Starbucks Team Leaders

Especially getting ready for Q4.
Just about the time they get comfortable with the standard drinks, along come all the holiday drinks but they should have the basic drink pattern down by then.
 
I've already started hiring for Q4. Next week we have a mass hire and I'm taking part of it and as I help other work centers hire for them, I'll be seeing who I can take for Starbucks.
 
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Fasbuxtl said:
Legit my WHOLE team is either doing an loa.. Have put in their notice.. Or one- dropped to 11 hours on weekends... All are going from hs to college. I am freaking out.. As a new team lead part of me is really excited to train new team members from the start and the other part is horrified that I can't train well enough.. But most of all.. We have two weeks to hire and train at least 3 people so it is not just me and my team member who is working 11hrs. When I talked to my hr etl today she gave me attitude for expressing concern about this.. I simply wanted to feel reassured that they were actively hiring because right now it only state's that we are hiring 1 seasonal position for sbx. Suggestions? It left weirdly.. I just didnt really respond to her attitude.. She usually is great..
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Soon after I came to sbux, it was basically me and 2 baristas. No idea how we weren't put on an NNC, but we weren't. Take advantage of being able to get your team exactly where you want them. Also, you should be part of the interviewing and hiring. DON'T SETTLE! I know you are getting desperate for baristas, but it is not worth taking warm bodies just to fill the positions. Make sure they are going to be a good fit. You will be able to teach them the drinks, but make sure they are friendly, willing, and reliable. I'm not sure what volume your store is, but for my LV store, it works to have a few baristas who also do other depts. (I have a couple who do SL shifts, and a couple who also cashier). Also, GSAs and the GSTL are all trained, so if I need to, I can schedule one of them. This helps with back up to Starbucks and break coverage as well. Lastly, see if any current tms want to cross train. I have a 4 tms waiting to cross train, and have started training them slowly as I have hours. This way, you won't get too many surprises about how they work.

Don't you have to be 18 to work in Starbucks?
 
redeye58 said:
Nope.
Lots of minors that work fast food use equally 'dangerous' equipment: fry vats, grills, tomato slicers (Yep, those puppies are SHARP), etc.
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I see. I figured Target wouldn't allow it since minors aren't even allowed to put cardboard in the baler (let alone run it).
 
Hmm. I'll have to double check that. My HR thinks its no minors allowed. One of the people waiting to learn sbux is a minor, so we are just waiting for his birthday! I actually have another minor interested, but she is barely 17 so we weren't really considering her yet.
 
I'd be surprised if SB wouldn't allow minors to operate a toasting oven, blenders or espresso machines when they would be dealing with similar equipment at a fast food place.
 
So I just accepted a position as a Statbucks Team Lead (PG15) in a High Volume Super Target. Coming from 9 years in the Meat Department (6 Years, 10 Months as Part time, 1 Year as PA, 1 Year, 4 Months as Team Lead). I don't drink coffee or tea and know nothing about Starbucks.

I start my 2-3 week training at a lower volume store in 2 weeks-ish. Any tips I can get from you guys that will make my life easier? Is there a Starbucks bible of sorts lol.
  • What do you guys order?
  • Part numbers for what I need to order in terms of equipment, cups, etc...
  • What does Steritech look for when they come? (most scariest thing because meat was simple and Starbucks is the first place they strike when they come).
  • What to expect from holidays in terms of business?
  • What do you guys do with the Starbucks district managers?
  • Daily morning & closing routines.
Anything would help ease my transition into a new department. Just feels overwhelming and scary. Because my current department has been my first job out of high school. So I feel like I grew with the job. Going into a new role is scary right now. Starbucks at my store has been a black hole. Lots of high turn over rate for both Team Members and Team Leads (after their 18 or so month they are gone). Whether I is true or not. I apparently have the support from all of my Food ETLs, STL, & DTL. But not sure if that will mean anything.

So like I said, I need everyone collective knowledge. Because I don't want to go in blind.
 
I would locate all of your resource manuals: Licensed Store Operations Manual, Beverage Resource Manual (Starbucks Drinks Bible), Store Cleanliness and Equipment Maintenance Manual, Coffee and Tea Resource Manual, Recipe Cards, and the current promotions binder. Also locate the Licensed Store Support Binder. Let me know if I forgot to name a manual, there are so many. Those manuals have a detailed description of everything in Starbucks. Make sure you know where they are and if you do not have them, you can order them. I had to My Support to get the DPCI for the Store Cleanliness and Equipment Manual so I could order another one. Your training will be barista basics and you'll learn how to make beverages, brew coffee, handle food and coffee quality/ and how to create the Starbucks Experience in your store. Then you'll move on to be certified as a Barista trainer and then finally your AST (Advance Store Training). It's a lot of tedious repetition but it will help you identify the gaps in your new work center. Steritech looks for expiration dates, ensuring that all food items are properly handled, labeled, and stored, make sure your sanitizer is at the currect PH level, and always have hand towels in your paper towel dispenser. Those two things are high risk critical violations. They check for pests, the main pest that all SBTLs battle with are fruit flies. The Starbucks DM will come in and evaluate the store and the team, they ensure that the team is properly trained and that Starbucks standards are being executed at all times. Your first visit will be an introduction and they will ask to see all of your training manuals, mine asked for an updated Skills and knowledge tracking sheet which should be located either in your Barista Training binder or in your Licensed Store support binder. They will make sure you are properly trained and supported then go over business strategies for your store.
 
Congratulations. We will definitely be able to help.

Although I can't imagine life without coffee, don't panic about it. You can BS your way through it with guests. You will get the chance to try just about everything during your training, and maybe you will find something you like.
There is a bible of sorts, and a recipe book as well.
I think I probably have a different kind of relationship with my DM than is the norm. He lives very close by, and I see him just about every week. Try to connect with yours as soon as possible. He will be aware of any problems at your store, and may have advice and suggestions for your training as well as what to focus on first.
 
