Starbucks Barista Job Requirements

ADE 5083Dr. Brooks

Produced By:Victor Galgano

Stephen JacksonJenna Oster

Laura Robertson

Purpose of the Program

The purpose of this course is to provide the new barista employees of Starbucks the essential tools and skills that are necessary to uphold the values set in place by the Starbucks Company.

Course Overview

The course focuses on the elements of the job that are related to customer service and the expectations for the barista when interacting with the clients.

Standards of Business Conduct

Under the Standards of Business Conduct in the Business Ethics and Compliance handbook it states that legendary customer service is a top priority at Starbucks. They treat their customers with respect and dignity.

Legendary Customer Service

• Legendary service includes: – prompt service – quality beverages and products – maintaining a clean and comfortable store

environment.

• This course outline explains the principles as they relate to customer service.

Customer Service Principles• A welcoming presence: Baristas are required to use the standard

greetings upon entry of all customers into Starbucks locations. Greetings make first and lasting impressions that allow the customer to enjoy their stay and entice them to return again. Friendly body language is used in combination with the greetings to ensure a positive experience.

• Prompt service: Baristas will produce the requested beverage to

the client in a timely and orderly fashion. Upon an order, the barista ensures the customer wait time is limited and the beverage is served with 100% accuracy.

• Maintaining a comfortable store environment: Baristas will show professionalism and provide a warm, welcoming environment to the Starbucks patrons. Baristas adhere to customer requests and fulfill their needs.

Needs Assessment

• We will focus on the Task Analysis level of assessing the needs of the client.

• The task analysis is geared towards a customer service-oriented training module for the client’s baristas.

• Information on the customer service expectations of the baristas will be derived from unstructured interviews and observations with baristas and barista managers at the local Starbucks.

Strategic/Organizational Analysis

• Training will be focused on the customer service job requirements of the baristas at a Starbucks Café.

• Information will be gathered from the company website about the overall organizational mission and focus.

Task Analysis

• Learner Characteristics: – The characteristics for the learners in this course

may range from all ages and potentially be any sex.

– The learners’ characteristics will not necessary be

a factor in the design of the program due to the broad range of potential trainees.

– Learners will require some high school education.

Task Analysis

• Job Description: – The barista is to perform the designated

customer service principles of the company. These principles include a welcoming presence, prompt service, and maintaining a comfortable store environment.

– This job description was developed from observing and interviewing workers, baristas, and a barista manager at the local Starbucks. Information was also collected from their website.

Task Analysis

• Task Identification: (Rated by Importance)

1. Beverage identification

2. Beverage procedural knowledge

3. Quick and responsive to orders

4. Maintain a clean and orderly environment

5. Have a smile with correct upright body posture

6. Greet each customer as they enter the door

Task Analysis

• KSAO:– Ability to multi-task– Handle fast paced environment– Handle pressure– Customer service experience is preferred, but

not required– Oral and written communication skills– Work in a teaming environment

Performance and Learning Objectives

1. Given the Starbucks Barista Customer Service Manual, baristas will greet all customers upon entry to the café using at least one of the indicated greetings found in the manual.

2. Given all the recipes for drinks on the Starbucks menu, baristas will prepare the requested beverage(s) for the customer with 100% accuracy.

3. Using the clock located behind the barista service station, baristas will produce the requested beverage(s) in no more than (x) minutes upon ordering.

4. Using the abbreviated acronyms for drink items, baristas will announce to the customers the finished product with 100% accuracy to ensure proper delivery.

5. Given the Starbucks Barista Customer Service Manual, baristas will adhere to the appropriate body language and gestures when interacting with customers and one another.

Instructional Structure & Sequence of ContentInstructional Structure

– Provide organizational notes from Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Howard Schultz. These notes will describe his vision of the Starbucks Café and the role of the barista’s in making that vision a reality.

– Provide new employees with a copy of the Starbucks Barista Customer Service Manual. Training modules will be structured in a sequential fashion that aligns with the Manual.

– Instructional modules will follow the framework of introduction & explanation, demonstration, and reproduction.

– Introduction & explanation activities will include descriptions of material content and endeavor to answer all of the “why” questions. Extra time should be budgeted in these sections for varying levels of questions.

– Demonstration activities will include the live performance of correct physical and verbal actions by an experienced barista or specialized trainer. The barista or trainer should emphasize friendly service, accuracy and timeliness in their demonstrations.

– Reproduction activities will include performance of physical and verbal actions by the trainees. – Café Managers, or close equivalent, will lead summative discussions following each training module. These

discussions should focus on the material covered and its importance within the particular café.

Sequence of Content1) Customer Service Module: Focus on initial greetings, gestures and order taking.

2) Service Preparation Module: Focus on order preparation, presentation and accuracy.

