Starbucks reviews

3.5

56% would recommend to a friend

(85,311 total reviews)
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Brian Niccol

31% approve of CEO

40% positive business outlook

Starbucks has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 85,311 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Starbucks employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurantes y servicios de comidas industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

85K reviews
1.0
Oct 1, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

benefits, money from stock, the good partners, the good customers and it is very easy for you to make a lot of friends while working.

Cons

the bad customers, are terribly bad, they will abuse you, swear at you, and treat you like garbage and you have to accept it, customers aren't always right, but we do have to say yes. a man came in and basically said he was training me like a dog, while another lady swore at me on drive thru like crazy and then demanded to speak to my manager to which my manager told me off about why i didn't tell her that we we're very busy. management is terrible, my team has had two complete team turnovers within the past 6 months, with only 3 people of the same team still here, myself included. starbucks offers flexible hours, that is not true whatsoever, you need to have a 90% availability to be hired, and you are unable to change that availability for 6 months. my store was not allowed shift changes at all, and specifically put it onto one person, so that everyone else could switch except for that person. cut hours excessively after hiring a whole bunch of baristas, then saying they can't afford this many people. management is always forgetful and will write you up about things that the shift supervisor forgot to do or assigned and signed you off on it. Management will also promise you opportunities to move up, and how they want you to move up but then never help you with it, then when you ask about it they say you never showed any initiative. It takes a lot of work to be appraised if even noticed for all the things you do. Oh and don't let me forget, how management always tells people that our break isn't given to us, it's a privilege and that it isn't mandatory for them to give us that. I have gone 8.5 hour shifts only getting my unpaid half hour break literally at the 8 hour mark, and then asking if i could just go home half a hour early instead, and i was not allowed.

4.0
Sep 17, 2012

New to Starbucks

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

great support, clear and defined job duties, great benefits

Cons

customers, pay is a little weak. Not really selling coffee, but selling sugar that is lightly mixed with coffee

4.0
Jul 13, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- A strong company culture that really emphasizes people (partners and customers). - Convenient locations and ability to transfer to other stores, especially at the barista (entry) level. - Many dedicated partners will have a chance to develop further in the company. - Staff ("partners") generally knowledgeable and engaged in their work. - Hard work coupled with an engaging personality usually pays off. - Some room for negotiating work hours at most stores. You can change your availability (though no promises on hours). - The company has produced a huge variety of helpful learning materials for new partners, along with a range of manuals on maintaining store cleanliness, health standards, and so on. - Learn all about coffee and take pride in your drink making abilities. - Learn the basics of cash handling in a retail environment, and supplement that understanding as you're promoted. - If there's anything about the company or the day-to-day business of your store you're interested in, the company or your store will often provide a hands-on a way of learning more about it (your coffee passport, inventory transfers, skus, daily orders, standing orders, customer experience, store set-ups, etc.) - You will typically work with a team of engaging and dynamic employees from diverse backgrounds. - Competitive pay and benefits for this type of retail position. - Tips (up to a few dollars per hour extra at some stores; about $1.50/h at mine) and, again, benefits. - A great chance to think on your feet and solve practical retail problems. - Variety of ages and work ethics on the same team. When you're working with a well-oiled team, it's a beautiful thing. - Partner beverages allow you to stretch your creativity by trying new recipes or enjoying your favorites. - Your home store can be a place fellow partners like to visit even when they're not at work. How often do you say that about your other jobs? - Get to know your customers individually and remember drink orders for regulars, some of whom will insist that you're their favorite person to chat with or that you make their drink best. That'll put a smile on your face! - A personal pro: I'm multilingual and work in a diverse area, so I had the chance to use my Spanish, Japanese, Italian, French and even my remedial Arabic with customers. You'll find your own ways to connect with people, and you'll also find that working at a coffee shop is a great place to make those connections.

Cons

Think of these as "heads-ups" rather than cons/negatives. They weren't all cons for me: - Work hours and environment depend on management team (SM & ASM). Quality of manager can make or break a store. - You must be service oriented: friendly enough to engage with every customer but efficient enough to crank through a long line quickly. - Juggle opposing goals. Doing the lobby after the 10 minute timer rings, getting through that morning rush 2 minutes per customer with a smile and "thank you" with each drink, restocking pastry case, rebrewing coffee and introducing yourself to the new district manager may all be your #1 priority at the exact same moment. Be able to handle this. - If you work in a fast-paced store or during morning rush, be prepared to hustle, multi-task and make split-second decisions, especially as a supervisor or manager. - Figure out what to do with yourself and your partners during slow periods. What else can you clean on the Duty Roster? - Many shifts involve early morning/late evening hours (a plus for some). The manager makes the call on hours; you list your availability and then are assigned shifts. - Regular morning openers are often tired and working multiple jobs/taking classes at the same time. - Health benefits depend on hours worked. If you don't get enough hours, you can lose your insurance. - Creative individuals and think-on-your-feet partners that focus on providing better solutions to problems will end up clashing with "by-the-book" partners and those who swear by the current iteration of the ever-evolving set of rules. - Hard workers can be overused and underappreciated, even if unintentionally. I've been at 2 stores where mediocre workers drag quality of team down. - Variety of ages and work ethics on same team can be a pro and a con. - There's sometimes an upside-down distribution of smarts and experience where brilliant, talented, artistic, analytical or success-minded people are working for ho-hum management. How do we foster these employees without telling them to step in line and put their nose to the grindstone? Ideation needed. - You have to be on board with company culture (e.g. "thank you policy"), lingo (e.g. "partners") & activities (e.g. "coffee tastings").

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