Working at Starbucks in New York City, NY: 3 Employee Job Reviews by Real Employee working in New York City, NY Area

"It is very unfortunate I have to write this however for the benefit of other potential employees it is important to know the type of environment you are walking into. Additionally for customers, you should know some of the awful things partners endure on a daily basis that you probably aren’t aware of but that the company are completely ok with and that your money is going to keep supporting that behavior. I worked for Starbucks for 9 months and almost from the onset experienced a consistently negative and toxic workplace. I was intimidated and bullied daily but most severely by my manager who constantly targeted me for everything she could find. She would reprimand me for things other partners were not spoken to about and that she herself wouldn’t comply with. She would constantly threaten to fire me, belittle me, refuse to acknowledge any positive attributes and I became so severely stressed I would often have panic attacks before starting my shift. I worked incredibly hard to try and live up to the often unrealistic ideals and tried to take on board feedback and coaching and towards the end of my time was getting consistent positive feedback not only from shift leaders, but other partners and customers. Yet, this was never enough and even after reporting it, my concerns were not taken seriously and HR sided with my Manager and would indicate that if I couldn’t find someone to support me then they wouldn’t take my claims seriously even though I have countless examples and evidence of the behavior which I reported. This is the problem with bullying. The bully commonly creates such an environment that no one feels comfortable speaking up. Even if they aren’t the target they don’t want to get involved sometimes due to the fear they will endure the same. I appreciate that I just got really unlucky, where the store that I was in was just a nightmare, and I’m sure there are great stores and great managers out there however the bigger issue is the HR"

"Starbucks is a company that believes their people are their greatest asset. It was a pleasure to work for and represent such a company. As a result of a company taking such pride in their product and their people, the work environment was always positive and the place I looked forward to being."

"Increasing job duties and little incentives for growth."

What do you like about working at Starbucks?

"The benefits are good and decent starting pay for baristas."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"Don't apply if you can help it. You'll be overworked and underemployed."

What don't you like about working at Starbucks?

"The increasing job duties belie the compensation for those duties. Employees are often overworked and underemployed and many times the management above store managers enforce rules and duties that are unreasonable for many situations (i.e. telling employees to continue to give service to rude customers who often make racist comments). Also some of the benefits have small breakdowns when coverage is minimal due to micromanagement of cases."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"Care more about the employees as they are the driving force for business. Making the employees happier increases productivity. Proper training of some management positions should be required as many keyholders/managers actively break rules or risk other employees' jobs because they don't feel like doing something."