My Starbucks Blog Post
For whoever reads my blog post, you had to know something about Starbucks was coming sooner or later. It is a big part of my life, after all.
Here is just a bit of my Starbucks background to give a little perspective. When I moved back to Colorado after a brief, albeit messed up time, in Arizona, I started job searching again. I was offered my old job waiting tables, but I hated it and had resolved never to go back after having worked there for two years. It was, needless to say, a miserable place. So I began the endless task of filling out applications, almost a full-time job in itself. I applied for everything not having to do with food of any kind. I called around and no on seemed to be hiring (or they had misplaced my application--thanks, Bath and Body Works lady!). After about a month of hearing absolutely nothing, I started applying at all the places I had deemed "forbidden"--restaurants, which meant being a waitress again. My dad all but told me to apply at Starbucks. I shunned the idea. Why would I want to work there? In fact, it was the last place I wanted to work. As I was thinking about how much I didn't want to work there, I got a call from two clothing stores where I had interviews. They seemed to go fairly well, one of which I was sure would offer me a job. Still, as I waited, I couldn't get Starbucks out of my head. So I went ahead and applied anyway. I got a call the very next day from the manager (it was the fastest response I had gotten without me calling first). She asked why I wanted to work at Starbucks and do you know what the first thing was that I said? "Well, I like coffee." No joke. She laughed and offered me an interview the next day. Despite waiting to hear from the other stores I had already had interviews with, I went to the Starbucks interview, the most nervous I had been thus far. It was me and two other girls with the manager and assistant manager in a group interview. Within three hours she called and offered me the job. Without hesitation, I took it. Not even an hour after, one of the other stores called and offered me a job and I turned it down. Starting Starbucks was one of the scariest moments of my life. In the first month, I think I cried an average of 600 times and thought about quitting at least 90. But my mom encouraged me to stick with it. And I did. Most of my co-workers were awesome and really encouraging. They were committed to not only helping me learn, but also making me feel at home. I was pushed in ways I never thought possible and came out stronger. Now, since I've become a shift supervisor, I'm still being pushed every day by employees and crazy customers who often have no idea what they're talking about. Right now, I'm being pushed by new and changing things that I'm really scared about.
Starbucks was seriously from the Lord. He knew I needed to be in the store I'm in. He placed me there despite how much I wanted to be somewhere else. And you know what? I wouldn't trade it. I have made so many memories and had so many crazy adventures. I've had wonderful shifts where my team and I get to be silly and dance all night with music on the headsets to awful shifts like Christmas Eve and gallons of heavy cream busted all over the floor. We've gotten to watch fireworks out our drive-thru window and have super heartfelt and awesome chats with random strangers. It isn't easy, but I love my partners. They are my second family.
I know some of you guys aren't huge fans of Starbucks. That's okay. I'm not asking you to be. Starbucks isn't a perfect company either. They have their faults just like anyone else. They do a lot of good for a lot of people, though. And they pay my bills. Sometimes you just have to look past the corporate mumbo jumbo to the real purpose of connecting with people on a human level. It's why we do what we do.
Here is just a bit of my Starbucks background to give a little perspective. When I moved back to Colorado after a brief, albeit messed up time, in Arizona, I started job searching again. I was offered my old job waiting tables, but I hated it and had resolved never to go back after having worked there for two years. It was, needless to say, a miserable place. So I began the endless task of filling out applications, almost a full-time job in itself. I applied for everything not having to do with food of any kind. I called around and no on seemed to be hiring (or they had misplaced my application--thanks, Bath and Body Works lady!). After about a month of hearing absolutely nothing, I started applying at all the places I had deemed "forbidden"--restaurants, which meant being a waitress again. My dad all but told me to apply at Starbucks. I shunned the idea. Why would I want to work there? In fact, it was the last place I wanted to work. As I was thinking about how much I didn't want to work there, I got a call from two clothing stores where I had interviews. They seemed to go fairly well, one of which I was sure would offer me a job. Still, as I waited, I couldn't get Starbucks out of my head. So I went ahead and applied anyway. I got a call the very next day from the manager (it was the fastest response I had gotten without me calling first). She asked why I wanted to work at Starbucks and do you know what the first thing was that I said? "Well, I like coffee." No joke. She laughed and offered me an interview the next day. Despite waiting to hear from the other stores I had already had interviews with, I went to the Starbucks interview, the most nervous I had been thus far. It was me and two other girls with the manager and assistant manager in a group interview. Within three hours she called and offered me the job. Without hesitation, I took it. Not even an hour after, one of the other stores called and offered me a job and I turned it down. Starting Starbucks was one of the scariest moments of my life. In the first month, I think I cried an average of 600 times and thought about quitting at least 90. But my mom encouraged me to stick with it. And I did. Most of my co-workers were awesome and really encouraging. They were committed to not only helping me learn, but also making me feel at home. I was pushed in ways I never thought possible and came out stronger. Now, since I've become a shift supervisor, I'm still being pushed every day by employees and crazy customers who often have no idea what they're talking about. Right now, I'm being pushed by new and changing things that I'm really scared about.
Starbucks was seriously from the Lord. He knew I needed to be in the store I'm in. He placed me there despite how much I wanted to be somewhere else. And you know what? I wouldn't trade it. I have made so many memories and had so many crazy adventures. I've had wonderful shifts where my team and I get to be silly and dance all night with music on the headsets to awful shifts like Christmas Eve and gallons of heavy cream busted all over the floor. We've gotten to watch fireworks out our drive-thru window and have super heartfelt and awesome chats with random strangers. It isn't easy, but I love my partners. They are my second family.
I know some of you guys aren't huge fans of Starbucks. That's okay. I'm not asking you to be. Starbucks isn't a perfect company either. They have their faults just like anyone else. They do a lot of good for a lot of people, though. And they pay my bills. Sometimes you just have to look past the corporate mumbo jumbo to the real purpose of connecting with people on a human level. It's why we do what we do.
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