you're not hired

a company like bux that grows at an insanely fast pace (it's been said a new bux opens somewhere in the world everyday) needs to hire a lot of partners. in food service there will always be turnover, and bux is no exception.

so what is a huge corporation supposed to do when they need workers?
well, they invent a stupid name to elicit interest in working for bux.

that's right. at bux we don't have 'open interviews'. we have 'hiring fairs'!
i wonder what marketing genius came up with that term. was s/he sitting down to a steaming cup of coffee and thought, "gee, we need loads and loads of employees. how can we ensure the maximum amount of applicants will show up? i know - we'll call it a 'hiring fair'. that way they'll be excited about getting a job AND they'll think working for starbucks is like being at a fair! oh, what fun!"

well, it is like a fair - just not with the rides and the snow cones. it's more like the judging of a prized sow. you know, you parade past the managers and they write down their individual assesments before huddling together and picking the winners. and then those that ribbon are taken away and slaughtered for barbecue.
ok, it's not quite that bad.

but it is true that one will have a much higher chance of becoming a bux partner if they attended a hiring fair instead of just randomly turning in their application to the bux of their choice. the cool thing is you have the chance to talk with more than just one manager and if you've said all the right things and your availability is good, then most likely you will get the coveted phone call informing you that you've been hired.
the bad thing is you don't necessarily have a choice as to what store you go to. say you want work at the bux near the local library (the same bux that advertised the hiring fair). you interview well, you dazzle the managers and you even get a phone call the next day. unfortunately for you - it's to work at the bux three blocks away. you know, the one that stays open late and is next to all the restaurants and movie theatres.

can you say "i'd really rather work at that other bux" when they call you?
of course you can. but they're more likely to appoint you CEO than let you change bux after the busy store has already claimed you.
sad, but true.

does the hiring fair work? well, if by "work" you mean getting bodies into green aprons, then yes. but if you've read any of my past rants about "newbies" then you can pretty much guess what my thoughts are about this process (or the results thereof).

barista rant: so you were polite and hung up the phone when you placed your order. that was decent of you. but as soon as you'd paid, you got right back on the phone and started chatting away. who am i to complain? well, i'm the person that had to remake two drinks! because you were so consumed in your conversation about your gyno visit, you grabbed the wrong drink - twice! it didn't matter that they were hot drinks and you'd ordered an iced one. no - you just sipped it a couple times and then realized 'hey, this isn't what i ordered!'. it might have been excusable if it happened once, but no...you did it yet another time. here's a suggestion. why don't you wait to talk on the phone until you're done with the bux experience. or better yet, why don't you just stick with landlines. i'm sure you're driving sucks as well.