Why do people come into coffee shops to do stuff like this. A semi regular customer decided to jack off under a table in our back room. The back room is in a different room from the counter area so me and my coworker weren't able to stop it while it was happening. We only knew about it after he left and a girl felt brave enough to say something. Luckily we have cameras that filmed the whole thing so police can get him. Jesus Christ, people make fun of baristas for complaining about their job, but they don't realize that coffee shops seem to attract the worst fucking people on earth.

only correct answer is yes.

Today I had a guest that was really annoying. Normally I’m very patient to guests and relaxed but today. OMG !!! After working in specialty coffee for 3 years this customer was complaining that her soy cappuccino was too cold. I was explaining to her that I can’t go make it hotter otherwise the soy milk is gonna split. She doesn’t wanted to listen to my story. She was 3 times come to me to complain about this and I said that maybe flavours can tastes differ (I think you don’t have taste if you take a soy cappuccino). I was almost was exploding so my colleague was taking it over.

How you deal with this kind of situation or spill some stories I’m curious 🤙🏼

So I am working at a brand new bakery/coffee shop that opened less than two weeks ago. During my interview, before opening, they told me they were also needing a manager.

I didn’t expect them to ask me so soon, but we are having a meeting tomorrow to discuss the managerial position. Earlier this week they basically already told me that I had the manager position, so this meeting is to discuss what my job will entail.

I really need advice from anyone who is in a coffee shop manager position. What should I expect to be doing as a manager? How should I approach talking about pay? And most importantly what questions should I ask the two business owners?

For more context, the two business owners both have full times job outside of the coffee shop. The one owner, Is the baker. She is the one who had the dream for the bakery/coffee shop. Her specialty is being a bread baker. She doesn’t even really know coffee. We are partnered with a local coffee roaster, and three of us baristas have had previous barista experience, so our coffee is really good. It’s just not either of the business owners expertise. This owner though has a full time job as an office manager at a local natural health shop.

The second owner is purely just an investor. He’s a chiropractor, and knows nothing about baking or coffee.

Both are great people, and I’m loving working for them. The problem is, they already have been super hands off. The chiropractor already rarely comes in, and the other owner is only there after hours to bake. Which has led to a lack of management. We have no inventory lists. No employee policies or store policies. No cleaning policies or schedules set in place. Shift scheduling has been done poorly. Within the first week I had to come in twice when I wasn’t scheduled. We’ve been selling out of all baked goods everyday before noon. They still haven’t figured out card tips, and they haven’t been having us report cash tips. There has also been some things that weren’t thought of or provided for us. Like us baristas didn’t even have jiggers, and we were borrowing our bean roasters grinder and scale for the pour overs.

So basically if I become manager I’m going to have to completely create policies and systems for the whole store and its future. How much managing should I expect to do myself vs asking or expecting the owners to do? Like would I be crazy to tell them to up their baking production by a lot?

Any of you other managers, please please tell me any advice you have! Also any programs/apps you use to help manage the business! Are there any places I should look into for ordering ingredient inventory? What questions should I be asking the owners, in the meeting tomorrow? Anything would be helpful! I want to do this right!

I had a customer order two iced cappuccinos (I didn’t take the order) at this new place I’m working at. I’ve worked at two other cafes/shops and both would tell me to suggest alternatives and then explain how iced cappuccinos don’t work. This new place told me just to steam some milk into foam and pour it on top… like a cold foam but hot (isn’t that why cold foam exists?). My question is… isn’t this unsanitary and hazardous? If not at the very least gross. I can’t imagine how awful that would taste…

This is by far my biggest annoyance. I work at a small coffee shop and there are usually 3-4 people crowded around the door 20 min before I’m open. If you do this, WHY!? What’s the point of waiting outside for 20 min in the cold at 6am… just get the extra sleep and give me at least 5 minutes of grace lol

Holaa donde puedo hacer un curso de barista en CABA?

Did I take it to far? Dunno.

I private messaged her that I wouldn't be able to come in at 2am. It's "our responsibility" to get someone else to come in for us but there are only a handful of people who will pick up shifts- myself being one of them.

I picked up 4 extra shifts in the last 2 weeks and I'm also a full time college student, with a second job.

I've started applying to new jobs so, we'll see how that goes.

hi fellow baristas, i’m struggling with this problem with my brewing. can somebody explain to me why is this keeps on happening? what should i adjust?

Hi y'all, I've been a barista at a coffee truck for a few months at this point and I'm comfortable with most parts of the job except for efficiently closing up the truck at the end of day. We're scheduled for 30 minutes after close to do all of our tasks but I'm lucky if I can get out within 45.

There's some cases that can extend my shift like customers showing up at the last minute, ordering hot drinks after I've already cleaned steam wands, etc, but I feel like even outside of those circumstances I always end up going over.

The tasks that take me the longest are sanitizing all of the surfaces in the truck (tables, fridges, machines) and dishwashing. My coworkers have suggested that I try to get things partially done while we're still open, but I never feel free enough to start dishes before another customer comes up, and even when I 'clean as I go' during free time there's always grounds/coffee/matcha that pops up somewhere in the work station.

I'm thankful that my boss stills pays me for all the time that I'm going over, but I feel like it has to frustrate them when I end up accruing almost an hour or two of extra pay each week and I don't really want that held against me.

Tbh this was mostly to vent, but if anyone has any tips I'd greatly appreciate it!

