8.29.2006

there's no crying in starbucks

a couple weeks back i mentioned the 'management shuffle' that was occurring at my new bux. the manager that transferred me over to this store was sent to a different store and an assistant manager from yet another bux was sent here to be "acting manager".

can i just say the gal can't act?

when she first came to my store i could tell she was a type-a personality. it didn't really bother me because our schedules almost never overlapped, but believe me i heard more than enough stories from my fellow partners to know my first instincts were correct. over the course of a few weeks "acting manager" has become increasingly annoying with her nitpicking and sucking up to the district manager.

one day "acting manager" overheard two of the partners talking about clubbing in the backroom. one of them called the other a "horny whore" as a joke and "acting manager" freaked out. not only did she chew the two partners out for their "off-color and potentially insulting humor" she took it upon herself to have private meetings with each one of us employees to reiterate how important it is that none of us have a sense of humor.
ok, she didn't use those words but that was indeed the message.
she also said our bux has a reputation for having bad morale, unhappy customers and partners that smack talk 24/7. i personally haven't really seen any bad attitudes except for bitter old dude, but of course i'm not an "acting manager" and therefore i'm probably not as savvy as her (please note extreme sarcasm). so this whole week has been spent watching our every moves (and words) around "acting manager" and the assistant manager (who just happens to be close friends with "acting manager").

now if i got on twelve different partners' cases about being negative and talking crap i certainly wouldn't be caught doing those very same things if had any brains, now would i?

apparently "acting manager" has a short memory. either that or she thinks she doesn't need to follow the rules she's been trying so hard to enforce. why else would she be making raunchy jokes and complaining about my fellow baristas right in front of me?

but the icing on the cake this morning was seeing her lose it in the backroom. i'm talking a full blown cry fest - complete with the "but this job is so haaaaard!" and the "why is this happening to meeeeeeee?".
apparently "acting manager" is in over her head and can't complete the tasks assigned to her. apparently "acting manager" likes to pretend she's tough but doesn't have the beans to back it up. apparently there will be yet another management shuffle in the near future.

partner rant: did you not just see me clean the drains? were you blind to the fact that i was on my hands and knees scrubbing for the better part of an hour? so why the hell did you just dump coffee grinds down the sink when i specifically asked you to dump them in the trash so they wouldn't dirty the drains? are you inconsiderate, dumb or a combination of the two?

7 comments:

Will said...

OMG that girl is sooo un-professional. The one thing that you NEVER EVER reveal to co-workers is that you're unfit for the job.
All respect flies out of the window because one thing for sure, I bet everybody now knows about her emotional performance and turning on the waterworks.

Cup said...

Ben's right. She can't act herself out of a management bag, can she? I'm impressed that you didn't say something snide when she was telling the raunchy jokes and dogging your coworkers. You're a helluva lot nicer than me ... must be my bitter old age.

I like all these Bs in your comment box. And Benny's alive!

Anonymous said...

The things I miss for only going through the drive through!
Hee!

pseudostoops said...

What is it with management shuffling? I worked at a large sandwich chain that had the same problem- manager shows incompetence and rather than getting fired, gets transferred to another store where she can unleash her total lack of management ability on others. While good employees keep getting subjected to the management shuffle. Ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Ugh... I've worked at a bux for over two years now, this is my last week. It's so sad that I don't even know where you're from, but I recognize the characters from my store.
I'm quitting because my manager punched one of the computer screens when I told him my doctor wanted me to cut hours because I was having problems with my pregnancy.
I wish I would have written down more of the stories that happened at work now that I don't care about being fired.

barista brat said...

ben - so true! i slipped and fell (hard!) at my old bux but even then i didn't cry. believe me - no matter how bad a day i'm having i'm still strong enough to get through it without blubbering.

b - ah! she returns! and she went to the post office! *sigh* hope i'll make it there as well. i still have yours and beth's cds.

beth - at my old bux i defintately would've said something, but i feel like i'm still in observation mode here. plus, it's pretty clear this acting manager won't be with us for too long.


glassmeow - haha! maybe you'll have to go inside the cafe just once to witness the drama.

psuedostoops - exactly! it's as if they expect the partners in the stores to whip the managers into shape. i'm sorry but that's not a barista's job. if a district manager thinks highly enough of someone to promote them to management, then they should make sure the person can actually manage before giving them the position.

anonymous - that is horrible! it's as if the manager is saying "who cares about the baby? don't you understand - i need floor coverage!"
i'm so sorry you have to deal with that. congrats to you on the baby!

Zeus said...

I think this acting manager just suffers from an insecurity complex and takes everything out on everyone else around her through micromanagement. Her breakdown just proves this as she finally realized she was lying to herself in terms of how capable she was.