# Starbucks pay just changed... where to switch to?



## starbuxSlave

Hello all,

new to the forum, but I really needed a place to vent and also some advice on UK coffee chains...

I've worked at starbucks for 6 months now, and I was more or less satisfied with my job, at least enough to stay with it. But now, all of a sudden, they have changed our pay from bi-weekly to monthly. We have only been given a 1 week notice before the beginning of the new pay cycle, and an extremely confusing transition period involving over-payments followed by under-payments and then re-payments for the initial over-payments...

As we all know, slinging beans is generally a lower paid job and most of us live paycheck to paycheck. On a monthly wage I will not be able to pre-plan the spontaneous short trips I take when I manage to catch some consecutive days off, or reasonably be able to balance expected bills with expected wages (we usually don't have more than half a weeks notice on the rota and my hours vary wildly from 12-35 hours in any given week).

As you can imagine, a monthly check rather than a bi-weekly one is more or less detrimental to my financial well being. I don't think it will be worth it, as my pay is only 6.50/hr and tips are relatively non-existent. I am now forced to look for a change of venue, where I can have a more reliable pay schedule that won't force me to be broke on a regular basis as this one surely will









Starbucks has left quite a bit to be desired employment-wise in many ways, and this is simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

For those of you who work at similar chains, does anyone know who still pays every 2 weeks, and how is the pay & work environment at your chain/location?

I'd love to work somewhere that allows me to have my own hair styles and jewelry, as this is one thing that I've truly missed while being stuck at starbucks.


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## seeq

Sorry to hear about the situation. It's not just the public sector that treat their employees like dirt then! There are a couple of regulars on this forum that work for costa, I'm sure one of them will be along soon. The other alternative is looking at working for an independent rather than a chain. May take a bit of effort to find one, or certainly one with a vacancy. But wold allow you to be more individual, especially when making coffee as you don't have the 'brand' restrictions to hold you back.


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## chequ3r

Costa Coffee pays wages weekly to all in-store staff (with the exception of store managers). I see this as being one of the main benefits of working at Costa









Working conditions in Costa are normally pretty good as long as you follow the Core Operating [brand] Standards. I don't think you're supposed to wear any jewellery below the elbows when on shift and long hair is meant to be tied back neatly.

If you just stay at the basic level (team member / barista), you aren't really put under much stress and there should always be a Barista Maestro / Assistant Manager / Store Manager there to keep an eye on the team. The only responsibilities you'll have as a barista should be clearly set out to you and you should only really be set to focus on one thing at one time.

I don't mean this to sound arrogant, but you might initially face some opposition if you tried to move from Starbucks to Costa. As I'm sure you're aware, they're two of the major high street chains competing against each other and Costa views Starbuck's machines as cheats' machines (Costa tries to use more 'traditional' barista skills). Just make it clear that you're happy to learn Costa's 'proper' way of making coffee drinks and you'll be fine









Most of the time, you should get at least one week's notice for rotas. As long as the store you [potentially] worked at had a decent sized team, it should always be fairly predictable.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me, I shall do my best to answer


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## coffeebean

If I was in your position, I would give serious thought to setting up your own mobile coffee business. I worked 20 years in an office and have now done 4 years as my own boss with a mobile espresso bar and would never go back to working for someone else!


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## starbuxSlave

Thanks for the info on Costa!

Yes, that is one of the stores I am considering, along with Nero. Of course, as aforementioned by the other guy, my ideal would be a nice small local independent shop, but those seem quite hard to come by around here... there's one that I like, and I check often but they never seem to be hiring









I know that Nero pretty much lets you dress the way you like and wear piercings and do your nails, which is nice. Working at Starbucks makes you really feel like a drone. You are not permitted to have any individuality, no fun hair colors, no jewelry whatsoever, including normal earrings (even a necklace under your shirt or even an engagement ring!), and really strict enforcement of those policies. Generic make up only. You have to look like you have *no* style of your own. Anything even resembling individuality is banned.

We usually feel pretty understaffed, and there's quite a few mandatory meetings that cut into your days off and your personal time. The hours are all over the map.

Also the drink making guidelines are extremely strict, you have to do every single step in perfect order, it's 1-2-3, 1-2-3, and you can't really use your own timing or style. The machines are almost entirely on auto. You're really only there to press the auto shot button and hold the milk jug in place until the auto temp says it's done. Hold at the required angle. For the required number of seconds. Syrup goes in first. That's it.

I used to work at an independent coffee shop where things were done completely 'old school', and it was very different there in terms of trade skill and employee treatment. Training there was about packing espresso, shot pressures and manual milk steaming. If you left it on too long you got burned, and you could tell it was ready by the sound it made.

Alas, it seems that I really don't have that option here.

Useful info on the Costa thing, I'll keep it in mind.

I'd love to hear about Nero too. How is the pay/employee treatment there? Are there any Neronians that have anything to add? Or perhaps another chain I haven't mentioned?


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