or similar venue to learn the trade. I'm thinking manager or assistant manager position.

I do have a college degree in Business with an emphasis in finance and accounting, and have prior work experience in public accounting, and some retail experience (but not in management, just sales associate) to boot.

I'm definitely smart enough to realize that I can't just go out and do it and be successful long term with absolutely no experience in this field whatsoever, especially with such high overhead in the Bay Area such as commercial rent, etc. I need to learn the intracacies, such as how large of a staff I would need, how many man hours a week it takes, equipment needs and costs, product costs, how to manage inventory, and much much more. I was thinking that working as a manager or assistant manager for a Starbucks or similar venue might be a good place for me to start out.

So would anyone care to share their experiences in working in one of these places, whether it be in management or a barista? What was the experience like? What were the hours like? What was the pay like? I've always had a yearning to run my own independent type of business, whether it be a coffee shop, independent record store, boutique type retail store, etc. I'm tired of working for the man and just getting by - tired enough that I'm getting ready to strike out on my own to try to make my own fortune. Any feedback would be much appreciated!!! Mahaloz in advance!

Post #141467 by Mai Tai on Wed, Feb 16, 2005 3:00 AM