Since many students are getting out of school for summer break this month, I decided that I’d take some time to reflect on my summers in high school. It’s no secret that I went through high school with a single parent in the expensive Bay Area. As such, near the end of my high school career, my mom looked to me more for financial support even though she worked as hard as she could herself. This led me to seek out jobs over the summer when I had more time and when there were no sports practices.
Naturally, I wanted to work at a gym or some other athletic establishment, but the pay just couldn’t compare to our local Starbucks. For some reason, Starbucks was willing to pay a suspicious-looking 16 year-old kid slightly above minimum wage to be a barista for three months. Despite my early reluctance, my mother insisted that I go for the better paying job to give her more support.
And that was that. I became a member of the Starbucks family. I certainly was not prepared to handle the responsibilities of a real job, never mind the stress that came with dealing with customers constantly. I found myself endlessly frustrated at first with customers who couldn’t figure out exactly what they wanted or who would come up to me upset about their order even though it was exactly as they requested it. In addition, as a boy that had no real idea how to navigate through a kitchen, I frequently lost patience with my own ineptitude of how to make drinks and warm food.
I’ll be real though; Starbucks was an amazing place to work. Despite the many bumps in the road early on and my prideful youth, my manager and fellow coworkers treated me with respect. They showed me a patience that I had at that point never seen before, even at school. In addition, I’m sure you’ve heard about all of the work Starbucks does to teach its employees about how to treat customers with respect and grace. That was all novel to me as a teenager with a deceased father who used to never be home and a mother who was always working.
Somehow, Starbucks became the place where I learned more about how to treat people than I even did at school or at home. Don’t get me wrong; I was young and stupid and I did slip and lash out at customers more than I should’ve. My coworkers were masterful at handling me in those moments and made sure to chastise while still offering fair criticism.
Since I was about to start playing football in high school at that time, working there also taught me a lot about teamwork and the importance of different pieces working as a whole. I experienced numerous instances of my coworkers being better at making drinks or working the register than I was and we would work to optimize for our skillsets.
By the time I made it as a starter on the football field, I was able to see other players in a very similar way. Positions and coverages didn’t need to be so rigid that players felt trapped. Adapting to each person’s strengths and preferences is a recipe for a successful unit on the field.
By the time the summers were over, I had grown so much as a person and the bonds between me and my coworkers had been solidified. I called many of them friends by the time I went back to school in the fall and to be completely honest, I still talk to some of them to this day. Without that job behind me, I certainly would not be the person that I am today.
It may sound overdramatic to say, but I truly do cherish the memories that I made there during those summers. The simple ease of following customers’ orders without having to worry about grades or coverages is something I’ll never forget.
In summation, I guess all I can say is that if any of my younger fans feel like they have a little extra free time this summer or want to work towards the new PS5, Xbox Two, or Nintendo Switch Mini, maybe they should take a look at Starbucks.
X
Naturally, I wanted to work at a gym or some other athletic establishment, but the pay just couldn’t compare to our local Starbucks. For some reason, Starbucks was willing to pay a suspicious-looking 16 year-old kid slightly above minimum wage to be a barista for three months. Despite my early reluctance, my mother insisted that I go for the better paying job to give her more support.
And that was that. I became a member of the Starbucks family. I certainly was not prepared to handle the responsibilities of a real job, never mind the stress that came with dealing with customers constantly. I found myself endlessly frustrated at first with customers who couldn’t figure out exactly what they wanted or who would come up to me upset about their order even though it was exactly as they requested it. In addition, as a boy that had no real idea how to navigate through a kitchen, I frequently lost patience with my own ineptitude of how to make drinks and warm food.
I’ll be real though; Starbucks was an amazing place to work. Despite the many bumps in the road early on and my prideful youth, my manager and fellow coworkers treated me with respect. They showed me a patience that I had at that point never seen before, even at school. In addition, I’m sure you’ve heard about all of the work Starbucks does to teach its employees about how to treat customers with respect and grace. That was all novel to me as a teenager with a deceased father who used to never be home and a mother who was always working.
Somehow, Starbucks became the place where I learned more about how to treat people than I even did at school or at home. Don’t get me wrong; I was young and stupid and I did slip and lash out at customers more than I should’ve. My coworkers were masterful at handling me in those moments and made sure to chastise while still offering fair criticism.
Since I was about to start playing football in high school at that time, working there also taught me a lot about teamwork and the importance of different pieces working as a whole. I experienced numerous instances of my coworkers being better at making drinks or working the register than I was and we would work to optimize for our skillsets.
By the time I made it as a starter on the football field, I was able to see other players in a very similar way. Positions and coverages didn’t need to be so rigid that players felt trapped. Adapting to each person’s strengths and preferences is a recipe for a successful unit on the field.
By the time the summers were over, I had grown so much as a person and the bonds between me and my coworkers had been solidified. I called many of them friends by the time I went back to school in the fall and to be completely honest, I still talk to some of them to this day. Without that job behind me, I certainly would not be the person that I am today.
It may sound overdramatic to say, but I truly do cherish the memories that I made there during those summers. The simple ease of following customers’ orders without having to worry about grades or coverages is something I’ll never forget.
In summation, I guess all I can say is that if any of my younger fans feel like they have a little extra free time this summer or want to work towards the new PS5, Xbox Two, or Nintendo Switch Mini, maybe they should take a look at Starbucks.
X
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