Coffee? Starbucks.
Yes, because if you ask a tourist or Londoner where you can drink a coffee, Starbucks is certainly one of the most desired places.
Hi! Is anyone ready to order? 
Do you know that this is one of the most famous phrases used by baristas in every coffee shop to ask customers what type of drink they want to order?
Are you looking for a friendly place to meet and talk with your friends between coffee and frappuccino? Do you want to find a place with a familiar and comfortable atmosphere to read, study, or work with your laptop? Or do you simply want to relax while enjoying your favorite drink?
Starbucks is one of the most popular coffee shops in London, it was born in Seattle (1971) and now you can easily find it in many cities of the world.
Do you know what the symbol that decorates all the cups in the store means? 🙂
It is a tempting icon, a mermaid that as in the past seduced sailors, now it seduces customers with the smell of coffee.
Starbucks offers many different drinks, hot and cold; the most requested are: latte, cappuccino, and espresso, but this store is very famous for its Frappuccino.
There are also other hot drinks like tea and those made with chocolate, for this reason, this store is perfect for everyone. And also you can find sandwiches, salads, desserts, and cakes that make it the ideal place for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
One of the best things that you can do in Starbucks is the personalization of your drink, a lot of people want to add syrup in their cups to give a different flavor, for example, my favorite is the caramel.
During my work experience, I met a lot of customers: Austrian, British, German, Italian people. They love Starbucks for the nice atmosphere inside. It is a warm, friendly, and peaceful environment where you can socialize and enjoy, sitting in one of the comfortable sofas, also your favorite Frappuccino, the fresh most loved drink by customers.
The style is modern, all lights make everything unique and special and the restful colors of the walls help to relax your mind. Some people can concentrate and study in the store using the free wifi to read and work online, I also did this, indeed I wrote part of this post in my store during my off day.
The relaxing background music makes a lovely and pleasant environment, although some people prefer to hear rhythmic songs, even bartenders who like to prepare drinks singing softly.
I would like to try every drink, some are very strange for me but doesn’t matter, I like to taste them anyway before every customer! 🙂
MY EXPERIENCE
I would like to share with you my experience in the heart of Starbucks starting from my interview day.
I remember that they asked me many questions about myself and my work skills, but the nicest thing is that they gave me a green apron like them to do a trial day.
They told me to walk around the tables with a tray in my hands, serving customers the new drinks of that season: the Strawberry & Lime and the Tropical Mango.
Would you like to try these new drinks? 🙂
This was the question for every customer in the store. Some people enjoyed free drinks and I was excited!
After my trial day, four months ago is started my adventure as a Starbucks partner, a friendly team with the responsibility to offer fancy drinks having good customer care, and always smiling at customers.
During my three months (probationary period), my supervisor taught me everything about the work, clarifying all my doubts.
In the first three days of training I did a written test on safety and health regulations, then they also explained to me how to behave in the case of a fire.
I have also learned notions about allergies for ingredients contained in beverages or foods. For this reason is very important to listen carefully to every customer request.
About the shift
Every Starbucks has different opening and closing hours, my store is open from 6 am to 10 pm every day. Each partner can have three types of shifts:
-The morning shift is for example from 6 am to 2 pm, I don’t really like it because for me means getting up early, and it is a little strange to walk alone at that hour, although the area where I’m living now is very quiet.
The only positive thing is that by finishing soon my work I can plan the rest of the day to do many things, like to go to a shopping center or just take a walk.
-The afternoon shift (from 11 am to 7 pm) is my favorite time, although this is probably the busiest part of the day, especially during the summer and the Christmas period.
-In the evening shift (from 2 pm to 10 pm) the work is very hard, even if there are fewer customers in the very last hours. The closing team is composed of three or four partners, and the main tasks are to close the coffee shop and to clean the machinery and the store in order to be ready for the next day.
Benefits
To be a Starbucks partner means also to have some benefits: a free drink during my lunch break; a 50% or a 30% discount for the food; a free product every week, like a bag of coffee; and a 30% discount if I buy in other stores.
Roles
One of the most interesting things about Starbucks is that every partner doesn’t have a specific role, because during the shift everyone is responsible for everything: make drinks, stay at the cash desk, clean the coffee area, refill the merchandise.
Obviously, the supervisor and the manager have also administrative duties. Then there’s the cover partner, a role to replace someone at work if the staff members are not enough in the store.
I have to say that wearing that green apron was a fantastic experience, just as special were my colleagues.