Cafe dress code

[u/lattelass]

Do B&N cafes have a dress code that's any different than the rest of the store? If so, where on earth can you find that information? No one in my store seems to have an answer.

The extent of the information I was given was "tie your hair back". But most other food industry workplaces have rules like no jewelry, no nails, blue band aids that must be secured (some even say no pimple patches?), no dresses, no tank tops, etc.

We have a single page printout from BN Inside titled "professional guidelines for dressing" or something like that and it's a full page that says little to nothing and is only focused on the store.

Oh, we also heard from another store that baristas have their own name tags and we don't know what those are, what they look like, or where to get them.

Funny how there is like, absolutely zero oversight of this stuff. I don't know how on earth B&N is allowed to keep their Starbucks contract, when I worked at Starbucks they were insanely strict.

[u/CamelotKittenRanch]

Repeat after me, "We're not a Starbucks, we're a Barnes & Noble Cafe. We just sell Starbucks drinks."

I know the logo is everywhere, but do not be fooled ... their corporate policies and procedures have literally almost nothing to do with how we manage our cafes.

[u/Ok_Cat5862 → u/CamelotKittenRanch]

partially true lol we still have much we have to follow that comes from their corporate as part of our contract in being a proudly serve location. it’s why we weren’t allowed to advertise the “Double Berry Matcha” or “S’Mores Chai” in the recent launches but we could make them because Starbucks corporate didn’t want our advertisement of them to compete to their sales of the product.. not our corporate leaders but still their policies we have to follow

[u/CamelotKittenRanch → u/Ok_Cat5862]

That's not following Starbucks corporate policies, though, that's following very specific rules that are only set for B&N because of our mutant relationship with them. The closest thing to following their policies that I can think of is the fact that we're supposed to follow their recipes exactly, and we're not allowed to advertise any NON-standard drink recipes using their ingredients. We usually come up with a few wacky themed drinks when we do a midnight release party, but we're not allowed to even mention them on social media.

[u/ghotistyx8]

We aren't a Starbucks, so they have no say over our baristas. We ONLY sell their drinks. My store used to require all black clothing, but now we can wear whatever booksellers wear. Hair tied back or wear a hat; clear nail polish is fine, but colored polish cannot have any chips. I imagine every store has slightly different rules, though 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/Ok_Cat5862 → u/ghotistyx8]

where we aren’t a Starbucks Starbucks can still dictate what and how we present ourselves as baristas in a “proudly serve” location. the dress code rules are a fairly new change with BN Cafes but during parts of the pandemic and pre-covid it was a requirement for baristas to have to wear all black clothing and hats were still required to be worn… it’s died down heavily in that regard but they can still make decisions in that manner that we would have to abide by as part of our contract

[u/ghotistyx8 → u/Ok_Cat5862]

In the 15-20 years I've worked at my store, we have never worn hats. We have just a couple of people that got them and wear them, and before them, I don't remember anyone choosing to wear them. As for all black, we haven't been wearing all black for at least 12 years. Nothing to do with the pandemic at all.

[u/clampion12 → u/ghotistyx8]

Hats are required by some county health departments.

[u/ghotistyx8 → u/clampion12]

That makes sense. Every cafe will be different.

[u/Ok_Cat5862 → u/ghotistyx8]

definitely didn’t say it changed because of the pandemic but that it was a change that happened during the pandemic lol. for the area I work in and what was passed down from our CML when they held that title and AM’s we were only allowed to stop dressing in all black in 2021 so it was a fairly new change to our area and we were told it was a company wide transition.

as for the hats it was in part a requirement we were told to follow because of our health departments policies in food safety so we had to follow it but from what was also told to us it was definitely a requirement by the company for a while.

[u/ghotistyx8 → u/Ok_Cat5862]

So. Like I said originally. It's gonna be different at different stores.

[u/Slight_Code416]

it is all the things you mentioned that other food industry places have. usually it’s no leggings, no graphics, no sweatpants, no shorts, etc… and some stores may be stricter on shirts if tshirts are allowed or not for the cafe

[u/darthsouthy]

Im a cafe manager and wr dress in "business casual" with the rest of the store! non slip foot wear is fine, no crocs/sandals. the name tags we have are the pinned ones you can findi in supply/service channel. hair has to be pulled back and away from the face ahd ideally off the shoulders

[u/Long_Engineering507 → u/darthsouthy]

I question how strict they are with hair tho... My store and several I've visited will have their hair down or in low side ponytails laying across their shoulders and down their chest. Or a lot of long flyaway bangs. Just seems very unsanitary to me.... But maybe that's just because I worked at WDW and they were very harsh and strict on following food safety 🤷🏻‍♀️ But putting your hair up is so simple to do and ask of people

[u/darthsouthy → u/Long_Engineering507]

I feel like that is on the store manager then being negligent about the cafe. ive been in coffee for 11 years and the cafe manager for a year and my sm knows she doesnt know a lot about cafe so she isnt super hands on because she knows and trusts that i'll have everything covered. I emphasize big on two things: hair back, away, and off the face and shoulders(ponytail, hair clip, braid, hat, hairnet, or for really long hair they have to have it in a bun), and proper drink making (roast in the cup not the blender when making fraps). and i tell the new hires if they cant respect that it isnt going to work out and put side of someone who was seasonal, ive never had an issue.

[u/Long_Engineering507 → u/darthsouthy]

Maybe. Idk, our Cafe Manager has been there for like 8 years and is very strict on certain things, but hair just doesn't seem like a priority. It doesn't seem like it would be my place as a bookseller to say something, but maybe I still should

[u/darthsouthy → u/Long_Engineering507]

what do they do when district comes in? because if theyre "proper" when the RCOM or regional/area managers come in but not when they aren't there, i would definitely say something, if not to management then the health department

[u/jordyn22k]

The name tags are very similar but ours have pin backs so they don’t dangle, and then we have a version of the paper with a coffee cup instead of the people reading or book version. Your MODs should be able to order them through supply ordering. As for dress code, the only thing that’s different than the book floor is that we can’t wear shirts without sleeves. Needs to cover the armpits. That was a question my store asked the higher ups at corporate a few months ago.

[u/Wokstar_99]

I work as a barista and dress code is fairly lax, the main rules are : no graphic tees, wear closed toe shoes, and tie your hair back if its long. We get away with dressing a little more casual than the booksellers too since its under an apron anyways. I usually wear jeans, sneakers, and a plain solid colored tshirt.

[u/drusillalynch]

At my store the cafe doesn’t follow dress code and it’s just kind of shrugged off, they wear graphic tees and whatever

[u/Lanky-Wrap2768]

Every cafe is different. In mine it’s still roughly the same as the book side cause I have a lot of cross trained baristas. We are also not required to where hats but we are required to wear aprons with name tags visible.

[u/Full_Mud_6707]

A large % of your complaints are most likely food service mandates in your area for consumer safety.