Anyone here ever worked at Starbucks? What was that like?

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!

Mai Tai,
My wife worked for Starbucks back right before we got married. She was not a manager, but she seemed to enjoy it mostly. There was extensive training. They sent her to a 2-3 day class in coffee. Now, I don't mean just how Starbucks corporation works, but how to taste coffee, where its grown, the difference between the various kinds, how to make a perfect shot, etc. Very deep.

A good friend of mine worked for Starbucks for a while up in Oregon. She was really happy with it. I think they were paying for her college or something like that. She seemed pretty interested in becoming manager and it seemed like an easy thing to do, with good pay.

She ended up ultimately working for Nike, making big bucks.

Say what you will about the evil marketing presence of Starbucks, they make a damn hairy strong cup of coffee! Imagine unlimited amounts of that, free, all day...

Here is a hilarious cartoon about Star Schmuccs Coffee House.
WARNING:Explicit Content

Star Schmuccs

Go for Peet's over Starbucks, they have better chance for promotion from within, better benefits, and treat their people fairly. The Starbucks guys started out working for Peet's. Peet's HQ is near you in Emeryville last time I checked. Your chances of getting into management are better if you haven't already been a manager or district manager anywhere previously. They're honestly more interested in a positive attitude than experience, which is refreshing.

On 2005-02-16 15:04, ZebraTiki wrote:
Peet's HQ is near you in Emeryville last time I checked.

They're still there, including their roasting plant.

Starbucks is consistently ranked in the 'top 5 best places to work.' I was really anti-starbucks for a while, mostly because they seem, ugh, ubiquitous, like, there are literally places in the east bay where they're on both sides of the street, etc. BUT I changed my tune on them a while back when I read that they are one of the most progressive and employee friendly places to work. They also give giant amounts of money to progressive /environmental/social causes. Sure, they're taking over the planet, but they pay a living wage and provide great benefits!

Peet's on the other hand, is the best coffee on the planet, and they're local!
Having said all the nice stuff about Starbucks, I'd cross the street to go to Peet's!

I'd go talk to the worker bees, if you really want to know. Retail happiness is highly dependent on the store management. Go in when they're not busy and ask the cashiers. They'll tell you the truth! I was pondering the Trader Joe's route a while back when things looked bleak and I was burned out on psycho creative directors, and I talked to the kids at the TJ's I shopped at, and they RAVED about what a great company it was, the benefits, the managers were awesome, etc. Retail has an extremely high turnover, if the employees have been there for a while and they seem happy and normal, the management is good. Good luck, and let us know where you decide to go, we'll come by and leave you big tips!
mrs. pineapple

"You're the mayor of shark city, people think you want the beaches open."

[ Edited by: mrs. pineapple on 2005-02-16 17:50 ]

[ Edited by: mrs. pineapple on 2005-02-16 17:50 ]

Much mahaloz to everyone for their feedback. It will either be Peet's or Starbucks for me. So far from what I've heard, they both seem to treat their employees well (a rarity these days). And yeah, that is cool to know that Peet's headquarters and roasting plant is in Emeryville, which is near where I reside, on the exotic island of Alameda.

I will definitely interview some of the worker bees to get their feedback as well.

On 2005-02-16 17:49, mrs. pineapple wrote:
Good luck, and let us know where you decide to go, we'll come by and leave you big tips!

Thanks! I'll keep everyone posted! :D Also, if anyone reading this thread has worked in a Starbucks, Peet's, or similar place, especially as a manager or assistant manager, please let me know what the experience was like. Thanks again!

I have to say pal, knowing you as I do that I don't think you can move fast enough for a corporate coffee gig, and I know you can't get up early enough for the 1st shift!

Hey there MaiTai!

I started with Sbux in July, '02. My prior backround was 25 years in nightclubs and fine dining. I started at the bottom and worked up to asst. mgr. in14 months. I got fired in May, '04 for something really stupid on my part. Though they didn't want to let me go, they had to. I took the summer off, built a tiki bar on the deck:

https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10547&forum=2&30

and re-hired, at the bottom, in Aug., '04. I'm getting promoted again next month. Never in all my years, working for perhaps 15 different establishments, have I ever been treated better. Sincere interest in my well-being, real respect and an 'employee first' attitude. Most stores have their 'Mission Statement' posted, and they truly do live by it.

Management starts in the 30K range, depending upon your education and experience. You go through an 8 week training program before being assigned to a store, usually as an asst. Promotion to manager is usually a year. On top of your salary, based on an enforced 40 hour, no more!, work week, you get quarterly bonuses which can be quite nice. It has worked well enough for me that I'm willing to work my way up again.

That is my two cents, hope this helps, Tim

"Laugh while you can..."

[ Edited by: MonkeyBoy on 2005-02-23 16:04 ]

On 2005-02-23 10:26, limptiki wrote:
I have to say pal, knowing you as I do that I don't think you can move fast enough for a corporate coffee gig, and I know you can't get up early enough for the 1st shift!

Well you should see me move furniture! :D As for making the first shift, I'll just go to bed after it's over!

MonkeyBoy, I sent you a personal message. Thanks for the feedback.

Hmmm.....

600 Starbucks stores closing!

The need to be turned into Mai Tai Bars!!!

I really enjoyed working for Peets!

Heh, I seem to have a reverse midas touch when it comes to career choices. Practically all industries that I have pursued or shown a strong interest in have gone belly up or soon will. I have been thinking of becoming the next Kreskin for predicting markets that will fail.

You should see the next industry that I'm trying to get into. If it fails, you all will panic, shudder, and gasp!!! Until then, I'm investing everything into opening up a hot rod shop that restores Edsels.

Wherever you go, a little in-depth background knowledge couldn't hurt.

When I was living in Colombia I did a study of el cafeto (coffee bush) which focused on how Colombia managed to cultivate the best in the world (altitude, soil, sun, temperatures, avoiding diseases, growing, harvesting, drying, etc.), but they also know plenty about brewing.

If you can speak Spanish, you'll glean some useful info from this site: National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. You can access an English version page from there, but the Spanish site is better if you can handle charlando en castillanito.

Kreskin was amazing. Said so himself.

I was thinking of starting a Hemp farm. Very versatile stuff...Hemp.

I would not worry about the 600 closings, Thats only a few blocks worth of stores in New York. They are closing the poor performers but still building and opening stores in strong market areas. The closings will serve to make them a stronger company and there shares rose .72 as a result of the announcement. Market saturation was the biggest reason for the closing and the pinch on gas is giving everyone a reality check on their spending habits. If you are looking to open a coffee shop I would suggest diversifying. We have a local Bikes & Java, Books and Coffee is an obvious one but I would Niche it with rare old books and first covers, or something off the wall.... Tikis and Java served in tiki coffe mugs.