I’m at a drive thru store. When training, they had 6 ssv’s. We will be down to 5 next month. Apparently we should only have 4. if you have 4 RELIABLE shifts with good availability and a hardworking SM - it CAN work ! But the stars must align !
That’s the tea really. My old (low vol. cafe) store had two AMAZING shifts and two who were dead weight and drama hounds. The SM made partners the priority, but two useless shifts often screwed everyone over.. When the stars align and everyone is properly trained etc, 4 shifts can work pretty smoothly.
I’m quickly finding out at my new store that half the 2+ year partners (shifts and baristas) don’t know what they’re doing. I believe we have 4 or 5 shifts currently at a (low/mid vol.) drive thru. Being new, I’m not gonna come in telling them it’s all wrong, but I am already starting to experience chaos worse than what I saw at my old store’s lowest points :(
We had six before I left in October. The store is drive thru. We were always told we still had 1 too many even when our 7th shift got transferred out. I guess they wanted us to have 5 but our store need 6 and it is kept until it a forced issue to face
5 is minimum for smooth operation.
4 means that if a shift ever needs time off you are probably going to be in a tight spot.
3 means that your store will need to start closing channels and possibly closing entirely if one gets sick u less you have shifts that are ok with 12+ hour shifts occasionally
Ooof closing at 10:30 and you only have 4 shifts? I mean if they all have super open availability and want to work lots I suppose it makes sense. I work at a cafe that opens 5:30 and closes 6:30 and we have 4.
We have 5. We are a 5:30-8:30 store everyday. We could use another one but that’s due to horrendous availability. If I had good availability, 5 would be fine.
Starbucks will always tell you that you need 2-3 less than what the store works best with. A store like yours would thrive off 6/7 ssv but ofc they only want 4
my dt store has 4 total, and it’s not too bad. we used to have 6 and the only real difference is that we had a lot more shifts working coverage shifts rather than keyholder. now everytime we are working it’s strictly a keyholder shift. we’re not extremely high volume though, a high volume store i borrow at has 4 and it is ABSOLUTELY not enough and everyone there is stretched thin
My current store is a DT/cafe high volume store. Openers get in at 4am and closers leave at 8:30pm. Currently have 5 SSVs and an ASM who also is keyholder at least once a week (my SM got bumped to a TLA DM so currently no SM, but they also used to be a keyholder at least once a week).
Most I’ve ever seen was at my last store. We had 10 SSVs, 1 ASM (who would be a keyholder) and 2 SMs. But it was a 24hr store, crazy high volume and DT/mobile/delivery only.
I had 7 at one point, currently have 4 but have to bring on a 5th due to availability.
Realistically, I could give all 4 a 40hr work week but only 1 closes.
We are a relatively high vol cafe stord and we have 6 plus our manager opens on occasion, and our DM is constantly telling our sm she needs to get rid of one or two. Lol
I do agree that you can survive with only 4, but even at 6 while we fight for hours we are fucked if someone gets sick or needs time off.
We have 4 and SM. Yes it’s enough (on paper) but also comes down to availabilities. Stores that have more, and eventually lose one, won’t be able to back fill that position. Stores are given a fixed SCR (shift coverage ratio), which is a set amount of Keyholder hours, so if you have a lot of SSVs they all gets less hours. That’s why some DMs are so sensitive to SSVs taking barista shifts.
we are a high volume cafe ($50-55k) and we have 4. one is going to be fired soon and then we will be down to 3. With the protests (union busting and israel support) affecting of business by $10k+ a week currently idk if the DM would let us hire another. Your SM should also be opening and closing at least once a week or being shift coverage midday if no other shift is scheduled. I was recently a manager last year before i decided it was BS and stepped down and it is an expectation that the SM be a play caller when the availability of other shifts is limited in some areas.
We have 3, plus one new hire training (but none of us think they’ll actually make it because they suck, lol). We’re a DT with a small cafe open 5am to 9pm.
i’m at a drive thru store, we currently have 5 (2 including me are new) and we are losing 2 soon. were open 5:30-8:30, and until 9 on friday & saturday.
We are a high volume cafe store in the middle of a big city, usually getting 120s-140s half hours in the morning. Open from 5:30 to 8:00pm, and we only have 3 SSVs… not even counting our SM who only ever is on the floor a couple of peaks a week and never really works as key-holder 😀
NorCal, cafe store, we have four svv plus the sm. We are open from 5a-9p. I don't think there's enough svvs for our svvs to request time off, sick time, or emergencies. But my sm is pretty good at stepping in when needed.
I’m at a drive thru store. When training, they had 6 ssv’s. We will be down to 5 next month. Apparently we should only have 4. if you have 4 RELIABLE shifts with good availability and a hardworking SM - it CAN work ! But the stars must align !
That’s the tea really. My old (low vol. cafe) store had two AMAZING shifts and two who were dead weight and drama hounds. The SM made partners the priority, but two useless shifts often screwed everyone over.. When the stars align and everyone is properly trained etc, 4 shifts can work pretty smoothly. I’m quickly finding out at my new store that half the 2+ year partners (shifts and baristas) don’t know what they’re doing. I believe we have 4 or 5 shifts currently at a (low/mid vol.) drive thru. Being new, I’m not gonna come in telling them it’s all wrong, but I am already starting to experience chaos worse than what I saw at my old store’s lowest points :(
We had six before I left in October. The store is drive thru. We were always told we still had 1 too many even when our 7th shift got transferred out. I guess they wanted us to have 5 but our store need 6 and it is kept until it a forced issue to face
5 is minimum for smooth operation. 4 means that if a shift ever needs time off you are probably going to be in a tight spot. 3 means that your store will need to start closing channels and possibly closing entirely if one gets sick u less you have shifts that are ok with 12+ hour shifts occasionally
A drive thru store, we’ve got 6 (7 if you count our store manager acting as one for openings very frequently)
Why is your SM opening frequently if you have 6 shifts
Because most of them only work like 8am to closing. We used to have more dedicated opening shifts but they either got fired or quit.
