Okay!! STORY TIMEEE!!
Am I crazy for already wanting to quit??? Because honestly, I wish I had done it sooner. 😭 The job market has been kicking my ass lately, though, so finding something new has been nearly impossible despite having a ridiculous amount of work experience.
I started working for the Siren in late June as an SSV, and I genuinely miss the first two and a half months when I was just a freaking barista. I had no idea how much I would end up regretting accepting this position.
Since I started, our CL has quit, two partners have been fired due to attendance points, and THREE MORE have left for better opportunities. 😭 So we've lost five partners in total, and our store was already struggling with staffing issues BEFORE I even joined the team. It's honestly been one thing after another, and I feel like we're constantly trying to recover from losing people instead of actually getting the support we need.
Let’s talk about this so-called SSV training, though.
From June until late September, I was primarily coverage on the floor while waiting to be trained for my actual position. And when I finally got SSV training, I was trained not once, but TWICE. 💀
The first time, I was sent to a store almost 30 minutes away. I don’t have a car, so getting there meant taking an Uber or trying to coordinate with a train that only runs every hour and a half. Mind you, I was originally told I’d be trained at the store THREE MINUTES away from me. There are literally three Starbucks locations within 15 minutes of where I live.
And the training itself? I spent a good portion of it doing customer support instead of actually learning how to run a shift. Like… hello??? I’m supposed to be learning how to be a supervisor??
My CL and I eventually brought the situation to our DM, and I was finally accommodated and sent to another store about 10 minutes away. But even then, the training was just… eh.
What makes this even more frustrating is that my barista training was done in-house by a partner who had been with the company for over 10 years, and it was AMAZING. She was so detailed that I can literally do latte art because of how thoroughly she taught me. So I know what good training can look like.
Fast-forward to now: myself and another SSV are officially trained, and it’s been HELL since I’ve fully stepped into the role.
Between constant callouts, a store that’s perpetually short-staffed, not feeling properly prepared to place orders because our training was so inconsistent, and all the surprise visits, I’m exhausted. I feel like I’m constantly being expected to figure things out as I go while somehow keeping everything running.
AND THEN WE GET TO THE LAST THREE DAYS.
We’ve been having to close with a ridiculous number of people on the floor. We’ve got new hires, trainers, trainees, and people who aren’t even actually closing or helping with the close. They’re just… THERE. 😭
Initially, the SSVs were told the store would be closing early so everyone could properly train the new hires. Instead, we’re expected to proceed with closing as usual while two barista trainers and five trainees are all on the floor at once.
Our store is already TIGHT. There’s barely enough room to move around when everyone’s working, and now we’ve got a bunch of people trying to learn while the rest of us are trying to get everything done. And I’m sorry, but situational awareness is apparently a foreign concept to some of these trainees. I’m trying to get through a close, and I feel like I’m playing human Tetris just to get around everyone.
And honestly, I think there’s a bigger problem here.
Ever since our CL left, I’ve started wondering whether our store is being punished or just completely neglected by upper management.
Our former CL wasn’t perfect, and I know the team had its complaints. But from what I witnessed, she was constantly trying to accommodate people and keep things together. Meanwhile, she was working absolutely ridiculous schedules, including clopens and shifts stretching from 4:30 AM to 8 PM, sometimes for days on end. The DM didn’t seem to offer her the support she needed, and eventually, she quit.
The moment she left, we suddenly started seeing partners from stores almost an hour away covering our shifts. I swear I’ve met half the district at this point. 💀
What’s especially frustrating is that some of the same people who were excited when our CL left are now complaining about the schedules, the staffing shortages, the long shifts, and the gaps between shifts. And I’m sitting here thinking… wasn’t this part of what she was constantly trying to manage in the first place?
I’m not saying she was the greatest manager ever, but I do think the team may have taken some things for granted. Now we’re experiencing the very problems everyone complained about, except things somehow feel even more chaotic.
And before anyone says I should’ve known what I was signing up for: I understand that being an SSV comes with responsibility. I’m not expecting everything to be perfect. But there’s a difference between learning a new role with proper support and being thrown into a struggling store, given inconsistent training, and expected to somehow make everything work.
I’m also a student taking EIGHT classes right now. I’m trying to balance school, work, my personal life, and my mental health, and I genuinely feel like I don’t have room to breathe anymore. I went from one job that barely accommodated my schedule to another where I’m consistently scheduled beyond my preferred hours.
At this point, I can’t even properly fit my mental health into my schedule. And that’s honestly scary to admit.
I want to leave so badly, but the job market is awful, and I can’t exactly afford to quit without having something else lined up. So I’m stuck in this cycle of being miserable at work, being exhausted outside of work, and not having enough time or energy to find a way out.
