A few weeks ago I applied for a job as a barista for a large chain coffee shop. The job description was to work as a “Barista only”. Now, logically we all know that's focused on making the coffees. That's all well and good. I put my application through. It was also supposed to be a fixed shift. (We can get to that point in a minute)
The promise was for me to be trained as a barista and work as ONLY a barista for a 40 hour a week contract.
Anyway, I walked in on my first day and sure enough, after receiving uniform and having my tour of the shop, I was told the traditional “get stuck right in”.
I wasn't shown how the tills operated, nor where any of the food, coffee or any other drinks were stored, and was expected to get on with it. Although I was already annoyed I pushed through and tried to take in as much information as i could.
Only about halfway through did I realise that the manager had no intent to train me as a barista until about 6 months into the job. Until then I had been hired as a cleaner, floor staff, retail and storage management. Cleaning toilets was a big feature to this days work
If I recall this really isnt the job description of a “Barista”.
After my shift, I was pulled into the office to discuss hours. Where this had been advertised as a fixed hours/ shift job, it turned out every day I was working was going to be in at dramatically different times.
Safe to say I only kept that job for a day, which leaves me with a final question,
Have you ever had a similar experience when starting a new job?