When the hell did "I work at starbucks" get replaced with "I'm a barista"?

Kadmium · 9 months

If I were a barista, I would pronounce it "barrister" on purpose, and then proceed to answer legal questions with a straight face. I am not an ethical man.

springyard · 9 months

From Wikipedia: A barista (from the Italian for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.

Since Starbucks serves espresso based coffees and the people working there are employees of a coffee-house, I'd say they qualify for the title of "Barista". Barista is not a rank like "Chef". It's a job title like "Car mechanic".

Also in Italy you get a coffee from the bar which is what coffee shops are called, therefore bartender.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barista

SilentNick3 · 9 months

Starbucks employees have always been called baristas since they... you know.. make coffee and espresso drinks.

xberg_LA · 9 months

who fucking cares

millionsofcats · 9 months

I resisted calling myself a "barista" for a long time, but I ended up using it because it was the best descriptor there was. If I said I'm a barista, you would know pretty quickly what kind of job I had--that I made espresso drinks, handled a register, and did miscellaneous side-jobs that come along with working in a coffee shop. I guess "I work at a coffee shop" communicates the same thing, but it's longer, and doesn't sound as appropriate on a form asking for your job title. Plus, some people who work at coffee shops are not baristas.

Likewise, I'm not going to feel guilty for describing myself as a bartender rather than saying "I work at a bar."

(I didn't work at starbucks, though.)

theleprechaun69 · 9 months

Scumbag Reddit: Gets furious at the government for unemployment issues. Makes fun of people working minimum wage.

turkmenitron · 9 months

Holy shit when did all you fucktards get so elitist?

YouFeelShame · 9 months

Just After "I work at Subway" turned in to "I'm a sandwich technician"

AnalBumCovers · 9 months

I've had 2 seperate barista jobs. Never worked at a Starbucks. Some people aren't fancy city folk.

[deleted] · 9 months

TIL people get really upset about stupid shit.

HamfacePorktard · 9 months

Not sure if serious, or just a douche who will shit on other people for being gainfully employed.

Neversaidiwassmart · 9 months

Sheesh. What's wrong with someone having some fun with their job title? Retail/food service jobs can be unforgiving. If it makes it makes it easier to get through a day of imperious a-holes who think they own you because they dropped 3 bucks on coffee, call yourself whatever you want to call yourself.

Trinilos · 9 months

One is where you work and one is what you do. What do you call someone who "works at a bar"? A bartender. Regardless of the pub.

Also, barista doesn't necessarily mean you work at Starbucks. Hell, in Seattle alone there's something like 2,000 coffee shops, and they're certainly not all Starbucks.

player2 · 9 months

Uh, what? You do know that's the term for a person who pulls espresso shots, right?

It's Italian for "bartender." Unlike the sizes of their drinks, it's not some made-up marketing word.

gengengis · 9 months

Right around the time "I'm a fucking idiot" got replaced with "I'm a United States Congressman."

Lave · 9 months

Hey guys, lets look down on people whose jobs we find inferior. Heaven forbid they take pride in their work.

EDIT: grammarfied.

robotsanddiscos · 9 months

Around the same time we separated what we do for a living from what company or organisation we do it for.

TheJesterMk2 · 9 months

I propose we change 'ignorance and pretentiousness' to 'users of reddit'

holyjaw · 9 months

The official title for someone who works at Starbucks is 'barista.' So, to answer your question, the two have always been mutually inclusive. (EDIT: Within the context of working for Starbucks; see 1st comment below.)

In response to your unasked question, "What gives them the right to use an official-sounding title instead of one that demeans them for working in international corporate retail restaurant culture," well, I'm afraid that's your problem, not theirs. Get over yourself.

Tell you what - you can ask them to stop substituting with the title 'barista' when you can handle dealing with 200 people in a span of two hours. Take their money, make their drinks, and do it all with a smile, even though most of them are likely to be rude, snide, or just plain assholes.

Dulcius_ex · 9 months

good gosh, this thread is full of assholes. A barista is a person who mixes espresso drinks. People are big enough dicks to baristas as it is, they don't need to take your shit over their fucking job title, too.

pokeyjones · 9 months

I worked there when we had an actual espresso machine and ground espresso roast for the purpose. The shot should pull between 18-23 seconds and taste a certain way. On a Saturday morning shift I'd usually adjust the grind on my espresso to compensate for temperature and humidity changes as the sun came up or it got cloudy and rained. That and given an ounce of fresh brewed coffee I could almost always tell you which variety it was simply by smelling or tasting it.

