Something I've had a very hard time getting used to: coffee cadence. While every store in Indiana stopped brewing decaf and bold after noon, here they don't stop until much later at night. Brew station is also not just the responsibility of the "front person" (we're all front...no drive-thru) but of anyone who is free at that moment to start the next batch. We don't pre-grind, so it's always fresher, and the rule of thumb is to keep an eye on the timer and start working on the next urn when there's two minutes left. That's all fine and dandy, but it's still tricky for me. I'm used to either being all about brew station, or doing my best to ignore it (saying I ignored it is a straight lie. I got a wee bit obsessed about it. I'm a little crazy). Now I have to pay attention to it, but it can't be my biggest priority, no matter what my position.
It's steady enough that being on bar or register basically means you're planted there for a good while. Float means you're doing whatever the other two need of you, which, again, is pretty steady: getting plain coffee for customers (or starting mistos or red eyes), fetching pastries, warming pastries or sandwiches, grinding customer's coffee, rinsing pitchers, fetching ice, fetching milk, stocking cups/lids/sleeves/syrups, trading out dish tubs, and, of course, keeping up with the cadence. I was float for almost two hours at the start of yesterday's shift, and I felt like a chicken with my head cut off. I finally hit the rhythm of it right before my ten, but most of it I felt like I was prioritizing things wrong, rinsing pitchers when I should have been fetching a pastry, warming a bagel when I should have been fetching ice, etc. I think I'll get there eventually, but yesterday, it basically sucked. (It's possible that my sense of Constantly Doing It Wrong was due to the attitude of the guy on register, who is hard to read leaning toward impatience, but I was probably also Doing It Wrong).
I spent the rest of my shift, even after returning from breaks, was barring. I. Love. Barring. I'm pretty sure just about every barista loves to bar. There is something so deeply fulfilling about it, finding a rhythm to complete a set list of small tasks that eventually turn an empty cup covered in Sharpie markings into a delicious beverage. And when it's double barring, making a hot drink and a cold drink while prepping another drink, ahhh...you find a rhythm, you time things between steaming and pouring shots and blending and finishing, and it's delicious.
I rang customers most of my first day, and that was also pretty nice: mark cups, scan things, explain drinks, make small talk, grab pastries or coffee is the float is busy elsewhere, collect money, and never have to move or really worry about anything else.
Other things!
[o] It wasn't until clocking out on Tuesday that I realized that it wasn't just this week that was posted....or next week...but the entire month! I don't know if this month was special, but it could be that my SM does multiple weeks of scheduling at a time. Hallelujah!
[o] Same time I realized there were multiple weeks of schedules, I realized that my next two weeks only have 29 hours. This worried me a bit, as I was under the impression that, due to their desperation for mids and my strong desire to work only mids, I'd get all the hours I could handle. Yesterday I finally got the chance to ask my SM about it, and he asked if 29 was a good number or if I'd like more. I told him I'll take all the hours he'll give me, and he said "Oh, okay, I can totally do that." Saweet!
[o] In Connecticut, we get paychecks every week. Doesn't really change how much we're earning, but I get to feel a little richer, at least. Today will be my first payday, and I'll finally get to see what I earn! And hopefully find my last Indiana paycheck! Wouldn't that be nice.
[o] My co-workers are pretty much all-around awesome. (Not as awesome as Indiana, of course, but that'd be all but impossible to do). It's pretty much the same ratio of college students to working stiffs, with many of the working stiffs done with college, either due to graduating or being sick of the bureaucracy. Point is, they all seem to be really smart, but not stuck up assholes about it. There's also a healthy smattering of artsy hippies, which makes my heart happy.
[o] This particular store has art on the wall that is obviously not sent by corporate. I asked someone who's been at the store for a while, and she said that the store has a contract with the UConn Photography Club. Nice! She also told me that it is possible for partners to have their work put up, it's been done before. Someone's going to have a talk with the boss soon!
In other news, Ryan is at a job interview right this second for a part-time bank teller position. Not counting chickens...but hoping!
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