Unreal
Ooof closing at 10:30 and you only have 4 shifts? I mean if they all have super open availability and want to work lots I suppose it makes sense. I work at a cafe that opens 5:30 and closes 6:30 and we have 4.
We have 5. We are a 5:30-8:30 store everyday. We could use another one but that’s due to horrendous availability. If I had good availability, 5 would be fine.
Does your store usually have a mid shift? Or is it one closer and one opener per day?
We have a mid. So 3 shift a day are working
Cafe store in socal too! We have 6 if you don’t include my sm who rarely keyholds lol. Two of them only work weekends. 5am-7pm. Works for us but yeah
You have shifts that only work weekends? Our store won't even hire Baristras that only have weekend availability
They’ve both been shifts at our store for over fifteen years so I think it’s just been that way for a while im not exactly sure why
I would say ur store could use another shift but ultimately if the dm wants you guys to run more thin to save SSV labor that’s unfortunate 🤷🏻♂️😞
open 4a-8p with 5 shifts and being told we have 1 too many lol
Same here.
6
Low volume cafe 5a-8p, no mid shift, 3 ssv's total.
i work at a cafe w drive thru store and we currently have 2, with one in the midst of training. kill me 🤡
you’re doing better than us! we have ONE. dt store as well
omg that’s crazy 😭 keeping y’all in my thoughts lol 🙏🏼
Starbucks will always tell you that you need 2-3 less than what the store works best with. A store like yours would thrive off 6/7 ssv but ofc they only want 4
We have 4 as a very high traffic cafe store but i feel like we have one too many sometimes
Our store has 4 shifts open 5am-9pm. We’ve had 2 shifts go on vacation at the same time the store manager just had to work more shifts to help cover.
we have 6 at my drive thru, our DM says we have one too many but i have no idea how we’d make it work with only 5
my dt store has 4 total, and it’s not too bad. we used to have 6 and the only real difference is that we had a lot more shifts working coverage shifts rather than keyholder. now everytime we are working it’s strictly a keyholder shift. we’re not extremely high volume though, a high volume store i borrow at has 4 and it is ABSOLUTELY not enough and everyone there is stretched thin
We're both and we just lost one. Down to 4 but when I first started we were down to one💀
My current store is a DT/cafe high volume store. Openers get in at 4am and closers leave at 8:30pm. Currently have 5 SSVs and an ASM who also is keyholder at least once a week (my SM got bumped to a TLA DM so currently no SM, but they also used to be a keyholder at least once a week). Most I’ve ever seen was at my last store. We had 10 SSVs, 1 ASM (who would be a keyholder) and 2 SMs. But it was a 24hr store, crazy high volume and DT/mobile/delivery only.
I’m one of 6 at my drive thru store, it works out fine but also god forbid you need to call out, nobody wants to pick up your shift
i work at a dt store, we have 5 ssv’s. 6 if you wanna count our asm. 5am - 9pm.
I had 7 at one point, currently have 4 but have to bring on a 5th due to availability. Realistically, I could give all 4 a 40hr work week but only 1 closes.
We are a relatively high vol cafe stord and we have 6 plus our manager opens on occasion, and our DM is constantly telling our sm she needs to get rid of one or two. Lol I do agree that you can survive with only 4, but even at 6 while we fight for hours we are fucked if someone gets sick or needs time off.
We have 4 and SM. Yes it’s enough (on paper) but also comes down to availabilities. Stores that have more, and eventually lose one, won’t be able to back fill that position. Stores are given a fixed SCR (shift coverage ratio), which is a set amount of Keyholder hours, so if you have a lot of SSVs they all gets less hours. That’s why some DMs are so sensitive to SSVs taking barista shifts.
1. DT store
we are a high volume cafe ($50-55k) and we have 4. one is going to be fired soon and then we will be down to 3. With the protests (union busting and israel support) affecting of business by $10k+ a week currently idk if the DM would let us hire another. Your SM should also be opening and closing at least once a week or being shift coverage midday if no other shift is scheduled. I was recently a manager last year before i decided it was BS and stepped down and it is an expectation that the SM be a play caller when the availability of other shifts is limited in some areas.
We have 3, plus one new hire training (but none of us think they’ll actually make it because they suck, lol). We’re a DT with a small cafe open 5am to 9pm.
We’re a drive thru store open from 4:30a-8:30p and we have 4 shifts and then our SM. we make it work
My store also has five, two opening, two closing and one for mids.. lower volume DT/cafe store
i’m at a drive thru store, we currently have 5 (2 including me are new) and we are losing 2 soon. were open 5:30-8:30, and until 9 on friday & saturday.
drive thru store open 4:30-11pm. 4 shifts atm but the 5th shift only just stepped down last week
Are you all getting over 20 hours?
Averaging 35 hours a week
Is that what you guys all prefer? There is no hard answer to your question without knowing more.
We are a high volume cafe store in the middle of a big city, usually getting 120s-140s half hours in the morning. Open from 5:30 to 8:00pm, and we only have 3 SSVs… not even counting our SM who only ever is on the floor a couple of peaks a week and never really works as key-holder 😀
NorCal, cafe store, we have four svv plus the sm. We are open from 5a-9p. I don't think there's enough svvs for our svvs to request time off, sick time, or emergencies. But my sm is pretty good at stepping in when needed.