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How did we all end up here?

(9 posts) (7 voices)

Started 2 years ago by VertigoSonic
Latest reply from VertigoSonic

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VertigoSonic

Member
Internets:19

I'm not talking about the Site itself, I mean working as baristas. It matters not what coffeehouse you work for, it's all just coffee in the end.

But how did we wind up as wage slaves slingin' cups of joe at asshats in suits and ties?

I moved back to Calgary to keep my Mom company after my Dad died, and due to the recession, I had no choice but to pour coffee or go crazy. Before that though, I worked for a label company as a machine operator.

The hours were long, the pay was decent and there were certain intangibles that I can't go into here (April 20th...best holiday ever).

Now here I am.

So how did we all end up here?

Posted 2 years ago #
burntgreen

Member
Internets:4

Blame it on the economy if you want, poor choices if you must. I believe that at some point we were all enthusiastic, energetic little baristas serving with a smile and a "thanks a latte!" Yeah, that lasts about 6 months to a year.

It builds slowly, this discovery that maybe your job IS in fact a morbid hive of calories and over-entitled hussies bent on destroying your soul. But everyday is different, some emphasizing the humdrum tedium of your existence for 8+ hours, others the joy and interest brought by working with (if you're lucky) some amazing coworkers and very occasionally, customers. They are the only bright spot in my day.

So my answer is that not every day is entirely bad, so it keeps us coming back to see what the next day will be like. Maybe it can be better than the one before.

Posted 2 years ago #
Chicken0rFish

Member
Internets:68

Three years ago, I was 19 and had just gotten out of high school the year prior, and my dad was pressuring me to get a job.

We lived a block away from Cal State San Marcos, and down the street from our house, there was a plaza with a Ralph's, Blockbuster, Taco Shop, Pet Store, and...Starbucks. I literally applied to every other place, as it was a convenient car-less walk.

After I was rejected by every other place, the sultry Siren welcomed me with open arms, one of which would eventually stab me in the back. I hated the company within months, with their disgusting antics. That said, my original store itself wasn't awful; I had my bad days but I liked the area and all my managers (we went through a few) were amazing.

Then just over a year ago, I moved down here to San Diego and had to transfer to a high volume drive-thru store, with an AWFUL kunt of a manager, on a busy intersection, and also next to a church, a high school, and a middle school, all within two blocks.

Needless to say, I HATE IT.

Posted 2 years ago #
12345678

Member
Internets:883

When I was 18 I went to a local coffee shop (not sbux) for a cup of coffee and noticed a hiring sign in the window. I was a freshman in college at the time w/o a Job so i gave the owner a call and ended up working there for 2 years. That job was no longer convenient for me so I applied the sbux near my school (the other shop was near my parents house about an hr away from where I lived at the time.) well it's been about 6 years since I first walked in to that coffee shop and noticed the help wanted sign, I'm 24 years old now, I've graduated from college, and I still work for Starbucks.

FML

Posted 2 years ago #
VertigoSonic

Member
Internets:19

@BG - I agree, at least about the co-workers part, if not for the other baristas I don't think I could have adapted and learnt quickly enough. As for customers? Well, I guess I'm lucky an that account as well, most of the regulars are pretty consistent, fairly easy going and polite. But mostly it's just tedium for me.

@CorF and 1-8 - I sympathize, getting sucked into something and having to bear the burden of someone else's ambition. It's tough, I realize, being over educated and under paid, talking to customers and dealing with their inane requests.

Why the **** would you give the keys of your escalade to your 16 yr old daughter one asks.

Why delude yourself into thinking this Vivanno is actually good for you? Don't you know it's a lie?

The biscotti is a lie, the pastries are all lies.

...the cake is a lie...

But hope that you will make a better turn for yourself, that once you find your niche, doing what you love doing, in a place that appreciates your efforts, the world opens her long, well-toned, superbly muscled legs and wraps you in a warm, tight, passionate embrace that you'll never want to leave!

Posted 2 years ago #
dolly

Member
Internets:619

I'm still in college and I fully intend to keep this job a part-time college job and nothing more, but I have been offered a promotion to shift and it's hard to say no when I have bills to pay. I desperately don't want to get sucked into the trap of Starbucks and end up staying here 10 years and growing bitter and gray from the stress of awful people. But working here allows me to go home and not have to take any work home with me so I can work on my music, which is what I really want to do. So I guess, at this point in my life, working here isn't all bad, but I need to quit as soon as I graduate or it will become harder and harder to do it.

Posted 2 years ago #
bucksinginiowa

Member
Internets:4

Ummm I have my bachelor's and MASTER'S degrees and I work at Starbucks. Thank you recession. It doesn't help that I'm trapped in bumf*ck Iowa where I get the brunt of redneck Starbucks orders to fill out my day but this also means there are no jobs because NO ONE wants to live here and since there's nothing to do, everyone likes to come and annoy me and make ME feel like a piece of **** for working an hourly wage job. Hey, I tried to get a "real" job, but I'd rather work at starbucks than go back to being part of the 10% unemployment rate and living with my aging father...I'm part of that special breed of college students that were told you had to go to college if you wanted to get a "good" job and then graduate in 08 at the worst part of the recession, so it basically didn't matter if you had a PhD, you weren't gettin a job. As soon as I save up enough money I'm gettin outa this crappy state and on the other side of that counter! But I, unlike my customers now, will not be a total **** and treat the people who make my drink like crap:)

Posted 2 years ago #
clownfish

Member
Internets:381

I have a degree in computer science from my previous country and sadly, I cant use it here in Canada. I have a part time bar tending job, but it's only on weekends and I need more money to continue my studies here. :/

Posted 2 years ago #
VertigoSonic

Member
Internets:19

@clownfish - I just heard from one of my nursey friends to look at the Calgary Health Region Job Board. Apparently they're looking for people who aren't complete idiots.

$17/hr on the other side of the counter...

Posted 2 years ago #

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