tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post8899674083735805788..comments2024-03-12T22:31:46.500-04:00Comments on What Would Phoebe Do?: WWPD and the revolutionPhoebe Maltz Bovyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996039330841139883noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-7441152721899119812010-04-27T19:50:05.135-04:002010-04-27T19:50:05.135-04:00Matt,
You're right that Starbucks isn't t...Matt,<br /><br />You're right that Starbucks isn't the greatest job, either - at least that's what a friend who worked there briefly. But there's not-great as in, isn't it a tragedy that not everyone gets paid to do something they find fascinating, and not-great as in, illegal, exploitative stuff is going on. I suspect that some coffee-shop patrons assume all jobs less intellectually stimulating than their own are some form of torture, and don't stop to think of the subtle differences between latte-making with health insurance and latte-making without.<br /><br />Anyway, this all gets back to the question of the patron-barista relationship, and the preference among certain patrons for <a href="http://whatwouldphoebedo.blogspot.com/2008/10/4-latte-3-tip.html" rel="nofollow">a barista who's a hipper, more rebellious looking version of himself</a>, i.e. a (usually) white college kid or recent grad. At least in NY, one sees this type of barista far more often at the independent places than at Starbucks, possibly because these are people who either have health insurance from school/parents or expect to have it again soon, after a brief stint in baristaville.Phoebe Maltz Bovyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996039330841139883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146512.post-20110814569725909332010-04-27T19:31:28.682-04:002010-04-27T19:31:28.682-04:00Yes, some dim seeming people in that article. I s...Yes, some dim seeming people in that article. I suspect that it's not wonderful to work at many Starbucks, as they are often very busy and the assembly-line style would grind on me. But as you say, it's likely better than many independent places in most ways. I can also think of lots of reasons to like a local place over a chain, but the apparent belief that "small and local" is <i>as such</i> better is sad. And you'd expect the management to not blame itself but the "it was just some bad apples spoiling everyone" and the "if my coaching techniques were not helpful, people should have said something" stuff was annoying. You have to hope they don't believe it, but they probably do. And, I think that if I worked in such a place I'd rather have a raise than go to a "coffee conference".Matthttp://www.law.upenn.edu/cf/faculty/mlister/noreply@blogger.com