The Grinding Grind

First day of work today.

That's all there is to it.

Oh, you want to hear more, you say?

Let me begin by saying I think Sara Deane was right when she said the corporate environment is not for me. That is not to say I don't think I'll enjoy my job - I think working in Winter Park with the people here will be awesome. It'll be a ton of fun, and I'll learn how to barista in the meantime. That said, Starbucks training is worse than MGMT100 (anyone who has ever been anywhere near Wharton knows what I'm talking about). The company actually pays someone to develop this training that involves "educational" videos, handbooks reminiscent of the Terra Nova testbooks in Elementary school, and an environment fueled by kitchy acronyms and motivational quotes. I actually spent 4 hours of my life today "learning" that if a customer has a complaint, listen to them. Be nice to customers. Be nice to coworkers. Be cheerful and energetic. Know your product. Chat.

Is it just me, or is all of this common sense? Now I know what they say, that common sense isn't so common, but you'd think a group of 20-somethings, all with previous customer service experience, could be grandfathered out of this absurd, idiot-proof training course. I mean, it has MODULES for crying out loud. I get that Starbucks has to sell their name and the "Starbucks Experience" as much as their coffee, but I'm not sure it takes a workbook and an hour of patronization to figure this out. A simple one-liner would suffice.

But it is what it is and I can't do anything about it, except resolve to try to avoid large corporations at all costs in the future.

Silver lining? At least we get paid.