That and our store got perfect 100% scores twice when being secret shopped. A perfect 100% meant everything from drink to food to merchandising in the store was perfect. That's why I considered myself a Barista.

kodie131 · 9 months

I just started working at Starbucks. I don't necessarily enjoy the title of Barista because it sounds pretentious and douchey, but the job is a lot more difficult than it looks. There's a lot that goes into making customer's drinks, and it makes me feel pretty shitty when it's not the least bit appreciated.

EDIT: When I say a lot goes into people's drinks, I don't mean when customer's just ask for a black coffee. If everyone just ordered black coffee, the world would be a better place. Usually it's customers wanting very specific orders like wanting the drink at a certain temperature, making the espresso shots pour at a certain time, wanting the milk aerated longer, etc. Really crazy bullshit. It's those people that I wish would at least say "thanks."

Also, I am in no way, shape or form saying my job is more difficult than anyone else. I know I work a minimum wage job in the food service industry and I know that it's stereotype is that it's going to be an awful experience. I'm just saying what sucks about my job.

[deleted] · 9 months

It's European. It's exotic! :)

tendeuchen · 9 months

I'm a checkout transaction specialist at a local grocery store.

smackin · 9 months

I'm currently a bus boy at a restaurant and my official title is "Table Maintenance Engineer." Just thought I'd share.

columbine · 9 months

Indeed, what RIGHT do these plebeians have to elevate themselves with such a title? Fucking disgusting if you ask me. They probably have English degrees or something too, ROFL. Not a real degree like science or mathematics I mean. So their job sucks which is rightly appropriate, but then they have the gall to call it something that sounds a little less demeaning. Listen people, we are SUPPOSED to be demeaning these people (if you can even call them that, people). They are meant to be fucking demeaned! They are working a low class job!!! Why can't you fucking understand this!?

wackywiener · 9 months

It's somewhat pretentious but there is more to it than that. They know their way around coffee and can make recommendations. Granted starbucks may do this less than at other nicer coffee joints. Similar to a bartender in my mind. I'm more upset with the entire coffee culture that exists in these coffee places than the word used to describe the person that gives me the shit.

Trashcanman33 · 9 months

I mean, if you're a server at Applebees are you not still a waiter? It's the title of their job, I don't see how you can look at it any other way? Or do you think they are so low for working at Starbucks they should have to say "I work at Starbucks, where I serve and prepare coffee for a low wage"? OP comes off as a jerk who thinks he's better than Starbucks employees.

JakePT · 9 months

I think the more important question is why you're so insecure that you feel the need to shit on people's jobs?

PS: No, I don't work at Starbucks.

non00b · 9 months

Starbucks employees actually have a high job satisfaction rate and they provide good benefits as well. There are worse jobs.

redditwithafork · 9 months

What's wrong with having a little pride in what you do for a living? If a guy works behind the stove at a local chippy, can he not call himself a chef? Or should he be forced to tell people, "I slave behind a stove and fryer at a local fish n chip?" If he's working for a living, and not being a lazy ass, why take that away from him? I consider the person behind the counter at starbucks a barista. It's the technical name for what they do for a living.

Antelucio · 9 months

I thought you were complaining about working at Starbucks not equating to being a proper barista (which may very well often be the case), but you sound like you just don't like the concept of someone who has a refined skill that they are paid to employ having their own name. That's silly. Also, barista is a pretty old word bro.

ShakeyBobWillis · 9 months

When they told us that the loss in manufacturing jobs would be made up as America turned into a service economy. Except in order to maintain the fantasy of economic sustainability they neglected to tell you it was gonna be less 'web designer' and 'tech startup guru' and more 'Do you want fries with that?' and 'Do you want cream and/or sugar?'. So while any hope for upward mobility was draining out of this country the unwashed masses could take solace in the fact that they were more than just a career diner hash slinger, if only in title.

riesh · 9 months

When they started doing this

DietCherrySoda · 9 months

When the hell did "I work at a restaurant serving people" get replaced with "I'm a waiter"?

When the hell did "I work at a hospital cutting people open to make them healthy" get replaced with "I'm a surgeon"?

When the hell did "I do taxes and calculate credits and debts" get replaced with "I'm an accountant"?

When the hell did "I clean and maintain this building" get replaced with "I'm a custodian"?

What the hell is your point?

watership · 9 months

I remember when someone I worked with complained constantly about his job. He complained about how much his job sucked, how his salary sucked and he wasn't given enough respect. They changed his title by adding the word 'Senior'. He was happy for a year.

Barista is a way to elevate the job in the mind of the server so they can somewhat forget the fact that they sling coffee to impatient caffeine addicts for 8 hours.

