What It's Really Like To Work At Starbucks According To Employees

We all love going to Starbucks, but what's it like to work there? Turns out that it's not all smooth sailing and frothy creations in the land of Starbucks. Imagine having to navigate a sea of orders with multiple variations of "extra foam," "half-sweet," and "no whip" while still maintaining a genuine smile. To learn the truth, we scoured the web to get the inside scoop from Starbucks baristas who have revealed their tales of multitasking madness, finding humor in the chaos, and mastering the art of creating memorable moments for every customer who walks through those glass doors.

They have held nothing back and are dishing out the real deal — the good, the bad, and the venti-sized — straight from the aproned heroes themselves. So, if you've ever pondered whether Starbucks baristas spell your name wrong on purpose, how in the world they make all those drinks from memory, or if the employee benefits are really that good, then this is the insider's guide you've been craving.

Starbucks baristas are responsible for making all sorts of different drinks, but some are easier to create than others. Frappes, although wildly popular, seem to be a sore spot for many employees. "Honestly. I hate the sequence for it. Also, I hate the ingredients for it, and prepping for them too," said one employee on Reddit. "The sequence goes, frappe roast, milk, add flavor, dump in the blender, add ice, add base, blend, pour, whip."

That's a lot of steps to complete, especially during a rush in the store, so it makes sense that this frappe-hating sentiment is common among many different baristas across the company. "I used to love Frappuccinos. But now I hate them. There's a lot of barista hate against the Frappuccino. They throw off your whole routine," a worker told New York magazine. "And people order the most ridiculous Frappuccinos, which makes you want to cry all day on the inside." So if you are interested in working at Starbucks, just know that every time someone orders a Frappuccino, you might die a little inside.

The bane of the part-time economy is that many retail and hospitality workers don't get any sort of non-monetary benefits from their employers. This is different for Starbucks employees. "I nanny full time and work early mornings at Starbucks for the health insurance. I have great coverage and average about 22 hours a week," said one part-time worker on Reddit in 2022. "Other great perks too like 401k matching, stocks, and they even offer free Spotify."

Not only do part-time workers get insurance, but it's pretty good insurance, too. "Found an amazing dentist in network, no complaints," said one employee on Reddit. Employees also note how quick and easy it is to get signed up with Starbucks insurance. "My life partner had to get insurance through their work and it's been like three months of back and forth on paperwork," another employee wrote. If you are looking for something part-time with good benefits this coffee company could be a great fit.

Anyone who has spent more than five minutes in a Starbucks will see that the baristas behind the counter all work very hard. Employees are quick to confirm that the job is as full-on as you might expect it to be. "Under a bad manager, it will literally eat you up and spit you out. I don't even have a severe anxiety disorder, but my anxiety going in when I had a bad [shift manager] was awful," said one worker on Reddit. "I was crying before my shift and crying afterward. It was awful. I wasn't eating, and my relationship suffered terribly."

While good management can certainly make a difference, being swept off your feet during each shift will happen regardless of your boss. "Managers say [...] we need to do a better job at connecting. Obviously, we're not connecting, because we have mobile here and we have drive-thru here, and we're running around like crazy," a barista from Florida told Business Insider. If you don't want to put in 10,000 steps or more a shift, Starbucks might not be for you.

Hungry people can be some of the angriest customers around, so it's no surprise that working at Starbucks is rife with rude customer encounters. "Starbucks has created a very specific, niche, and entitled customer base that can make your life hell sometimes," a former barista shared on Reddit. "If you can handle rude people, maintain professionalism, and maintain composure in situations where someone might literally be screaming in your face because you forgot a single pump of their skinny vanilla syrup, you'll be just fine."

This isn't just an isolated incident, as r/Starbucks is full of baristas warning about just how "Karen" people can get. "Don't work at Starbucks unless you are prepared to deal with, undoubtedly, the dumbest, rudest, most entitled customers you will ever meet. They will ask for the impossible, like extra of every ingredient in the largest cup possible," warned one tired barista. "They will ask for things that cannot physically exist in this dimension." They went on to warn that customers will call workers rude names, take their time even when people are waiting behind them (agitating customers who might then take it out on workers), and will not tip even if you are great.

If you are a coffee lover or a "Starbucks a day keeps the doctor away" type of person, then getting a job at this chain might not only increase your income but also lower at least some of your expenses. That's because most Starbucks employees get free food and beverage perks each shift. "You are allowed by company standards to have Partner beverages once before (within 30 minutes of shift start), once after (within 30 minutes of shift end), and once per break," a barista said on Quora.

That's quite a lot of free coffee, but unfortunately, it is not the same at every store and can depend on who gets your order. "[This] is entirely up to how strictly the store is run," they continued. "[It depends on] who you get on till when you're ordering, or how informed on standard the employees are. Basically, you're allowed whatever you can get away with."

If you want to make your mark on the stock market, then you may be happy to learn that Starbucks employees get a bit of the company's profits via stock options. Employees can buy these shares at a rate that usually works out to a better price than what's available to the public. "They give even their part-time employees stock options every year," one employee shared on r/personalfinance. "I also contributed to a stock investment plan, where a percentage of each paycheck was put towards buying the stock at a lower price."

It's important to note that stock options are different than retirement savings, which Starbucks also offers through a 401(k) or a similar plan. Many investors who don't even work for the company think it's a great stock to hang on to because of the chain's popularity. "I swear they could charge $15-$20 a coffee and those mid-20s to 30s soccer moms will still go there," said one Redditor.

The Starbucks secret menu is well-known among fans, but for baristas, it can be annoying and confusing. "There is no 'Secret Menu' at Starbucks. There is no recipe for drinks called a Clint Eastwood, Undertow, Tear Drop, Tuxedo, Bloody Tuxedo, or my most recent favorite 'Butter Beer,' " one employee warned on Reddit. "Ordering these drinks makes you look [bad] and you've got a good chance of getting decaf from your annoyed barista." So what should guests who want a secret menu item do instead? "If you want one of these drinks, just order it by ingredient," the employee said.

Just remember to be kind when you order off the secret menu. A New Hampshire barista told New York magazine that this isn't always the case, which can be frustrating. "People will come in and try to order stuff and expect us to know what it is, and we have no idea. It sounds good, but unless you can tell us what's in it, we can't make it for you. And people get kind of mad about that," they said.