3) Prompt Service Module: Focus on preparation timeliness and teamwork.

4) Environmental Module: Focus on creation and maintenance of the “Starbucks Atmosphere”.

Corporate & Managerial InvolvementEach module will be opened by words from the company CEO and closed by the thoughts of individual café managers.

Any training or instructional program within the corporate setting is only ever as strong as the emphasis placed upon it by those in

critical positions of leadership. At a company such as Starbucks, customer service and product delivery are everything! New barista

trainees will be made aware and consistently reminded of this throughout the instruction, building up their own personal motivation.

Learning Methodology Talk about it, show them how its done, and then set them free to do it on their own.

This is a classic learning methodology that is prevalent among task oriented jobs, such as filling the role of barista at Starbucks. This

method allows the trainees to comprehend, verbally and visually, the task completed perfectly and then provides them opportunities to

reproduce the tasks to the same level. Practice is the key to any task oriented job. The modules will seek to creatively challenge

trainees to perform specific tasks perfectly each and every time during their reproduction sessions. This creative practice will make the

learning more enjoyable while also providing strong cognitive anchors and context that the trainees can easily refer back to.

Structure Rationale

Sequential Instruction• There is merit to learning in the same fashion and order in which tasks are naturally performed.• Our trainees will learn individual tasks and responsibilities in both the order they are likely to be performed on

the job and in terms of strategic importance. • Further, each module will create a framework from which the next module can be built on. In a sales culture,

first impressions are paramount.• As such, our first module will involve customer relations and order taking. • By teaching this module first, it can be continuously trained on in subsequent modules without much need for

review. • Our second module is essentially the creation of our products. This will be what a barista completes after

taking an order, and is also the reason the customer is visiting the café.• The barista’s success or failure with this step is likely to have a significant influence in The customers

decision to return to the café in the future. Building upon correct production of a product, in the third module we focus on the timeliness of that product’s delivery to the customer.

• Timeliness should be a concern for each barista in product creation, secondary only to accuracy and presentation; it will set each Starbucks apart from its competitors.

• Our final module involves maintaining the appropriate café environment. • Baristas will focus on this when not engaged in order taking or product production. By maintaining a unique

Starbucks decorum, customers will be compelled to spend their time in the café and potentially order additional products.

Learning Environment• The training environment will mirror that of the Starbucks café

and corporation. The sessions should be relaxed and friendly, but also motivating and perfection seeking.

• They will be lead and completed in whole by Starbucks employees to ensure the best possible product quality is translated to the trainees.

• Training will be conducted on location at a café during non-business hours to facilitate procedural and contextual content accuracy.

• By conducting this initial training away from the presence of customers, trainers will be able to focus solely on the trainees without distraction.

Media Selection• Delivery of training will be kept as simple as possible to maximize attention to content. Cafés

will use their wireless internet and internal computers and speakers for delivery of CEO videos that will open each training module.

• Each trainee will be provided with an electronic or hard copy Starbucks Barista Customer Service Manual that will be their one stop reference for each and every task to be expected of them.

• Using the functionalities and unique atmosphere of the café, trainers will lead the modules in the most realistic and hands-on ways possible.

• Cafés may be altered to create a clustered classroom setting by moving chairs and tables during introductory training.

• Demonstration and Reproduction activities should be more akin to lab-like settings whereby trainees view and participate in hands-on activities.

• During reproduction phases, trainers should facilitate role-play, accuracy games and speed drills to make the training more meaningful and enjoyable.

• Offering prizes of Starbucks products for exceptional performance by individual trainees is authorized and should be considered to creative behavioral incentives and brand loyalty.

Starbucks Prompt Service Program

• Objectives:

– Given all the recipes for drinks on the Starbucks menu, baristas will prepare the requested beverage(s) for the customer with 100% accuracy.

– Using the clock located behind the barista service station, baristas will produce the requested beverage(s) in no more than (x) minutes upon ordering.

Preparation Required

• Physical environment: – A Starbucks location would be an ideal site for

the lesson, more specifically the drink preparation site.

– This allows the new employee to explore the actual environment and equipment that they will be working with.

 

Preparation Required

• Equipment and material:– Refrigerator – Espresso Machine – Emulsifier – Coffee Brewer – Iced Tea Brewer – Thermal Servers – Starbucks Recipe Booklet

Preparation Required

• Instructor: – The ideal instructor is a manager who has

had experience working as a barista.

– This individual should also be educated on how to train newly hired employees, i.e. Training Manager.

 

Preparation Required

• Trainees: – The trainees will be newly hired Baristas.

– To make better use of time, a group of about 6 new hires should be trained at once.

The following slides show an example lesson from the Starbucks Barista training: