thoughts on: working at starbucks
I miss the Starbucks I was working for a year ago.
Starbucks treats the employees fairly well. There are some things that could be better, such as the policies for calling in sick (you usually need to find your own coverage to call in, even if you are legitimately ill), the way employees are all classified between part and full time, and benefits could always improve, but for the most part, I've been consistently grateful for my amazing job.
However, with all the limits on labor, store closures, reduction of benefits, and the fact that most partners aren't getting enough hours to even qualify as part time, things are pretty dismal lately.
But compared to some of my past work experiences, Starbucks does communicate better with it's employees than any company that I've worked for. The idea of an employee portal where you can look up any policy, view promotional calendars, and even make your own adjustments to direct deposit, is so honest and helpful in the communication between corporate and the partners.
There's the whole Employee Free Choice Act thing going down, and while it would be nice to have a union to talk to the corporation if they do crappy things like suddenly take away the benefits, or people are being mistreated, etc., the idea of a union seems more bad then good to me. I don't want to pay any dues, and I don't want to have being in a union mandatory for work at Starbucks, and I don't want to get fired if I can't pay these required dues. And, I would not be happy to have to suddenly STOP work because the union called for a strike. I know how much it sucks to be caught up in the middle of someone else's strike, and not being able to do things you personally need to do.
Just let me qualify for part-time benefits and we'll be square, Starbucks.