My Starbucks Experience

As I look back a year from where I was, I remember myself being together with a dedicated team of baristas, serving the very best coffee you can ever get at Starbucks. Reflecting upon my memories of working there, one thing I will certainly miss most would be the time I spent learning how to use the machine called the “Verismo”.

So you may ask, did you enjoy working there? Frankly, it’s a both a yes and a no. Now its not like I hate Starbucks or have anything against it but I guess personally for me, I just wasn’t prepared to spend my whole day from 9 to 6 serving and cleaning after people. I came to realize that it’s what you do being in the F&B line and it just didn’t suit me well as I could never handle repetitive work with a schedule that repeats itself. However, I guess God truly placed me there for a reason and it certainly paid off well especially after recalling going up to mom one day saying, “Mummy, I’d like to work in a hotel and finally manage it one day.”

Mom countered with capital Q-uestions like,

“Are you ready to work when people are on holiday?”

“Are you ready to spend long hours serving people?”

Obviously when you’re so into the idea of wanting something, every question against it would seem hostile as we retaliate and make statements like, “No you don’t understand!!” but it seems more real now as I’ve been through it. So kids, listen to mom and dad.


Now don’t get me wrong. I certainly did enjoy my time at Starbucks as well. It’s not very often that you get to be part of an organization that every child dreams of being in. Okay I’ll be honest. I dreamt of working with McDonalds when I was a kid because of the “cool” stuff you did but hey, Starbucks ain’t that bad too you know. I think the whole idea of making your own coffee was awesome, let alone customizing it at whichever way you’d never dream of doing as an ordinary guest.

On top of that, being able study the secrets that are unseen to the naked eye like the magical combinations of certain flavors are just splendid. Okay okay, I was prolly exaggerating there. They’re not exactly secrets as I’m not revealing anything that I’m not supposed to but it’s something that any coffee lover can just walk in and experience. Take for example the mouth watering combination of the House Blend with the Blueberry Cheese Muffin.

What more? Well, the kind of people you meet while working. I was fortunate and blessed to be offered a spot at the Great Eastern Mall outlet which gave me a great experience communicating with people of various nationalities who regularly visit the outlet I work in, with Koreans and Brits to name a few. It has come to a point where I even learned to greet my fellow Korean customers in their native language!!

In short, I believe every individual should give it a shot working at Starbucks regardless of whether you enjoy serving people or not. I learned a lot of true values while working there and although I hated the labor work that I am put through as part of my job, the values gained seemed eventually priceless. After all, an experience with Starbucks will genuinely put a golden star on your resume. I came to know a handful of people who had certain advantages in applying for a job over people who didn’t. Whether you survive or not will be a different story but nothing beats the opportunity that grants you strides over others.