# Hours cut in half at work (Starbucks)



## baseballdude (May 23, 2010)

Hey all, I just started to work at Starbucks three weeks ago. I worked 32 hours my first week (training), then again for 32 hours the next week. However, this week I only got 14 hours. I checked my schedule for next week and I'm working 14 hours again. This is concerning because I am depending on this job to make a living, and working 14 hours a week is not going to pay the bills. I'm not in school anymore so I have a very flexible schedule, so I don't understand why I am not getting scheduled more. 

This is my first ever part time job. Should I talk to my store manager about getting more hours? Or am I too "new" to do that, and just accept what I have and hope I get more hours in the future? I may need to transfer stores already, but I am still a "baby barista", in terms that I am still learning different aspects of the job each day, so other stores may not want to take me yet. 

What should I do? Is it already time to find another job?


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## Just Lurking (Feb 8, 2007)

What kind of hours were you told you'd be getting?

If this is meant to be your only job and only source of income, the 'hours' conversation is one to have with your manager. 

If you don't like what you hear, time to look elsewhere.

Retail can be bad for this regardless of where you go, though.


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## dgodfrey (Oct 11, 2013)

When I saw fewer hours on my schedule at JCPenney I spoke to the manager. The next schedule I got had more hours but I'm uncertain if it was because I spoke to the manner or that we were approaching the holiday season.

Anyway, I say just talk to him. It can't hurt to at least ask.

Also, can I ask why you're working at Starbucks and why you're out of school?


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## Ilaw1 (Dec 6, 2014)

You should ask for more hours and find out how many hours everybody else is getting. If you feel that you need more, just ask. If they say no, keep the job but try to find another part time job. A lot of companies hire lots of PT workers instead of a few FT workers. Some companies start you off PT then give you FT once they see that you will 'work out'. 

With that said, it may also be from SA. I know that I have lost jobs because I just didn't quite 'fit in' or because I was 'too quiet'. It's a tough situation to deal with and many people are mean to those they can't understand.


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## wmu'14 (Sep 17, 2010)

How are you doing at Starbucks? If your anxiety is affecting the work, I'd be concerned. I was working at a heavy customer-service (to me high stress though the other coworkers handled it very well) and got bumped down to half-days for a few months. Every time I asked the manager about my reduced hours, the manager would make up some excuse. They ended up releasing me because I clearly couldn't handle the duties required for full-time work. 

If the anxiety is not the issue, go ahead and ask for more hours!  Worse they can do is make up some excuse. It'd be up to you if you want to keep the job if you don't get more hours as time goes on.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

That's how part-time customer service jobs are. I hate to break it to you, but I've worked in retail management and the reason they cut your hours is simply because they don't like you much. They give the hours to the more "valuable employees" and take them away from the ones that don't produce. 

Managers are given a store budget they're not allowed to exceed, so work hours must be divvied up accordingly.


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## meandernorth (Nov 12, 2014)

If there are other Starbucks in the area (we have a million here), maybe you could pick up additional hours at a second store. It might take some schedule coordination but with only 14 hours a week being given, it should be feasible.


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## baseballdude (May 23, 2010)

RelinquishedHell said:


> That's how part-time customer service jobs are. I hate to break it to you, but I've worked in retail management and *the reason they cut your hours is simply because they don't like you much. *They give the hours to the more "valuable employees" and take them away from the ones that don't produce.
> 
> Managers are given a store budget they're not allowed to exceed, so work hours must be divvied up accordingly.


Ouch.

They already don't like me even though I've only been at the store for a month? I don't think that is the case. I believe it is because the store is overstaffed and as the new guy, I get the shaft. Newer employees work slower and make more mistakes (I am however getting better and faster every shift), therefore, the slower I am at the register/bar, the less customers that will be able to come through, and that means less $$$ for the store.

I work my butt off every precious hour I get. I don't mind doing the crappy (no pun intended) parts of the job such as deep cleaning the bathrooms, in fact, I seek out the terrible parts of the job since I believe it is my duty (again, no pun intended) as the new guy to take one for the team. Will the store manager ever notice that? Or does that even matter?

I'm getting the bare minimum of hours next week, only 12. Am I being shooed out of the store already?


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## meandernorth (Nov 12, 2014)

baseballdude said:


> Ouch.
> 
> They already don't like me even though I've only been at the store for a month? I don't think that is the case. I believe it is because the store is overstaffed and as the new guy, I get the shaft. Newer employees work slower and make more mistakes (I am however getting better and faster every shift), therefore, the slower I am at the register/bar, the less customers that will be able to come through.
> 
> ...


Are there reduced store hours next week because of the holiday? That could explain the drop in hours. Continue to work hard. Do what you've been doing. Take ownership. The manager needs to make sure his experienced people get hours while balancing things to make sure you get hours. I'm sure that, as you gain experience, you'll get more hours, too. Think about additional hours at another store if possible.


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## Hikikomori2014 (Sep 8, 2014)

Get another job. Just about anything should pay better than Starbucks.
Try to be a UPS driver, Admin assistant or anything else


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## baseballdude (May 23, 2010)

shorefog said:


> Are there reduced store hours next week because of the holiday? That could explain the drop in hours. Continue to work hard. Do what you've been doing. Take ownership. The manager needs to make sure his experienced people get hours while balancing things to make sure you get hours. I'm sure that, as you gain experience, you'll get more hours, too. Think about additional hours at another store if possible.


Yeah, my store is not open for Christmas, so there is a reduced hour load. Retail slows down after Christmas so I'm afraid the hour situation may not get much better. However, I feel like Starbucks never slows down unlike department stores who have a major slow period from January - March.

I do want to cover shifts at other stores, but I don't know if I have enough experience yet to do so. Trust me, I am looking for other jobs, mainly full time work. I am a college graduate so I am doing anything I can to land a full time job in order to start paying off my student loans. This job is a placeholder for me right now to make ends meet. I also work another job at a conference center in the mountains, but there are no conferences this month so Starbucks is my only source of income for the month.


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