I know…I know..
Working at a place like Starbucks, it is normal for there to be a lot of personnel change.
People move away for personal reasons.
People get transferred.
People leave for better opportunities elsewhere.
But there is something uniquely special about working in an environment like a restaurant or a cafe as opposed to working at a school or a company.
In a school there generally is an environment of isolation and separation between colleagues.
A teacher stands alone in front of a group, and though some words will be exchanged between teachers in the staff lounge, generally most teachers do their job, go home and view their co-workers more as competition for the same salary rather than other human beings involved in the same struggle.
In a company, duties are separated by both department and location so very little understanding or experience is shared between workers.
So someone in purchasing has very little understanding or compassion for someone down in the loading docks, for example.
But in a place like Starbucks or McDonalds, workers seem more cohesive, more united.
Don’t get me wrong.
Starbucks is not one big mass of people holding hands and marching down the street in unity and harmony.
Like any organisation, politics of personality divides people from one another also at Starbucks.
As well, management will always be viewed differently than the rest of us.
Personally, even I, a person whom one has to actually work very hard to annoy, don’t love everyone equally.
But that said, I still feel that any outsider who would attack the character of any of my co-workers would find a united front against the attacker.
There is something about doing repetitive duties together in a stressful environment that sort of lends itself to a camarderie of experience, almost a “brothers-in-arms” kind of feeling.
At the time of my start at Starbucks, I sadly attended the going-away party of beloved barrista Jeremy, who now lives in Basel.
Since Jeremy, two other Barristas have left SBs at the Bahnhof: one for health reasons, the other to travel the world before returning back to his homeland.
Happily of course, new faces have joined the team since I began way back last November and they are a welcome addition to the team.
This week I am again saddened by barristas leaving the two SBs where I work:
Volkan of the Bahnhof has been transferred to the Arena.
Eva of the Marktplatz is moving to Winterthur.
I suppose I should simply take their leaving in my stride, but it must be said that each individual at SBs brings something special and unique to the group dynamic and though the position can be refilled, their contribution of character leaves a void.
For the record, I shall miss them both.
A lot.
Maybe I am getting soft in my old age…