Starbucks, my beginning

About two years ago, I was successfully working for myself as a consultant. My current contract was with a non-profit organization that I was starting to lose a great deal of respect for and although I desperately wanted to help them progress and make the changes they wanted made, they were unwilling to think bigger than the small town they were in making things very difficult. When my contract expired in August, I decided that I was not going to renew with them and had a very serious decision on my hands, do I find new clients or do I take a step back from self-employment and find a "fun" job with minimal responsibility?

I chose the latter. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. It was essential that I find a job that I would enjoy. That was the sole point of working for someone else was something with minimal stress and significant enjoyment. I thought of what I enjoyed most, my daily trips to Starbucks and reading. So I applied at several of the local Starbucks as well as Barnes and Noble. After several weeks I secured an interview with an eager store manager and met with her at her store. "I'll be honest with you, I really don't have the room for a new hire right now, but I was so impressed with your application, I want to do whatever I can to get you on board rather than risk losing you." she told me over our cigarette and coffee. As our conversation continued she explained the part of my application that had struck her interest so greatly, a point that was brought up from my final manager on more than one occassion and expected to be passed on to other new employees over a two year time span.

Where it asks "Why do you want to work for Starbucks?" my answer was simple and honest, " I love coming for my cup of coffee every day and being treated like family from the people that work there and I want to provide that kind of experience for others as well." It was true. They knew me by name when I came through and although the triple grande white mochas that I would get daily were great, I also chose my location based on the people working because that interaction was as much a part of my visit as the drink I spent ridiculous amounts of money on.

I began with a great deal of reservation after a week of training. My training schedule was sketchy, almost as though I'd been forgotten, I spent all my hours either reading or doing cleaning tasks such as mopping, dishes, taking out garbage. It was a significant change from raising thousands of dollars, wearing suits to meetings, meeting with local politicians and CEOs. I wasn't sure if this is what I'd really signed on for. I was surrounded by college students. 20 somethings without a care in the world aside from their classes, love lives, and social functions. I had a husband and three children demanding my time and attention and creating limits that none of my co-workers could comprehend. To make matters worse, they had boundless energy whereas I was exhausted after spending an entire day chasing my 18 month old around the house.

The worked at lighting speed and confidence I was certain I would never achieve. There were so many types of coffee, various drinks most I'd never heard of, recipes, procedures, techniques, I was overwhelmed. I remember joking with a customer a few months later that even with my college education I felt like an idiot when I first started and that learning all that was needed to perform your duties could be a degree in itself. I pushed myself hard and found myself drawn to my assistant store manager and felt as though he had taken me under his wing to ensure I made my career at starbucks a success. I began working drive thru on weekends and making drinks like a culinary chef and closed during the weeknights with a cleaning quality I was proud of.

The gap in age difference between my fellow partners, a term Starbucks used to refer to all employed with the company, was quickly bridge and many friendships began to form. The wisdom from my additional decade of experience proved to be useful and in many ways I became the big sister/mother many of them needed in their life and they provided me a opportunity to feel youthful again during the break from my life's "responsibilities". Above all else however, I found myself growing to cherish my regular customers that would come to the store and treating them with the same affection, enthusiasm, and friendliness I had once found when I drove through for my drinks. I was no longer addicted to just my drink from Starbucks, I was addicted to Starbucks. I loved everything about my job, even taking out the garbage. When I spoke to people about working for gospel, it was with a similar passage to those devout christians speaking of the Lord. It wasn't long before I was eager to transition into a position with more responsibility. I craved the achievement within the corporation.