It's going to be hard to tell you how much to order since we do not know your store's volume. You will determine that by working there. All I can suggest is to make sure to always have enough espresso, cups, lids, straws, caramel sauce, mocha, classic, vanilla, caramel, and Coffee and crème base for the Frappuccinos.
 
We order pretty much everything needed to run the store. Some of it is from SAP and most of it comes from the order guide. I have a barista order for us.
 
Getting the hang of the order is probably the toughest part when you're new to Starbucks. I adjusted easier than most because I was a Starbucks TM but I did struggle a bit before I got the hang of it.
 
Do you know what volume your Starbucks is? I assume you are volume 1 or 2 since your Target is high volume. There are PAR charts for ordering based on your volume. Not foolproof though.
 
How many times during the week do you order (coming from a department that orders everyday)? What is ordered from SAP? And how big is the order guide? Come inventory time, what is counted and whow do you guys go about it?

I do not know the volume of my store, I just know its high.
 
Asuras said:
So I just accepted a position as a Statbucks Team Lead (PG15) in a High Volume Super Target. Coming from 9 years in the Meat Department (6 Years, 10 Months as Part time, 1 Year as PA, 1 Year, 4 Months as Team Lead). I don't drink coffee or tea and know nothing about Starbucks.

I start my 2-3 week training at a lower volume store in 2 weeks-ish. Any tips I can get from you guys that will make my life easier? Is there a Starbucks bible of sorts lol.
  • What do you guys order?
  • Part numbers for what I need to order in terms of equipment, cups, etc...
  • What does Steritech look for when they come? (most scariest thing because meat was simple and Starbucks is the first place they strike when they come).
  • What to expect from holidays in terms of business?
  • What do you guys do with the Starbucks district managers?
  • Daily morning & closing routines.
Anything would help ease my transition into a new department. Just feels overwhelming and scary. Because my current department has been my first job out of high school. So I feel like I grew with the job. Going into a new role is scary right now. Starbucks at my store has been a black hole. Lots of high turn over rate for both Team Members and Team Leads (after their 18 or so month they are gone). Whether I is true or not. I apparently have the support from all of my Food ETLs, STL, & DTL. But not sure if that will mean anything.

So like I said, I need everyone collective knowledge. Because I don't want to go in blind.
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A couple bibles. The recipe cards and the beverage resource manual. There are some other books/manuals, but these two are the best. There are a ton of recipe cards and each of those cards can be modified a thousand different ways, but most drinks are based off of just a few standard recipes. For hot drinks, you pretty much always want to steam the milk first. Then queue your shots (just push a button on the espresso machine to get it going), pump the syrup, and then let the machine do some work (if you have a second drink, this is where you would start it because you're literally just standing there letting the espresso machine do its thing). Then pour the milk in the cup. Once you get that down, it's just slight variations to make tens of thousands of drinks. Then you'll learn iced teas (it's made in a shaker, and the directions are printed on the side of it) and frappuccinos. Certain fraps can seem complicated, but it's all the same steps, just different flavors (usually start with coffee in the cup, then add milk, pour it into a blender pitcher, add some flavors, then add ice, then add another type of syrup, then blend, then top with whipped cream and maybe more stuff). If you know how to do those 3 things (first one I described was a flavored latte, then teas, then fraps), you're pretty much set. There's more, but a lot of it is built off of those 3.

The beverage resource manual will tell you a lot of information on how to make drinks with certain equipment and what standards there are for drinks. For instance, there are like 6 different ways to brew iced coffee. It depends on what brewer you have and what size bag you order (you can order 5oz or 9oz bags). That's one that people sometimes debate about, but it's all spelled out for you if you know where to look for the information.

For ordering, your team will need to help you at first. There is an order guide on workbench (you can put it in your favorites on workbench, it's just called "Store Order"). That will show you nearly everything you will ever need to order. There are very very few things you ever need from SAP. Looks like Coqui touched on the main things.

As for your DM, it's probably going to vary from DM to DM and even from SBTL to SBTL. I have a great relationship with my DM. He can get very picky about things, but that's literally his job. He is there to protect the Starbucks brand and hold me accountable for it. So when he comes and makes a point to tell me that a light is out, it's because he wants everything to run well. He's not doing it to be mean. He's not doing it because he doesn't like me. He's not doing it because I'm doing a bad job. He's doing it to help me and to protect Starbucks.

Please feel free to ask questions, especially as you start your first few days.
 
We are all here to help! We all struggled at first but we found our way just like you will find yours. The only thing I find myself ordering from SAP are the Sanitizer wipes: SW001 and very rarely I order another box of oven cleaner. For some reason we can order Oven guard off of the order guide but not the cleaner.
 
Asuras said:
How many times during the week do you order (coming from a department that orders everyday)? What is ordered from SAP? And how big is the order guide? Come inventory time, what is counted and whow do you guys go about it?

I do not know the volume of my store, I just know its high.
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The main Starbucks order is done once per week. You can scan things in early; it doesn't have to be on the day that it's due. I've even scanned stuff the day after it's due and it still came in on time, but I wouldn't recommend it because the myDevice still thinks you ordered it on the following week (even if it comes in) and makes it harder to keep track of things. Pastries, smoothie concentrates, Evolution juices, and a few other things can be ordered 3 times per week. The myDevice will tell you when something needs to be ordered by and when it will be delivered.

There are a few order guides. The main two are the ingredients one (nearly all of department 254) and then a longer one for supplies (department 260). I always leave it sorted by DPCI.

As for inventory, I'll see if I can find a PM that I sent to Lydian a while back.
 

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