[cmeisenzahl]

My thoughts are below, what do you think?

The writer of this letter appears to have some level of animosity towards her employer, Starbucks. But by her own admission, Starbucks treats her better than anyone else does or will.

So why doesn't she embrace Starbucks?

Starbucks Gossip: A Starbucks barista's letter to customers: "The only reason I don't leave is because who can pay me what Starbucks does and give me time to go to school, with this economy? For others the question is who else can provide me with the same great insurance that Starbucks provides? This may sound like whining to those who don't have a job at all, but you have to put it in context. If we are only staying because we can't get by the same somewhere else, then how are we supposed to be enthusiastic about our service to Starbucks?"
http://starbucksgossip.typepad.com/_...bucks-bar.html

[nonhuman]

I'm not sure I understand the problem. 'Can't get the same somewhere else' seems to me to be the same as 'best possible work environment'.

She needs to stop whining and shut the hell up.

[Atheist]

Aww... the poor thing. She has to work hard to make a living. What a whiner. American's really piss me off sometimes. Even with the economy as it is, the U.S. is still a land of opportunity (sorry for the cliche). They should fire her ass...

[mattyb]

We're (humans that is) never happy. I suffer the same problems as this woman, I have a well paid job, working for idiots. No I can't change since nobody else is hiring atm, but I still bitch about my situation.

You would even get complaints from people who were payed not to work. Same old same old.

[tooki]

Well, I understand. Just because a company treats you less badly than its competitors doesn't necessarily mean it's doing well. I had a similar experience with a certain purveyor of electronic goodies I worked for for a while.

[scaught]

Word salad.

Starbuck's is losing their focus, and quality is suffering as a result. Get rid of the sandwiches. Minimize the amount of products being sold. They aren't creating more reasons for people to visit their stores, flat out.

[torsoboy]

I totally understand her complaints. It isn't just the "benefits" that make it a good job... if she has great benefits, but her managers suck and her job duties demoralize her, then she has reason to be negative. If you don't enjoy your job, regardless of how much it pays, then it's tough to want to continue working there.

[ort888]

If you read her whole post it makes perfect sense. It only sounds bad when you isolate the middle paragraph.

There is nothing to see here people.

[Maflynn]

Money [and benefits] aren't everything. You spend so much time at work, that other intangibles have a greater affect on one's well being and happiness.

The vast majority of people I know who either are hired where I work, or leave do so not for a bigger paycheck but because their prior job's environment was less then satisfactory. Of course in the economy that we now find ourselves with. People are much more accommodating to management demands because the alternative is much more dire - unemployed.

[shifuimam]

She's whining excessively, to be certain.

Starbucks was one of the best part-time jobs I had in college. It was stressful sometimes, but it was a lot better than working at a fast food place.

I also don't buy her claim that newer employees are barely getting any hours. Corporate policy mandates a minimum of fifteen hours a week unless there are extenuating circumstances (and even then it's a long shot). I'm guessing she's just pissed off that her store is a little understaffed during one of the busiest seasons of the year.

Product sales have never been the top priority at Starbucks. The real profit is in the incredibly overinflated beverage prices. Even the pastries aren't usually that much of a profit...but $1.75 for a cup of coffee that cost ten cents to make certainly is.

She's full of crap IMO.

[ort888]

You claim she is wrong because of what you experienced in the past... but her posting seems to indicate that she was complaining because these things were changing from what they used to be.

[SpaceMonkey]

I gag a little every time I see a few of their egg-and-whatever breakfast sandwiches sitting in the display case, which look like they have been sitting there at room temperature for a couple of hours. What are they thinking?

[Big Mac]

Unless she's being abused by her manager, she has no basis to complain when so many other people are out of work and suffering or working much worse jobs. If she doesn't like the job, she doesn't have to work there.

[The Crook]

Originally Posted by Atheist 

Aww... the poor thing. She has to work hard to make a living. What a whiner. American's really piss me off sometimes. Even with the economy as it is, the U.S. is still a land of opportunity (sorry for the cliche). They should fire her ass...

She's not "whining" because she has to "word hard to make a living." She's complaining because Starbucks made moves to make the work even harder. It doesn't matter how hard of a job she has in the first place. I'm pretty damn sure that 100% of us across the job spectrum would complain about anything that makes our jobs more difficult, even if those things are necessary.

