Great line from a great movie, regardless how you feel about Madonna, Rosie, et al. The quote came to mind yesterday as I dealt with my feelings about an “issue” here in the store. Yup, we have issues. From time to time. Well, daily. But this time it’s not equipment, the darkness of the Kenya’s roast, or the labor percentage. It’s personal.
Or should I say “personnel”. I have a barista, we’ll call him Luke, who is driving me up the wall. Luke came to us from a local eatery, where he had served as, well, a server. This restaurant has an espresso service, albeit a superauto system, so he arrived with a sense of what we’re about.
He’s a full-time student, so his availability varies seasonally, but that’s not really the issue. The issue is his consistent, persistent delusional notion that he’s “one of the better employees”. Oh, have I mentioned that he also believes some of the management staff are out to get him? This came to a head a few days ago when THREE assistant managers took me aside to remark that Luke had repeatedly disappeared off the floor without letting anybody know where he was going or what he was doing. That might have been the end of it but…
I followed up in written form, detailing the complaints. His response included a whine about his relative health, the vendetta of a certain manager against him, etc. In his mind all valid. In my world, fantasy. How am I doing to handle this?
My REAL inclination is to resort to sarcasm, as I have aloud here in the office. I’m not by nature much of a nuturer, so my first response is usually “If you’re not bleeding, get up and get on with it!” Not conducive to dialog. The bottom line, however, is that if I’m EVER going to get Luke’s attitude to do an about-face (as in “It’s not about me”) I’m going to have to find a way to do this face to face and objectively. If one employee has a problem with another, I expect them to address it between themselves. If three do it in one day, I have to get in on the act. Wish me luck!
Filed under: Business
HEY JP,
You’ve hit a nerve with your barista story. We hired a college kid 9 days ago who worked as a barista at one of our competitors for an entire year (confirmed) prior to going off to college. It’s amazing how little he knows/understands/applies in making drinks with his background. It’s even more surprising the apathetic passive approach he takes in TRYING to learn our recipes, or figure out our systems, that are all in writing. We explain all baristas are on a trial period upon hiring, and their continued employment will be based upon their ability to demonstrate & execute our systems that we feel we go overboard in teaching & demonstrating.
I believe personality traits IE ambition, ability to conform to standards, ability to get along with others, are all set in their behaviors by the age we may employ them. I’m not sure any more of our cojoling or coercion will motivate him to try. Like the infamous words of Popeye: “I y’am what I y”am!”.
As an employer, I feel once we’ve articulated the goal and timeframe to accomplish the skillsets baristas need to acquire/develope/master to remain employed here, we’ve done our part. When we take him by the hand and try to engage him in studying recipes or systems, that he refuses to learn, we’ve done all we can, and we need to accept we’re spinning our wheels. I have no remorse in telling him it’s time for him to move on to another employment opportunity, more of a sense of dissapointment that we couldn’t go further with him. Dave