Hello, and thank you for reading this thread. My name's Dry Sharpie and I am now a moderator for I Hate Starbucks. Whoopdeedoo, it's like being a glorified barista with keys. Anyway, I wanted to bounce some ideas around and get everyone's opinion on them, and stir up some talk about improving the forum.
As you all know, IHS is populated by current and former Starbucks partners (and customers). Some days the forum is kicking and other times it's a ghost town. Users come and go, as they get hired and quit/get fired. What I want to do is introduce new threads and sub-forums to keep older users from leaving, and attract lurkers into posting.
Here are some ideas that I have:
- Off-topic sub-forum
Starbucks this, Starbucks that. I understand that not everyone wants to think about Starbucks on their days off. You don't want to be reminded of your job, or listen to other people's problems. But at the same time you want to chat with other partners. This sub-forum would be "Anything and Everything BUT Starbucks." - Better Help Section
Interestingly enough, if you try to search for Starbucks Partner Resources, I Hate Starbucks shows up prominently in Google. In fact, IHS provides answers to many questions that everyone searches for. We could expand IHS into a portal and FAQ for partners, attracting more and more customers. - New Partners Recipes/Guides/etc.
The definitive guides to training a newbie into a barista. Recipes, flash cards, cheat sheets for coffee tastings, handling angry customers, you name it! This would also include upcoming promotions. - Covering shifts!
This one is tricky, but it has worked before on IHS. If you need your shift covered, post the date, hours, and general location of your store. Partners who need hours or are looking to try out new stores would contact you at your provided E-mail address so you could negotiate your shift to be covered. This would be at your own risk.
These recommendations may seem like a lot and I might have no life. The thing is, as much as I hate the job, I do enjoy the camaraderie that IHS provides. I want to give back to this community by helping out current and future members.
What do you think? Post comments and suggestions of your own! What would you do to improve IHS? As always, tell your coworkers about I Hate Starbucks and spread the link!