Absolutely no one reacts to "Hey, I'm gonna have to ask you to come in on Sunday too" with "Oh boy! What a wonderful opportunity I have to help save the company!" It's annoying no matter how much you make, how secure your job is, how many other people are out of work, and so on.

And that you want to fire her for complaining is absolutely ridiculous in an Upton Sinclair kind of way. "She complained? Grounds for termination!"

Originally Posted by BigMac 

Unless she's being abused by her manager, she has no basis to complain when so many other people are out of work and suffering. If she doesn't like the job, she doesn't have to work there.

Who gave you right to tell people when they should complain?

This girl does not like recently changed aspects of her job. No one has to like their job 100% to work there. And no one has to shut up about the negative aspects of their job. I'm sure you've never mentioned any drawbacks to your vocation....

You know, BigMac, you don't have to work there.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by The Crook 

You know, BigMac, you don't have to work there.

Neither do you? Your style of argumentation confuses me. Regardless, she should be happy she has a job that is relatively high paying and comes with benefits for semi-skilled labor. A lot of people in the job market are highly educated and qualified yet are finding employment prospects challenging.

[The Crook]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Neither do you? Your style of argumentation confuses me. Regardless, she should be happy she has a job that is relatively high paying and comes with benefits for semi-skilled labor. A lot of people in the job market are highly educated and qualified yet are finding employment prospects challenging.

Yes, I was joking about that that.



But I simply do not agree that she should be happy about something that makes her work harder. Any sane person would not be happy about that. Put yourself in her shoes and I'm completely certain you would not be happy either. You would not honestly react to "You will do more work" with "Oh golly boy gee whiz! I am super happy to work harder than I had to before! Aw-hyuck! In fact, I have no negative thoughts at all about working harder! It's all good!"

Similarly, I may be happy that I live in the United States and not Somalia, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't argue for anything better than Somali working conditions since I'm so lucky to live here instead.

[Chuckit]

The quoted part makes it seem whiny, but the overall letter seems fairly rational. The thrust of the piece isn't, "I wish I could quit, but I can't, so they should have to treat me better." The point is that she(?) thinks Starbucks' cost-cutting measures are unnecessarily expensive themselves. The "I would quit if I could" part is just used to illustrate how the chain has declined, since she(?) apparently used to like working there.

[jersey]

I dont think she is really whining, or that Starbucks is doing her a disservice as much as I think both - her letter and Starbucks in general - are pointing out how shitty the work situation is in the U.S. It has nothing to do with the economy, as it has been like this for a while.

Hell, I've thought about getting a job at Starbucks simply for the benefits - and I have the terminal degree in my field and teach college as a living. I dont have any benefits, and probably get paid less than she does for a 15 week period.

A discussion about how abusive academia is on the teaching side... now that would be a fun thread.

[ghporter]

What tooki said. Less poo is not no poo. Being dragged through the mud for only one block instead of five is only a mild compliment at best. But...

Whining about a job is not going to help anything. It apparently doesn't even help the letter writer feel better. Instead, why not do something constructive like let management (top management-Starbucks is supposedly very open to input from all levels) know what is going badly and give 'em ideas on how to fix it? Maybe this is a "Generation Z" problem, but I seem to see a lot of people acting like what they see now, today, is all there ever was or could be. Being an agent of change is not that hard. It just takes getting bumped out of your groove. Or rather, your "rut."

[Chuckit]

Isn't that what she's being called a whiner for?

[brassplayersrock²]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

I gag a little every time I see a few of their egg-and-whatever breakfast sandwiches sitting in the display case, which look like they have been sitting there at room temperature for a couple of hours. What are they thinking?

they're pretty good actually. they throw out the display ones every night, not sell them. the ones they sell are in a mini fridge and are heated up in their oven thingie.

the holiday peppermint mocha frap. is awesomely good.

[macintologist]

I hate it when people whine about their job. If you don't like it, then quit. There millions of people in the world who would do your job for HALF the pay and be much happier than your sorry ass.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by macintologist 

I hate it when people whine about their job. If you don't like it, then quit. There millions of people in the world who would do your job for HALF the pay and be much happier than your sorry ass.

Do you hate it more or less than when incompetent management drives a business into the ground?

[Tiresias]

Deleted by HL.

[Tiresias]

Deleted by HL.