Unprofessional and disorganized; I felt taken advantage of.
Pros
The 30% discount and free shift drinks are great, and the company itself has some good values. They support Rain Forest Alliance and (to my knowledge) make sure their international farmers are treated right. They do produce a quality product. Starting out, I had very positive expectations. I was excited to be a part of a great company, and I love coffee and love to cook, so I couldn't wait to make drinks and be a part of the warm coffee shop atmosphere... Too bad I never got to.
Cons
In my case, there was an EXTREME lack of training. I was trained in a course of two short weeknights. The first night, I learned register. The second, I was given a brief run-through of how to make all the drinks. Then I guess they decided I didn't need to know ANYTHING else like scheduling, breaks, or important company policies... I missed my first day of work because I was never told how to access my schedule, I never took a single day off because I simply didn't know how. The first time I called in sick I was yelled at because apparently even if you wake up with the flu you're required to call in 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. There was also no system for breaks. All I'd ever get was a tap on the shoulder on my 8 hour shifts telling me to go eat, never specifying for how long. I took maybe a half hour, and was yelled at for being gone too long. Sometimes it was so busy that no one would even tell me to go, so I'd go an entire day's shift without eating. Things were just as disorganized on the job. I was only scheduled busy weekend days (I was a student at the time). When I was thrown into my first Saturday after my "training", I was overwhelmed almost to tears. I was put on register all day, and expected to know so much I was never told, and my coworkers were right away very annoyed and resentful. We were always too busy for me to learn anything. I asked my manager if I could be scheduled more weekdays so I could learn, but was never given any. Six months went by and nothing changed. I was kept on register and never allowed to make drinks, even as newer members started and quickly advanced ahead of me. My coworkers and manager were rude and always treated me like the weakest link I was. There was even one girl who constantly harassed me, once even to tears. I told my manager how uncomfortable she made me feel several times, but nothing changed and she was eventually promoted to supervisor. Needless to say I'd had enough. I quit on good terms, and even made my coworkers cookies on my last day, but did not receive a single comment on them. I know many who did enjoy this job. Hell, I worked with them. However, in my experience, this store was horrible to me.