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roflchoppa

The only way things like this really work is by not giving any heads up to the store or the store management.

Otherwise store management spends a huge amount of time trying to tidy up before “corporate” comes by.

At least that was my experience when things like this happened at the fruit stand.

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I saw this happen too. Lots of people doing overtime to tidy up the store for when the regional manager came by.

I had my hand in a cast at the time in a work related incident, so I only did some menial tasks. The regional manager focused on me for a time, and was extremely frustrated with how slow I was. He proceeded to show me how much quicker he could do those menial tasks with just one hand. It was weird. I feel like the disconnect he had with the realities of the stores is on an entire other level than not being there to witness it.

Was his demonstration helpful? Or do you mean that he was only able to do the tasks faster because he was rushing them, or that fast completion of these tasks was not really meaningful to the overall performance of the store?

No there was no useful tips or anything new to his demonstration, only speed. If the completion of these tasks was meaningful to the performance of the store, it was only in his opinion. The store was already in the best shape it had ever been because of our hard work between the announcement and the day of his visit.

But he wants you to move fast all the time, so he can reduce hours somewhere as a result

Obviously he was only concerned about optimization.

Just want to make sure that it’s understood the point I’m making is that I had an obvious injury, still showed up for work, still did work, and was met with nothing but reprimand by this manager that I had just met. So in this particular case the benefit of a manager going down to the trenches seems only beneficial for one side.

It's really obvious when you put a c-suite 40-something or 50-something exec on a blue collar team: nobody's gonna be fooled for a minute. It's like that SNL skit of Kylo Ren from Star Wars going undercover in the employee cafeteria.

As long as you spring it on them they won't have a chance to tidy up first. They'll still be on their best behavior and follow every rule to a T once the exec shows up though.

to be fair half of what made that funny/awkward is Kylo fishing for compliments. If Narasimhan is chill, it might be less super-awkward. Plus, who knows Narasimhan. This is the first I've heard his name. I wouldn't be surprised if most starbucks counter employees don't know the name of the CEO, much less what he looks like.

It's not really name or face-recognition usually. Execs slumming it in the trenches just speak and listen differently. And they have very specific priorities there that day (it's not "I'm just covering my shift" like everybody else). They stand out, clear as day.

Plus someone involved in the running of the store has to know why there's a highly educated, highly curious 50 year old who doesn't know how to make a latte or work the till added to the crew today, and that person is going to want to make sure everyone is on their best behaviour.

Assuming he actually works the whole shift, he still can experience what works as a barista in his company is like (workload, how to deal with customers assuming they don't recognize him) somewhat truthfully.

I think it's worth something.

First line:

Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan told employees Thursday that he’ll work a half day every month at one of the coffee giant’s locations.

Something tells me it'll be something like 1-5pm; not the 7am rush.

>Something tells me it'll be something like 1-5pm; not the 7am rush.

11am-6pm seem to be peak hours for cafes near me - and google data confirms this. Why would 7am be peak time there?

I believe Google’s data would reflect number of people hanging out inside more than number of customers passing through, since a customer that stays 10x as long has 10x the impact on average number of people inside the building. 11-6 sounds right for times the seating area is most full, but I’d imagine the biggest rush of in-and-out customers is just before work hours. Fortunately, there’s a Starbucks near me that I happen to know has had its lobby closed for a year or two due to a high crime rate, and Google’s data for it does indeed show a strong peak from 7 to 10.

Friendly neighborhood barista here: actual sales numbers have always shown a peak somewhere between 7-10. If might appear busier later in the day, but that's more likely a function of having less staff for afternoons.

I've mixed feelings. Many probably wouldn't want the semi-dead weight of big executive screwing up the morning rush.

I haven't worked retail, I know its unpleasant but is there really that much skill to it?

Doing things, doing things correctly, and doing things correctly and quickly are VASTLY different things.

At rush time, you don't have time to think. You must have muscle memory to carry you.

I have never worked as a barista, but I have worked as a line cook. It's not hard to cook one thing. It takes some time and practice to cook many things at once at a speed that keeps up with a good lunch rush. You can also easily compound the situation by trying to go too fast anyway, resulting in orders being sent back.

Yeah it’s like juggling. A non juggling person can’t really just decide they’re going to juggle a few hours a month and expect some balls won’t be dropped.

This comment is such a perfect microcosm of HN

Yes, working as a barista means you're running multiple independent instruction loops in your head at all times, while also having to act like a pleasant sociable human.

Yes. About the least-skilled position in retail is working the POS. Even with a touch screen, it takes practice. It makes a big difference if the operator knows where all the buttons are as opposed to having to hunt and peck. Yes, the machine tells you how much change to make, but picking up the right number of coins by touch instead of by picking up a bunch of them and counting them out into the other hand, that makes a difference. Picking up single bills out of the cash tray without fumbling takes some touch. Knowing all the sizes (short, tall, grande, venti, trenta?) and all the drinks. If you are at a store where they don't print drink labels, you have to know the order in which to announce a drink (size, modifiers, drink-type, but make sure the modifiers are in the right order) and the shorthand for the sharpie markup of the cups.

There's skills you need. None of it is that hard. But it is not easy to do it at speed without practice.

Better not be during the rush. Someone who works half a day once a month is going to be worthless in a rush, and it isn't worth the trouble to train them because they aren't coming back soon enough to remember any skills.

During the less busy times, he might learn something, though. Especially if he talks with his partners. They still call the workers at Starbucks "partners," right?

Will he be remunerated the same as a barista for that time? I'd guess not. And that is an important part of the motivation/attitude.

If he and executive come in on a regular basis at the same stores, it won't be a such a big deal after a while. They'll get to know the staff at the store, they'll know the routine. Like if Tom Cruise was your neighbour, it'll just be "Hi Tom".

Or, tell every store he's coming and everyone will tidy up! You don't even need to send the CEO to any store! /halfsarcasm

It's less about seeing how x store runs and more about seeing how the job for x employee is, no?

I dont think undercover bossing is helpful. But a CEO working a barista or manager shift at a store and dealing with customers and all the shit employees deal with it going to be insightful for the CEO. Hopefully that will help set policy and make work better for those workers.

My experience at the lemonade stand have been similar.

It's funny because it reminds me of stories my grandparents told me about communism in Eastern Europe where the higher ups would come inspect their factories and the execs would know in advance and prep everything to look perfect.

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