And on the other end, the customer can feel like they went to their cafe to get their latte from their barista, instead of 'getting a coffee'.

The power of a title.

Juicetang · 9 months

How DARE they think their job deserves some sort of title? Makes it almost impossible to look down on them when I order my daily macchiato.

WBedsmith · 9 months

Since espresso bars have existed. Cooks are cooks, blacksmiths are blacksmiths, people who make coffee are baristas.

Foustian · 9 months

TIL "barista" is considered pretentious.

the_word_smith · 9 months

"I work at staples" : "I'm a sales associate"

"I work at microsoft" : "I'm a customer support and experience enhancement engineer"

Or we can go retro...

"I work at Jim's diner" : "I'm a soda jerk"

Jobs have always had titles. Why does this one offend you?

littlewitch34 · 9 months

Who cares?

lcorinth · 9 months

A conversation I'd like to hear at Subway:

"Here's your sandwich."

"What the fuck is up with this sandwich?? It's a mess! Everything's falling out of the bread! Why is the whole thing sprayed with mustard and mayonnaise??"

"I'm a Sandwich Artist. That's Abstract Expressionism."

ABCosmos · 9 months

The term was created around 1982. Coffee drinkers have a certain sense of pride about their drink of choice, and it seems likely to me that this term was chosen because those trying to sell coffee felt it reflected positively on their drink, and those who serve/consume it.

/This is the most polite way I can phrase this.

le_cigare_volant · 9 months

Right about the time when the working class started taking pride in their work, I think. But I could be mistaken.

j1mb0 · 9 months

The same time "I work at the grocery store" got replaced with "I'm a cashier". It's the same fucking thing. Barista is a job title, Starbucks is an employer. What a douchy fucking question.

GenJonesMom · 9 months

My son works as a barista in a local bakery/coffee shop. I see nothing wrong with him saying, "I'm a barista". It's also what he did when he lived in Napa.

draivaden · 9 months

Whenever coffee shops came into existence.

knightfall · 9 months

When they got better benefits than my job that requires a college education.

[deleted] · 9 months

I'm not a cashier, I'm a customer support specialist.

tinynf89 · 9 months

I worked at a Tim Horton's am I a barista?

brilliantNumberOne · 9 months

This makes the front page? For shame, Reddit, for shame.

MayoFetish · 9 months

Barista is too good of a title. They should be called Coffee Jockeys.

hyperspectral · 9 months

Since I recently took a job at Starbucks do to the lack of employment opportunities in my town (and a demanding school schedule), I just prefer the term "employed".

Grimsterr · 9 months

If working at Starbucks makes you a barista, does working at McDonald's make you a chef?

purplecobras3 · 9 months

this is similar to "i work at hollister" turning into "i am a floor model"

ThankYouDriveThrough · 9 months

Around the same time Subway employees became sandwich artists.

I can't tell you how many times I use to turn to my friend and say "Oh wow, did you see the way he put that lettuce on that bread?" It's about time they got the recognition for it.

brains92 · 9 months

To be fair, working at McDonald's is a huge bitch when you deal with asshole customers, but they don't get a special title. That's also why I'm pursuing a post-secondary education so I don't have to work at companies like McDonald's or Starbucks. The job is shitty because it requires little skill and slim to none education. If it sucks so bad, pursue a better life.

razzbar · 9 months

It's the other way around. Baristas were around long before Starbucks, and they'll be around long after Starbucks is gone.

quantumpsych · 9 months

OP is kind of an asshole.

casc1701 · 9 months

I don´t give a fuck if it´s a coffee shop serving sacred beans chewed by peruvian virgins ou a Starbucks. The person serving my coffee is a professional, and deserve my respect.

The least I can do is acknowledge their skills and their profession.

JonnyGalt · 9 months

I use to be a starbucks barista at the busiest store in the South East. It was in a rich part of town so we get tons of pretentious assholes like you who feels like they need to make a point to treat us like sub humans and idiots.

If you think the job is easy, you are wrong. Yes the mechanics of the job is not too hard but when I have lines out the door and 20-30 drinks with in a span of a few minutes, things get complicated. Not only is it a high volume and high stress job, it is thankless and we get treated like shit.

As for the name barista, its a appropriate name for what I do, if you go to a bar, you don't' call your bartender "some fucker who works at a bar". On top of that, the name is assigned to us by the corporation and not self designated. I worked damn hard to make you your fucking latte just like you work hard at your job. What gives you the right to judge and criticize us? People like you is the reason why I quit my job at starbucks, you have to make a point to make our already miserable jobs even shittier...

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