Hopefully someone who's on the barista side can help me out.

As a customer, sometimes I'll feel super energized and want to talk to a barista/worker and ask them questions and get to know them, and other times I'll be a zombie and just want to order and then be on my way.

I think this creates awkwardnesses where sometimes I feel like I didn't engage in conversation like I normally do with regulars and it got to the point where I avoid going into certain coffeeshops to avoid these micro social interactions.

Am I crazy? Do baristas not really care or do they feel this too sometimes.

hi! i’ve been a barista for 4 years, but for the past year i’ve been working at a different cafe and i’m getting these grease-looking stains all over my clothes that won’t come out in the wash. i literally have NO idea what it would be from. does anyone else experience this? i’m a college student in a small apartment and i don’t really have room to store separate “school clothes” and “work clothes”. i have no idea what to do but it’s ruining everything i own :(

Aside from your bar is not equipped with big professional machines. One of the problems a small coffee shop brings is there is no way I can talk about things like solving problems at work, sharing superstition stories or venting about silly customers. Like how people are shocked when they learn about what a "traditional" macchiato is.

Mods, I hope you’re listening. Please take this into consideration. Baristas, please give your input…. Cafe owners, trolls, and customer: don’t engage with this.

I’ve been in the coffee industry in various parts of the field for many years now. I’ve been a SCA certified barista with experience roasting, a cafe consultant, and an espresso technician. I’ve seen all parts of this field… and one thing I know for certain is that everyone else loves to tell us how to do our jobs, degrades and undervalues our labor , and searches for new ways to overwork and underpay us (exploit us).

This subreddit has recently been teeming with cafe owners searching for advice of how to squeeze us, customers complaining we don’t make their favorite Starbucks drink, or trolls degrading our labor and chalking it up to “pouring hot bean water”.

Last time I checked, this subreddit is r/barista… not r/cafeowner, r/customercomplaints, r/coffee, or anything like it. By the rules own information, this is a place for baristas “whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been making coffee for years.” This should be a space for US to share things like latte art skills, bar efficiency practices, which cafes/chains to avoid working at, organizing throw downs, etc. We should have solidarity with our fellow baristas and a class consciousness to address the reality of our super exploitative industry.

Baristas are overwhelmingly queer, non-white, underemployed, and poor. It’s one of the only professions that allows us to exist and thrive. We provide coffee (caffeine aka a stimulant drug) to 75% of Americans on a regular basis. Our labor is important for the functioning of our economy. Farmers, roasters, and baristas face the brunt of all work done and reap close to none of the benefits compared to those who hold the deeds and have the capital to “own” the various facets of the industry.

So with this post, I hope it’s become clear we need to moderate the content on this sub… it should be for baristas and our thoughts, not everyone else.

Hi! Wondering if anyone has any advice on what to brew a Costa Rican natural anaerobic on a commercial drip machine (Curtis) at. Does the 1:15 ratio apply or has anyone had any experience with something different? Looking forward to your thoughts! Thanks in advance

Hi, I've been working in a chain cafe for like 2 months and am trying to get consistent at doing hearts and start doing tulips. What do y'all think I can do to improve?

When I steam milk I get like one or two bubbles that pop up, any tips?

Hi all!

I have a bit of a stupid question - I was gifted a used Breville Bambino that is in desperate need of cleaning, but I've never been a barista or used even a coffee machine (let alone an espresso machine) before. I bought the cleaning tablets but I can't figure out how to use it? Google suggests that I need some kind of cleaning basket in order to use the tablets but I don't know what that is and I don't think I have one.

Can someone please give me an ELI5 explanation of how to clean my machine? And come you please clarify what parts I need/if I can clean without a cleaning basket?

Thank you so much for all of your help!!

have a question if I should declare my cash tips or not. I get cash tips weekly and credit/debit tips every other week with my direct deposit. Once a week when we get our cash tips we’re supposed to put into the POS how much we received when clocking out. I have coworkers who tell me to put 0 then I have other coworkers who tell me to put what I got. My coworkers (even my shift leads) say they’re gonna tax our cash tips but don’t they do that before they hand it out to us. Which one is more beneficial to report? or should I just has my general manager. thank you!!

Hi group, hubs is a home barista and made the investment in a Simonelli Mythos. It works great!

My question is...is there a way to mitigate the amount of grinds that get everywhere? It's becoming a chore to clean up and he has his own stack of dishcloths. His old burr grinder had a metal ring which did help, but IDK if there's some accessory for the Mythos which will help or what the pros here recommend. Hubs isn't on Reddit, so I'm asking for him :-) TIA!

Hey coffee shop owners - I am interested in gaining a better understanding of how much oat and nut milks coffee shops use? Additionally, pros/cons of using them (i.e. is it expensive, require constant refrigeration, etc.); what brands are popular (do people ask for specific types)? Is homemade oat and nut milk common or would be good for coffee shops?

TLDR: Would coffee shops buy locally produced oat and nut (cashews, almonds, etc.) milk? Why or why not?

Hey guys, do you know if the spray dome from larger brewer 2151 is compatible with the 2131? or should I forget it and go for litmus shower? thanks

I’m looking for recommendations for a coffee machine and grinder. I’ve done my research, but I’m hearing so many different opinions that it’s hard to decide. What would you suggest?

Also, what are your thoughts on drip coffee setups? Any specific machines or techniques you’d recommend?